Grand Valley State swept its sixth consecutive GLIAC doubleheader on Sunday afternoon (Apr. 24) in Allendale, as the Lakers captured two big victories over Hillsdale in the regular season finale. The teams started the day tied for second place in conference play, but GVSU notched 7-1 and 3-0 wins over the Chargers to close out the regular season.

Heading into Sunday's finale - a rescheduled doubleheader from mid-April - both Grand Valley State and Hillsdale were tied for second in the GLIAC standings with identical 19-5 records. Due to a tiebreaker however, the Lakers would need to win both games from the Chargers to clinch the #2 seed in next weekend's GLIAC Tournament in Findlay, Ohio.

GVSU did just that, pushing its winning streak to 13 consecutive games, the longest since the 2013 Lakers won 14 in a row from March 8th to April 3rd of that year. It is also tied for the third-longest winning streak since the 2003 season, when Grand Valley State rattled off 30 consecutive victories.

With the doubleheader sweep, the Lakers end the regular season with a 36-8 record and a 21-5 mark in conference play. Hillsdale closes the campaign with a 24-10 record and a 19-7 mark in league action. GVSU will be the #2 seed in next week's GLIAC Tournament, while Hillsdale is the #3 seed, as the teams could potentially meet again in tournament play.

Despite the final 7-1 score in game one, the opening contest started off as a pitcher's duel. With two outs in the bottom of the second inning, freshman Shannon Flaherty reached on a fielding error. Three pitches later, junior Kelsey Dominguez doubled to left field, as Flaherty raced all the way around the bases to score the game's first run.

Neither team would score in the third or fourth innings, as sophomore Courtney Reinhold set down seven straight batters entering the fourth. Reinhold worked around a leadoff error in the fourth frame and used a flyout and a groundout to escape the jam. 

There was a huge defensive play by the Lakers in the fifth inning that kept GVSU with a 1-0 lead. Hillsdale put runners on first and second base with one out. Shortstop Katie Kish hit a hard grounder to second baseman Jenna Lenza, who fielded the ball, ran at the runner and tagged her, then threw to first base for the inning-ending double play.

That seemed to spark the Grand Valley State offense, as the Lakers would notch six runs on five hits in the bottom of the fifth inning. Senior Chelsea Horvath crushed a one-out solo homer to dead center field for her first roundtripper of the season. Sophomore Teagan Shomin was then hit by a pitch and junior Janae Langs singled to left field.

With two of the fastest Laker runners on base, sophomore Kaylie Rhynard drilled a pitch to the right center field gap. Shomin crossed home plate first, immediately followed by Langs, and Rhynard slid into third base for a two-run triple. Lenza followed Rhynard's triple with a two-bagger down the left field line, as the double gave GVSU a 5-0 cushion.

Senior McKenze Supernaw continued her recent hot stretch by hitting a towering two-run homer down the left field line, putting the Lakers up 7-0. It was her seventh homer of the season, her second in as many days, and her fourth roundtripper of the week.

That six-run inning would be more than enough for Reinhold. She allowed a sixth inning run, but forced three groundouts in the seventh inning to earn the complete game victory. Reinhold is now 8-3 on the year, allowing one run on six hits. She did not walk a batter and struck out three Chargers.

Seven different Lakers scored a run in the opener, while Dominguez (2-for-3, two doubles) was the lone player with more than one hit. Rhynard (triple) and Supernaw (home run) each had two RBI.

Game two also started off as a pitcher's duel and despite Supernaw and junior Ellie Balbach notching back-to-back singles to start the second inning, neither team would score until the third inning. Langs notched a one-out single in the third, then stole second base for her eighth steal of the year. Rhynard followed with a sharp single to center field and Langs quickly came in to score the opening run of the contest.

After allowing a walk in each of the first two innings, Balbach worked around a one-out error in the third inning to keep the Lakers in front 1-0. Balbach gave up a one-out single in the fourth inning, but used a flyout and popup to avoid any further trouble. It would end up as Hillsdale's only hit in game two.

In the fifth inning, Langs singled with one out. Rhynard followed with a single to left field and Lenza loaded the bases with a single to right field. Supernaw lifted a flyball to medium deep center field, easily allowing Langs to tag up and score on the sacrifice fly, giving GVSU a 2-0 advantage.

Balbach came out in the fifth and retired the Chargers in order on just six pitches, completing her five-inning stint. She was relieved by senior Sara Andrasik, who received one final opportunity to pitch on the team's home field in Allendale. Andrasik set down Hillsdale with a 1-2-3 sixth inning.

The Lakers tallied one final run in the seventh. Langs again reached on a one-out single and moved all the way to third base on a Rhynard sacrifice bunt attempt that turned into a Hilldsale error. Lenza's flyball to right field turned into a sacrifice fly, as Langs came home to score her third round of the game.

Despite a one-out hit by pitch, Andrasik used a flyout to end a 10-pitch at-bat for the second out and the senior struck out the final batter she faced on her home field to end the ballgame. Balbach (6-2) earns the victory by allowing just one hit in five innings of a 55-pitch effort. She walked two and struck out three. Andrasik records her third save of the season by tossing two hitless innings, while striking out two Chargers.

GVSU outhit Hillsdale 10-1 in game two. Langs was 3-for-4 and scored all three of the Lakers runs. Rhynard, Lenza, and Balbach each collected two hits, with Balbach's fourth inning double being the lone extra base hit of the game.

The Lakers will face seventh-seeded Findlay in the opening round of the GLIAC Tournament on Friday (Apr. 29) at noon. Findlay is the last team to defeat Grand Valley State, as the Oilers won 2-1 in Allendale on Apr. 14. GVSU won the second game of the doubleheader with the Oilers (5-3) to start its current 13-game winning streak.

In 30 previous appearances in the GLIAC Tournament, Grand Valley State is 71-57. The team's last conference tournament championship came in 2006 in Midland, Mich.