On Grand Valley State's first day of a week-long, 12-game Spring Break trip in Clermont, Fla., the Lakers earned a pair of victories, thanks to a pair of strong pitching efforts and three homers. GVSU topped Sioux Falls by an 8-1 score in the opening game of the trip on Sunday (Mar. 6) and capped the day with a 3-0 victory over #20 Winona State.
 
The wins put Grand Valley State at 6-0 on the young season, with a pair of games on Monday night. GVSU will face GLVC opponent Quincy at 5:00 p.m., followed by a 7:00 p.m. game against Minnesota Duluth.
 
In the first game on Sunday, GVSU and Sioux Falls (6-3) were scoreless heading into the bottom of the third inning. Sophomore Kaylie Rhynard and junior Kelsey Dominguez notched consecutive one-out singles and Rhynard came around to score on an RBI double to left field from junior Jenna Lenza.
 
Two batters later, junior Ellie Balbach smacked an opposite field three-run homer, also scoring Lenza and senior McKenze Supernaw, who reached on a fielder's choice. Sophomore pitcher Courtney Reinhold delivered a 1-2-3 fourth inning and received two more runs of support in the bottom of the frame.
 
Sophomore AJ Castle drilled a one-out solo home run in the fourth, upping the lead to 5-0. The Lakers tacked on another run on a three-base Sioux Falls error.
 
After Sioux Falls made the score 5-1 in the fifth inning, freshman Rachel Terwilliger singled with two outs. Classmate Shannon Flaherty followed and hit the first home run of her Laker career to push the score to 8-1. The three roundtrippers are the first homers for Grand Valley State this season, after the Lakers played four games at an indoor tournament last weekend and did not tally a home run.
 
Reinhold cruised through the final two innings, notching a pair of strikeouts and four groundouts in consecutive 1-2-3 innings. She improved to 1-0 on the season, allowing one run on five hits in a complete game performance. The sophomore righty did not allow a walk, struck out four batters, and notched 11 groundouts.
 
Balbach went 2-for-3 with three RBI, while Flaherty added two RBI on her homer. Dominguez was 2-for-3 and Rhynard crossed home plate twice.
 
All the scoring GVSU would need against #20 Winona State (9-2) came in the Lakers' first at-bat. A two-out WSU error extended the first inning for Grand Valley State and the Lakers capitalized on the mistake. Balbach delivered a two-out, two-run double to right center field to score Lenza (fielder's choice) and Supernaw (reached on an error). Flaherty followed Balbach's double with one her own, a two-bagger down the right field line to bring Balbach in for a 3-0 Laker lead.
 
That is all the run support senior Sara Andrasik would need. The right hander tossed a complete game shutout, allowing only six singles in seven innings. She walked four batters and struck out five to move to 2-0 on the season.
 
Andrasik struck out a pair of batters in the second inning and fanned the last two Winona State batters in the seventh inning to clinch the victory. In between, Lenza helped Andrasik get out of a jam in the fifth inning. With runners on the corners and one out, Lenza fielded a comebacker up the middle, stepped on second, and threw to first for the inning-ending double play.
 
Flaherty was the lone Laker with multiple hits in the nightcap, as she was 2-for-3 with a single, double, and an RBI. Balbach totaled five RBI in the two games, plating three with a homer in game one and two more ribbies with her game two double.