Grand Valley State pushed its win streak to nine consecutive games with a 6-1 victory over Saint Rose on Thursday morning (Mar. 5) before suffering its first defeat in Florida with a 6-3 loss to Southern New Hampshire. The Lakers used a pair of home runs and a great outing from sophomore pitcher Ellie Balbach in the win against Saint Rose.
 
The loss to Southern New Hampshire snapped the team's nine-game win streak, as the Lakers were 7-0 in Florida entering that game. Overall, GVSU is 11-2 this season, with four remaining games on the Spring Break trip.
 
In the opener against Saint Rose, the Golden Knights took a 1-0 lead in their first at-bat, with a two-out solo homer. That would be the only run Balbach would allow during the game and she would rarely face trouble the remainder of the contest.
 
GVSU put a pair of runners on base in the second inning, as freshmen Kaylie Rhynard and Heather Sperlazzo collected back-to-back singles. The next batter was junior Chelsea Horvath, who smacked a three-run home run to give the Lakers a 3-1 advantage.
 
Balbach went 1-2-3 in the third inning and escaped a bases-loaded jam in the fourth by striking out the last batter looking. In the fifth inning, freshman Teagen Shomin hit a solo homer (her second of the year) to make the score, 4-1.
 
The lead grew to 6-1 after a two-run single from freshman Tanner Kiessel drove in Rhynard and pinch runner Megan Downey. Balbach would have no problem in the late innings, retiring the final eight batters she faced en route to her fifth victory of the year. The sophomore lefty allowed one run on six hits. In moving to 5-0, she did not walk a batter and recorded four strikeouts.
 
Shomin went 2-for-2, but reached base all four times, as she was hit by a pair of pitches. She added the homer, run, and RBI. Two of her fellow freshmen recorded multiple hits, as Rhynard (2-for-2, two runs) and Kiessel (2-for-3, two RBI) had a strong showing. Horvath drove in three of the team's six runs on her roundtripper.
 
A battle of one-loss teams went to Southern New Hampshire, who improved to 6-1 on the year. The Penmen plated four runs in the bottom of the second inning, with a two-run double being the key hit in the frame. Due to a Laker error, all four runs were unearned.
 
Down 4-0, GVSU got a run back on an RBI bunt single from AJ Castle. The bunt brought in Shomin, who reached base on a hit by pitch and moved to third base on a double by Jenna Lenza.
 
To start the top of the fourth, Rhynard led off with a double. Immediately following was Sperlazzo, who drilled a two-run homer, bringing the Lakers within a run at 4-3. That was the first roundtripper in Sperlazzo's career.
 
Southern New Hampshire responded with a solo homer in the bottom of the fourth and added another tally in the fifth inning to up its advantage to 6-3.
 
GVSU had the bases loaded with just one out in the fifth, but were unable to bring in a run, ending the final good scoring chance of the game. The Lakers had just one hit in the final two innings.
 
Freshman pitcher Courtney Reinhold took the loss, falling to 3-1 on the year. In six innings, the righty allowed six runs (only two earned) on seven hits. She walked two batters and struck out three Penmen.
 
Lenza was terrific at the plate, going 4-for-4 with a pair of doubles. It is the second four-hit game of her career; the other was a similar 4-for-4 performance in her first collegiate game against Winona State on Feb. 22, 2014.
 
Rhynard was 3-for-4, tallied a double, and scored a run. Sperlazzo was 1-for-3 with a homer and two ribbies.
 
The Lakers play a pair of night games on Friday (Mar. 6). At 5:00 p.m., GVSU takes on St. Cloud State before facing Quincy at 7:00 p.m.