The Grand Valley State softball team split a pair of games at the GLIAC Tournament on Friday (Apr. 29) in Findlay, Ohio, staying alive in the conference tournament and advancing to Saturday's (Apr. 30) action. GVSU dropped a 5-0 decision to the host school Findlay in both team's opening game before the Lakers responded by topping Hillsdale 6-3 in an elimination game in the afternoon.

Entering the conference tournament, Grand Valley State was riding a 13-game winning streak and earned the #2 seed in the GLIAC Tournament. The Lakers managed only five hits against a pair of Oiler hurlers, as #7 Findlay (30-19) shut out the Lakers in the morning contest. Oddly enough, Findlay was also the last time to defeat GVSU before the Lakers began their 13-game winning streak.

Facing elimination on the opening day, Grand Valley State drew another tough opponent, as #3 Hillsdale dropped its opening game to #6 Saginaw Valley State, 3-0. The Lakers, however, jumped to a 3-0 lead and managed a 6-3 victory over Hillsdale (26-12), knocking the Chargers out of the tournament. Entering the weekend action, GVSU was the #3 seed in the Midwest Region and Hillsdale was the sixth seed in the regional rankings.

The Lakers will need to stave off elimination again on Saturday (Apr. 30), as Grand Valley State will face Ashland at 8:00 a.m., as the game times were pushed up to avoid potential rainfall later in the afternoon. 

Despite earning the #2 seed, the Lakers drew a tough first opponent, as not only was Findlay playing on its home field, but the Oilers have the 2016 GLIAC Pitcher of the Year in sophomore lefty Chelsea McManaway. The southpaw, however, is battling an injury and surprisingly did not start the contest for Findlay.

Unfortunately, GVSU was unable to capitalize on McManaway's early absence. The Lakers did collect a pair of hits in the first inning off of Oiler hurler Hailey Bryan, but a groundout ended the potential scoring threat. 

The game was scoreless in the third inning when Findlay put two runners on base against GVSU starter Sara Andrasik with a one-out walk and a two-out hit by pitch. After the runners moved to second and third base, UF's Lauren Trumpler singled to right field, putting the Oilers on top 2-0 with just one hit in the inning. 

Senior McKenze Supernaw notched a one-out single in the fourth inning, prompting Findlay to bring McManaway in to pitch in relief of Bryan. McManaway used a groundout and flyout to get out of the fourth inning. 

GVSU's best scoring chance in the game came in the fifth inning, still trailing 2-0. Junior Kelsey Dominguez led off with a bloop single against McManaway, while senior Chelsea Horvath drew an 11-pitch walk. Sophomore Teagan Shomin was hit by a 2-2 pitch, loading the bases for the top of the lineup. After a strikeout kept the bases loaded, sophomore Kaylie Rhynard hit a grounder to the right side that appeared like it would get through the Findlay defense, however the ball hit Shomin as she ran from first to second base. That prompted a dead ball, Shomin was out on the play, and the bases remained loaded. McManaway then retired junior Jenna Lenza, who ripped a groundball to third base for the third out.

Findlay added two runs in the sixth inning and a solo homer in the seventh for the final result. 

Andrasik (12-3) was saddled with the loss, as she allowed two runs on three hits in three innings. She walked two batters and struck out two. Sophomore Courtney Reinhold gave up three runs on five hits in four innings, totaling one walk and three strikeouts.

Supernaw was the lone Laker with multiple hits, as she was 2-for-3. All five GVSU hits were singles.

The loss meant Grand Valley State drew a Hillsdale team that the Lakers had just defeated twice last Sunday in Allendale. Again, these were two of the top three teams in the league during the regular season, meeting in an elimination game.

After two quiet innings, GVSU started the scoring in the third frame. Sophomore Tanner Kiessel kickstarted the offense with a single to right field and moved to second base on a one-out bunt single from Langs. The Lakers loaded the bases on a misplayed sacrifice bunt from Rhynard, then scored their first run when Lenza's sacrifice fly  brought in Kiessel. Supernaw and Balbach then connected on back-to-back singles to score Langs and Rhynard, respectively, and give the Lakers a 3-0 cushion.

Hillsdale responded with two runs in the top of the fourth inning on a two-run double, cutting the GVSU lead to 3-2. The Lakers, however, bounced right back to score in the home half of the fourth. Dominguez led off with a walk and moved to second base on a Kiessel sacrifice. Shomin followed by ripping a single to center field to score Dominguez for a 4-2 advantage.

The score stayed that way until the sixth inning when Hillsdale loaded the bases off of Laker starter Ellie Balbach on a pair of singles and a walk. Andrasik entered the game in relief of Balbach and although the Chargers scored on a sacrifice fly, Andrasik retired the next two batters on groundballs to escape the jam and preserve the 4-3 lead.

GVSU added two runs to its tally in the sixth stanza, when Dominguez led off with a single and Kiessel nearly homered to left field, settling for a stand-up double off the fence. Shomin followed with another RBI single, again bringing in Dominguez for the 5-3 advantage. Later in the inning, Rhynard's single up the middle scored Shomin for the game's final run.

Andrasik allowed only a two-out single in the seventh inning to close the game and earn her fourth save of the season. She gave up just one hit in 2.0 innings of relief. Balbach tallied the victory, moving to 7-2 on the year. The lefty gave up three runs on seven hits in 5.0 innings in the circle. She recorded three walks and five strikeouts.

Langs went 3-for-3 in the contest, while Balbach, Kiessel, and Shomin all collected two hits apiece. Shomin drove in two runs and Dominguez scored on both of those Shomin hits. 12 of GVSU's 13 hits were singles, with Kiessel's two-bagger being the only extra base hit for the Lakers.

Grand Valley State and Ashland split a pair of regular season games on Mar. 25 in Ohio. AU won the opener 6-5 before the Lakers bounced back to win game two, 4-3.