For the second straight day in Clermont, Fla., Grand Valley State earned a split in a pair of games. On Friday night (Mar. 6), the Lakers scored five unanswered runs to top St. Cloud State by a 9-5 final before Quincy tallied five unanswered runs to win the nightcap, 6-2.
 
GVSU is 12-3 overall, which includes a strong 8-2 mark on its annual Spring Break trip to the NTC Spring Games. The Lakers will close out their trip on Saturday (Mar. 7) when they face Truman State (3:00 p.m.) and Indianapolis (5:00 p.m.).
 
The top of the Grand Valley State lineup was terrific in the come-from-behind victory over St. Cloud State. GVSU's 1-2-3 hitters (freshman Teagen Shomin, sophomores Kelsey Dominguez and Jenna Lenza) all had two hits and at least two runs each (Shomin scored three times) and combined to go 6-for-11 with a pair of RBI and seven runs scored.
 
Cleanup hitter - and fellow freshman - Heather Sperlazzo tallied a pair of RBI, while junior McKenze Supernaw - batting fifth - went 2-for-4 and drove in three runs.
 
The Lakers opened a 3-0 lead in the top of the first inning on Sperlazzo's run-scoring groundout and a two-run triple from Supernaw down the right field line that scored Dominguez and Lenza. Leading 3-1 in the top of the second inning, GVSU executed a perfect suicide squeeze play, as Dominguez bunted and eventually reached first base on the play, as junior Chelsea Horvath crossed home plate. The score was 4-1 after the gamble paid off.
 
St. Cloud State added single runs in the second and third innings and took its first lead at 5-4 in the fourth frame on a two-run single. Two innings later, the Lakers began their comeback.
 
Shomin led off the top of the sixth with a single. She moved around the bases and then came home on a Sperlazzo single, tying the score at 5-5. Supernaw followed with an RBI single to bring in Dominguez and give GVSU the 6-5 advantage. The Lakers moved up 7-5 when sophomore Marianne Deppe notched a bases loaded walk.
 
For insurance, GVSU tacked on two more runs in the seventh. After Shomin led off and reached on an error, Dominguez doubled to center field and Shomin raced around to score from first base. Later in the inning, freshman Kaylie Rhynard singled up the middle, which brought in Sperlazzo for the game's final run.
 
The benefactor of the late-inning offense was freshman Courtney Reinhold. She tossed 3.1 innings in relief of junior starter Sara Andrasik (3.2 innings, four hits, five runs). Reinhold allowed just one hit in her three-plus innings, walking one and striking out five Huskies. She is now 4-1 on the season.
 
Supernaw (three RBI), Sperlazzo (two), and Dominguez (two) drove in seven of the nine ribbies.
 
In game two, Quincy took an early 1-0 lead on a first inning solo homer from third baseman Samantha Ledbetter. GVSU tied the game when Sperlazzo raced home on a passed ball in the second inning. The Lakers moved ahead 2-1, scoring a run on a Quincy error in the fourth frame.
 
The Hawks rallied for four runs in the top of the fifth inning. Ledbetter tied the score with an RBI double, which was soon followed up by the go-ahead run-scoring single. Later in the inning, a two-run double put Quincy ahead 5-2. The Hawks tacked on one final run in the sixth inning.
 
Although the Lakers worked three walks in the bottom of the seventh inning, they were unable to cut into the deficit, falling for just the third time all season.
 
Sophomore Ellie Balbach suffered her first loss in 2015, as she is now 5-1. The lefty gave up five runs (just one earned) in 4.2 innings in the circle. Andrasik pitched 2.1 innings in relief, striking out four batters, and allowing one run on two hits.
 
GVSU had five hits in the loss, with five Lakers notching one hit apiece. Supernaw's fifth inning double was the team's lone extra base tally.