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Grand Valley State survived a late Tiffin rally in Friday afternoon's (May 1) GLIAC Tournament game and the Lakers were able to respond with a game-winning hit to top the Dragons by a 4-3 score in eight innings. After Tiffin tied the game at 3-3 in the seventh inning, sophomore catcher Marianne Deppe singled home freshman Kaylie Rhynard for the walk-off victory in the extra frame.

The Lakers and Dragons were playing in an elimination game, as both teams fell in their opening game on Friday. Fourth-seeded GVSU fell to Walsh, 2-1, while eighth-seeded Tiffin dropped a 5-3 decision to Wayne State. With the victory, Grand Valley State improves to 32-14 and advances in the tournament. The Lakers will face second-seeded Ashland at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday morning (May 2). Tiffin's season comes to an end with a 23-23 overall record.

Despite falling to Walsh earlier on Friday, GVSU actually outhit the Cavaliers 8-6 and stranded 11 runners on base. Grand Valley State continued to put runners on base and put pressure on the opposing pitcher, as the Lakers owned a 9-6 advantage in the hit department over Tiffin. It was the final hit that sealed the victory.

Rhynard led off the bottom of the eighth inning by laying down a bunt. Tiffin pitcher Sarah Brown fielded the bunt cleanly, but her throw to first base bounced off Rhynard's helmet and into right field, allowing the freshman to race into second base. Two batters later, Deppe ripped the first pitch she saw back up the middle and Rhynard slid in safely ahead of the throw to give the Lakers a thrilling win.

Deppe was part of a terrific '7-8' punch for GVSU in game two. Batting eighth in the order, Deppe was 3-for-4 with a double and a pair of RBI. The seventh hitter - freshman Heather Sperlazzo - went 3-for-4 and recorded an RBI, a pair of doubles, and scored twice. Deppe and Sperlazzo collected six of the Lakers' nine hits against Tiffin.

GVSU junior Sara Andrasik started in the circle and worked around a two-out single in the first inning and a one-out walk in the second to strand both runners. The Lakers put their first run on the board in the bottom of the second.

Sperlazzo roped a double to right center field with one out. Deppe followed with a bloop double down the right field line. The ball fell between the Tiffin second baseman and right fielder, while the second baseman had trouble getting the ball back into the infield. At the same time, Sperlazzo hustled around third and scored the game's first run.

Andrasik went 1-2-3 in the third inning, but ran into some trouble in the fourth frame. Tiffin notched back-to-back singles to leadoff the inning and both runners moved up a base on a sacrifice bunt. However, Andrasik forced a pop-up and a groundball to end the threat.

Grand Valley State upped the score to 2-0 in the fourth inning. Again, Sperlazzo started things with a double to right center field, but this time with two outs. Deppe came through again with a sharp single to center field, which brought Sperlazzo home for the second time.

Tiffin put a run on the board in the fifth inning, but Andrasik stranded a pair of runners. The Lakers upped the score to 3-1 in the sixth, when sophomore Ellie Balbach opened the frame with a double to left center. Pinch runner Megan Downey moved to third on a Rhynard sacrifice bunt, then scored on a Sperlazzo RBI single to give GVSU a two-run cushion.

Andrasik recorded the first two outs in the seventh inning, but an error kept the inning alive for the Dragons. Two batters later, Tiffin's Michelle Poe doubled off the fence in right field, scoring a pair of Dragon runners and tying the game at 3-3.

The Lakers had a scoring chance in the bottom of the seventh, but were unable to win the game at that point. They settled for Deppe's walk-off hit one inning later.

Andrasik's final line was solid. The righty gave up three runs (one earned) on six hits in seven innings. She tallied five walks and a pair of strikeouts. Balbach retired all three batters she faced in the eighth inning to earn the victory and move to 8-2 on the season. Offensively, Balbach had one of GVSU's four doubles.

The Lakers move to 2-1 this season in extra innings, having defeated Truman State 5-3 in nine innings on Mar. 7.

Grand Valley State and Ashland split a twinbill in Allendale on Apr. 3. The Eagles won game one (1-0) before GVSU responded with a 5-2 win in the nightcap. Ashland is the third seed in the latest Midwest Region rankings, while the Lakers are the fifth seed. The top eight teams make the NCAA Tournament next weekend at a site to be determined.