Findlay, Ohio - A long day ended in a pair of road GLIAC victories for Grand Valley State on Saturday (Apr. 26), as the Lakers took down Findlay in Ohio. The teams played a nighttime twinbill, with GVSU winning the opener 9-4 in extra innings before an 8-3 victory in game two.
Five Laker seniors graduated on Saturday morning and the team then traveled to Ohio for a crucial conference doubleheader. Game one started at 7:00 p.m., a rare night contest for the Lakers. With the wins, Grand Valley State is 26-9 overall and owners of a 15-5 league record. That puts GVSU in a five-way tie in the loss column with Ohio Dominican (21-5), Saginaw Valley State (17-5), Northwood (17-5), and Wayne State (15-5). The losses place Findlay at 22-17 on the season and 13-13 in GLIAC action.
Grand Valley State will host Saginaw Valley State in a rescheduled doubleheader on Sunday afternoon in Allendale. Game one is set for a 2:00 p.m. start. Northwood and Wayne State face each other in a league twinbill in Detroit on Sunday, while Ohio Dominican is idle. Those will be the final regular season GLIAC contests.
The Lakers needed some late magic in the first game to pull out the victory. Findlay was leading 3-0 after five innings, but GVSU was able to knot the score at 3-3 in the sixth. Senior Miranda Cleary drove in freshman Kelsey Dominguez with an RBI single after Dominguez led off the frame with a bunt single. Later in the frame, freshman Ellie Balbach drilled a double to center field and tied the score, as senior Briauna Taylor (fielder's choice) and sophomore McKenze Supernaw came racing home.
Neither team would score in the seventh stanza, sending the game to extra innings. In the eighth, Grand Valley State plated six runs on four hits. An RBI single from senior Brittany Taylor put the Lakers on top 4-3, while freshmen Jenna Lenza and Dominguez also drove in runs. The big blow came with GVSU leading 6-3, as Briauna Taylor tallied a three-run triple to right field, upping the Laker advantage to 9-3.
Junior Sarah Wyse pitched in relief of sophomore starter Sara Andrasik, who went the first 3.2 innings. Wyse closed the game with 4.1 innings in the circle, allowing just one run on three hits. She is now 3-0 on the season.
All nine Lakers in the starting lineup recorded one hit, except for Marianne Deppe. The freshman catcher went 3-for-4 with a double. Cleary and Dominguez both scored twice in the win.
In the nightcap, Findlay put up a pair of runs in the top of the first inning. The Lakers scored a run in both the first and second frames, tying the score at 2-2 on a run-scoring groundout from Brittany Taylor.
GVSU led 3-2 in the fourth inning before Dominguez notched a clutch two-out, two-run opposite field single, driving in Lenza and sophomore Chelsea Horvath for a 5-2 lead. Findlay scored a run off of Laker starting pitcher Lauren Gevaart in the sixth inning, but Grand Valley State's offense gave Gevaart some insurance in its next at-bat.
In the bottom of the sixth, Briauna Taylor drove in a pair of runs with a single to right field, upping the score to 7-3. Lenza then raced home on a wild pitch for the final run, her second run of the game. Horvath also scored twice, while going 3-for-3 with a pair of doubles. Dominguez and Briauna Taylor each drove in two runs.
Gevaart earned the victory, giving up three runs on seven hits in a complete game 110-pitch effort. She struck out only one Oiler, but retired 11 batters on flyballs. Gevaart is now 11-1 on the season.
After Sunday's doubleheader, the Lakers will learn their conference tournament seed, as the 2014 GLIAC Tournament begins on Friday (May 2) in Findlay.
