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#17 Southern Indiana tallied a pair of runs in the top of the seventh inning to break a 2-2 tie with Grand Valley State, eventually topping the Lakers by a 4-2 score in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament in St. Louis, Mo. GVSU falls to 32-16 with the loss and will come back to play on Saturday afternoon (May 9) against Wayne State.
 
The game was originally scheduled for a noon CST start, but weather delays pushed the first pitch to 5:00 p.m. CST. Southern Indiana improves to 38-9 overall and will play the winner of the #1 Missouri-St. Louis at 11:00 a.m CST on Saturday. Grand Valley State will take on GLIAC foe Wayne State at 1:30 p.m. CST.
 
GVSU entered as the fourth seed in the Midwest Region, while Southern Indiana was the fifth seed. Both teams recorded five hits and each team committed a pair of errors, but it was the late two-run single from USI right fielder Grace Clark in Southern Indiana's final at-bat that proved to be the difference.
 
Freshman Courtney Reinhold was in the circle for the Lakers and retired the Screaming Eagles in order in the first inning, including getting a groundout on GLVC Player of the Year MacKenzi Dorsam. Southern Indiana, however, cracked the scoreboard first in the top of the second inning.
 
All-GLVC First Team honoree (and starting pitcher) Brooke Harmening doubled to lead off the second. She moved to third base on a single from Haley Hodges and came in to score on a groundout from Janna Green.
 
The Lakers quickly answered in the home half of the second stanza. With one out, freshman Teagan Shomin drilled a pitch to left center field that had just enough to clear the fence and tie the score at 1-1. It was Shomin's third roundtripper of the season. GVSU was not yet done on the scoreboard.
 
Freshman Heather Sperlazzo followed with a walk and classmate Kaylie Rhynard dropped down a perfect bunt single to put a pair of runners on base. Two batters later, Langs ripped a shot that the USI first baseman couldn't handle and Langs raced to first to load the bases. Sophomore Kelsey Dominguez worked a full count and then took ball four to bring in Sperlazzo and give GVSU a 2-1 lead.
 
Southern Indiana responded with a run of its own in the top of the third. A one-out single from Dorsam gave the Eagles a baserunner. Two batters later, Dorsam came around to score on a Laker throwing error, knotting the score at 2-2.
 
Reinhold settled into a nice groove, retiring the next eight USI batters, including consecutive 1-2-3 innings in the fourth and fifth frames. The Screaming Eagles put runners on second and third base with two outs in the sixth, but Reinhold forced a popup that Shomin flagged down near foul territory for the final out.
 
Southern Indiana loaded the bases with three consecutive walks to start the seventh inning. Sophomore Ellie Balbach relieved Reinhold after the second walk and fielded a sharp grounder to get the first out. Clark then ripped a two-run single down the third base line to put the Screaming Eagles on top, 4-2. Balbach worked out of any further trouble by getting the final two outs.
 
The Lakers were retired in order in the bottom of the seventh inning, ending any possible comeback threat.
 
Reinhold was saddled with the loss, as she drops to 13-8 on the season. In six innings in the circle, she allowed four runs (three earned) on four hits. Reinhold walked three batters and struck out one. Balbach allowed two walks and a hit in her one inning of relief.
 
Langs was one of two players (along with USI's Harmening) to record multiple hits. The sophomore centerfielder was 2-for-4 at the plate. Shomin homered and was hit by a pitch, while Balbach and Rhynard collected the other two Laker hits.
 
Harmening earned the victory for USI, improving to 22-3. She allowed two runs (one earned) on five hits in the complete game win. Harmening, who also went 2-for-3 at the plate and scored a run.
 
Laker Notes:
- GVSU is now 10-3 in the first game of the NCAA Tournament. The Lakers are 5-7 in the second game of their postseason appearances
- Freshman Teagan Shomin was hit by a pitch in the sixth inning. It was her school-record 20th HBP this season and it also sets the new GVSU career record, breaking the tie with former Laker (and current assistant coach) Briauna Taylor
- Friday was just the third time this season that sophomore Janae Langs was the team's leadoff hitter
- Sophomore Jenna Lenza's 35-game consecutive 'reached base' streak came to an end. It was the second-longest streak by a Laker since at least the 2002 season
- GVSU owns a 36-26 all-time record in 13 NCAA Tournament appearances
- In NCAA Tournament play, the Lakers are 2-0 against Missouri-St. Louis and 2-4 against Wayne State