In a matchup of the two most recent champions of the Midwest Region, Grand Valley State got the best of Wayne State on Tuesday afternoon (Mar. 31) in Allendale. The Lakers notched a 3-2 victory in the opener before holding off a late Warrior rally in game two, eventually capping the sweep with a 4-2 win.

GVSU and Wayne State are usually near the top of the GLIAC - and regional - standings at the end of the season. Last year, Wayne State won the regional championship and advanced to the College World Series, one year after Grand Valley State accomplished the feat in 2013. 

Heading into Tuesday's twinbill, the teams were on different paths. The Lakers (18-6 overall, 4-1 GLIAC) had alternated wins and losses in their previous 11 games, while Wayne State (18-15 overall, 2-2 GLIAC) had won six straight games, including a sweep at Ashland on Sunday.

Grand Valley State, however, used timely hitting (and benefitted from some misplays by the Warrior defense) and two terrific pitching performances to sweep the Warriors in Allendale for the second year in a row. Not only was the pitching great for GVSU, it was also the pitchers on the other side of the field that the Lakers defeated that made the sweep even better.

Game one starter Sara Andrasik allowed two runs (one earned) on just five hits. The junior righty walked one batter and struck out two in moving to 6-3 on the season. She outdueled Wayne State's Lyndsay Butler, who gave up just three runs on six hits, while striking out 10 Laker batters. Butler, only a sophomore, was the 2014 GLIAC Pitcher of the Year.

Freshman righthander Courtney Reinhold nearly tossed her second consecutive complete game shutout. In game two, the rookie notched a three-hitter and both runs she gave up were unearned. She walked two batters and struck out four. Reinhold is now 7-2 on the year. Her counterpart - WSU senior Briana Lee - fanned eight Lakers and only gave up two earned runs. Lee was a Second Team All-GLIAC pitcher last season.

Junior Chelsea Horvath (leadoff infield single) and freshman Teagan Shomin (double to left center) started things off in the bottom of the third inning, with the game scoreless. Sophomore Kelsey Dominguez then reached on a throwing error by the shortstop, but Shomin and Horvath stayed at second and third base.

A hard-chopper from sophomore Jenna Lenza to the Warrior third baseman was bobbled, allowing everybody to be safe, and Horvath to slide in with the game's first run. Junior McKenze Supernaw followed with a single to left field, scoring Shomin for the 2-0 Laker lead.

Wayne State cut the deficit in half in the top of the fourth, but GVSU tacked on another run in its next at-bat. Leading 2-1, Horvath smacked a one-out single. She moved to second base and two batters later, a WSU overthrow to first base allowed Horvath to race around third and score, making the advantage 3-1.

The Warriors would again answer with a tally of its own, but Andrasik worked out of trouble. With Wayne State having runners on second and third with two outs, Andrasik snagged a line drive up the middle and tossed to first base for the out.

Andrasik worked around a leadoff walk in the sixth inning and a leadoff single in the seventh to retire the other six batters in those frames and preserve the victory. She set down the first nine batters she faced and did not allow a hit until the fourth inning. 

Horvath (2-for-3, two runs) and Shomin (2-for-4, double, run) were the lone Lakers with more than one hit. GVSU outhit the visiting Warriors, 6-5. Wayne State committed three errors in the loss.

Game two was again scoreless until the third inning. With one out, Lenza crushed a Lee offering over the fence in left field for her fourth home run of the season. The solo blast was Lenza's fourth roundtripper in the last six games. 

That gave Grand Valley State the lead, but it was the team's next at-bat that opened up the game. Horvath again started the frame, reaching on a throwing error. Freshman AJ Castle singled through the left side and both runners moved up on a groundball.

The next batter was sophomore Janae Langs, who tallied the walk-off single in GVSU's 1-0 win at Walsh on Sunday. This time, Langs drove in two runs with a sharp single to left center field, upping the Laker lead to 3-0. Langs stole second, moved to third on a Shomin single, and then scored on an overthrow at second base when Shomin was stealing the base.

Wayne State would eventually get two runs on the board in the bottom of the seventh inning, but three Laker errors were the cause of that scoring. Other than that, Reinhold was nearly untouchable. Like Andrasik, she didn't allow a hit until the fourth inning, retired the side in order in three innings, and used 12 flyballs to stifle the Warrior lineup.

Lenza reached base all four times in game two. She homered, singled, and was intentionally walked twice - in both at-bats before and after her solo home run. The Lakers again outhit WSU, 7-3. 

Tuesday was the start of an eight-game homestand for Grand Valley State. The Lakers host Ashland on Friday afternoon at 3:30 p.m. in another big doubleheader. AU is 20-4 overall and 5-3 in GLIAC play.