Grand Valley State earned its fourth daily sweep during the team's annual Spring Break trip, as the Lakers captured a pair of victories to close out a 10-2 week in the Sunshine State. GVSU defeated Pace (13-5) and Minnesota State Moorhead (6-1) on Saturday afternoon (Mar. 12) to improve to 14-2 overall on the year.
 
It was quite a week for Grand Valley State, as the Lakers swept both of their opponents on Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. GVSU had separate three, five, and two-game winning streaks during its weeklong stay. The Lakers beat a pair of ranked opponents, including #20 Winona State on Sunday and #21 West Chester on Friday. Both wins were by 3-0 scores.
 
GVSU's offense exploded for 13 runs on 15 hits against Pace (2-2), both of which are season-highs. The Lakers scored in all six innings and scored multiple runs in three of the six frames, as five players had two or more hits.
 
An Ellie Balbach RBI double down the right field line started the scoring in the first inning, bringing in sophomore Kaylie Rhynard, who reached earlier on a bunt single. The lead grew to 5-0 in the second inning with the big hit coming on a McKenze Supernaw two-out, two-run single that scored Rhynard and sophomore Teagan Shomin.
 
Pace trimmed the deficit to 5-3 with three runs in the third inning, though GVSU did commit a pair of errors in the stanza. The Lakers, however, responded with four more runs in the bottom of the third inning. Senior Chelsea Horvath, Rhynard, Supernaw, and Balbach all recorded RBI singles during the third, extending the lead to 9-3.
 
The Lakers added a run in the fourth, answered Pace's two-run fifth inning with two of their own, and finished the mercy rule when Balbach's sacrifice fly in the sixth inning scored Shomin to end the game.
 
Rhynard was a perfect 4-for-4 with a double and three runs, while Balbach went 3-for-4 with a double and three RBI. Supernaw was 2-for-4 and drove in three runs, while Shomin went 2-for-5 with a double and scored three times. Freshman Shannon Flaherty also scored three times and was 2-for-3 with a double.
 
The benefactor of all that run support was senior Sara Andrasik. The senior moved to 4-0 on the season, as she allowed five runs on nine hits in five innings of work. Andrasik did not issue a walk and struck out two batters. Balbach tossed one inning of one-hit relief.
 
GVSU scored a run in both the second and third innings on errors by Minnesota State Moorhead to take a 2-0 lead. Rhynard's RBI double in the fourth inning was followed by a Balbach run-scoring single to up the lead to 4-0.
 
It was 5-0 in the fifth inning when Rhynard added an RBI single down the right field line to score sophomore Tanner Kiessel.
 
Freshman righthander Allison Lipovsky took a no-hitter into the fifth inning, when MSU's Lauren Meeker hit a solo home run for the first hit and run for the Dragons in the game. Minnesota State Moorhead collected two more hits in the inning, but no other runs were pushed across the plate.
 
Lipovsky went on to retire the final seven batters she faced and tossed a complete-game three-hitter. She allowed one run, walked two batters, and notched nine strikeouts to move to 6-0 on the season. Lipovsky has recorded 44 strikeouts and just six walks in 34.1 innings pitched in her rookie campaign.
 
Rhynard was the only player in the game with multiple hits, as she was 3-for-4 with a double and a pair of RBI.
 
GVSU is scheduled to play its 2016 home opener on Wednesday (Mar. 16) against Aquinas. The non-conference doubleheader with the Saints will begin at 3:00 p.m.