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Festival Schedule of Events
 
Grand Valley State begins its third appearance in the NCAA Division II College World Series on Tuesday afternoon (May 17) in the opening game of the 2016 National Championships Festival in Denver, Colo. The Lakers - champions of the Midwest Region for third time - match up with West Texas A&M, the South Central region champions, the #1 nationally ranked team, and the 2014 National Champions.
 
To kick off the opening day of competition at the Division II Softball Championship, GVSU and the Lady Buffs will face off at 2:00 p.m. ET (12:00 p.m. MDT). The Grand Valley State-West Texas A&M clash is the first of four Tuesday games featuring all eight teams remaining in the national tournament, following a double-elimination format. 
 
Here is Tuesday's schedule at the College World Series in Denver, with games being played at Regency Athletic Complex Softball Field:
 
Game 1: Grand Valley State (43-11) vs. #1 West Texas A&M (58-3), 2:00 p.m. ET
 
Game 2: #16 Armstrong State (40-13) vs. #5 Humboldt State (50-5-1), 4:30 p.m. ET
 
Game 3: #3 North Alabama (54-6) vs. #15 Southern Arkansas (51-9), 7:00 p.m. ET
 
Game 4: Charleston (50-10) vs. Adelphi (34-20), 9:30 p.m. ET
 
GVSU advanced to Denver by winning the Midwest 1 Region Tournament in Indianapolis, Ind. from May 5-7 and then sweeping #10 Wayne State at the Midwest Super Regional in Detroit, Mich. on May 11-12. The Lakers went 6-1 over those two tournaments; all six victories were decided by two runs or less, with five wins coming by a slim one-run margin. Grand Valley State's last three victories - over Trevecca Nazarene in the sub-regional championship and both meetings with Wayne State in the Super Regional - were one-run victories. The Lakers are 15-3 in one-run games this season.
 
Overall, GVSU is 43-11, as the 43 victories are tied with the 1997 Laker team for eighth-most in school history. This week in Denver though, Grand Valley State is not only the lowest regionally ranked team in the tournament, but also one of just three teams remaining that was not ranked in the final regular season NFCA Top-25 national poll. Of the eight teams left, three were #1 regionally ranked squads, three more were #2 seeds, and there was one #3 seed. The Lakers were the #4 seed in a very tough Midwest Region which saw all three of its top seeds (Missouri-St. Louis, Indianapolis, and Wayne State) ranked inside the top-10 nationally.
 
West Texas A&M was not only one of the #1 regionally ranked teams, but the Lady Buffs collected all 16 first-place votes in the most recent national Top-25 poll. WT brings a 58-3 overall record into the College World Series by virtue of the top offense (.363 team batting average) in all of Division II. West Texas A&M also leads the nation in home runs (86) and slugging percentage (.677). The Lady Buffs have won each of the last two Lone Star Conference tournaments and recorded a 30-2 tally in conference games during the regular season.
 
Grand Valley State owns edges over West Texas A&M in overall NCAA Tournament appearances (GV: 14, WT: 6), consecutive tournament berths (GV: 6, WT: 4), trips to the World Series (GV: 3, WT: 2), and NCAA Tournament wins (GV: 42, WT: 24). The Lakers are 6-4 all-time at the College World Series level, going 4-2 and earning a national runner-up finish in 2002 before notching a 2-2 mark and finishing as one of the final four teams in the country during the 2013 World Series run. West Texas A&M is 4-0 all-time at the World Series level, winning all four of its games in the 2014 championship.
 
During this current six-year stretch of consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances, GVSU owns an 18-12 record, including a 7-3 mark in 2013 and a 6-1 tally this postseason.
 
The Lakers faced an uphill battle entering the seventh inning of the opening game in the Midwest Super Regional against #10 Wayne State last Wednesday (May 11). GVSU trailed the Warriors and GLIAC Player of the Year Lyndsay Butler by a 4-1 count entering its final at-bat, but five consecutive Lakers reached base and the team scored four runs on five hits to shock WSU by a 5-4 final.
 
In Thursday's game two, just one run was scored, but it came on a solo homerun in the second inning from GVSU's Ellie Balbach, also the starting pitcher for the Lakers in that contest. Balbach allowed just two base hit in five innings, combining with senior Sara Andrasik on a two-hit shutout victory. The duo recorded four 1-2-3 innings in the game, as Andrasik picked up her third save of the NCAA postseason. GVSU scored the final five runs of the Midwest Super Regional against its GLIAC rival.
 
Grand Valley State's upset over the higher-seed Warriors came four days after the Lakers staved off elimination with a pair of victories on Saturday (May 7) over Trevecca Nazarene, 4-2 and 2-1. With the 'if necessary' championship game tied at 1-1 in the sixth inning, junior Jenna Lenza dropped down a perfect suicide squeeze bunt to bring in classmate Janae Langs for the eventual game-winning run. Prior to that win, GVSU took down #2 Indianapolis by a 5-4 final score, plating three runs in the fifth inning off of All-American hurler Morgan Foley for the Greyhounds.
 
The Lakers' six NCAA victories this postseason have come by one, one, two, one, one, and one runs. Grand Valley State is a combined 21-5 in games decided by two runs or less and 25-1 when allowing fewer than two runs in a contest. GVSU also has outstanding records when it scores first (36-1) and leads after six innings (34-0), not to mention a 39-5 mark when it does not allow a home run.
 
Conversely, West Texas A&M is 40-2 when it hits at least one home run, but are also a strong 18-1 when it does not tally a roundtripper. Sophomore Ashley Hardin leads the Lady Buffs with 23 home runs and 78 RBI, both of which are second-best in the nation. Freshman Brittany Cruz and junior Shea Ibrahim are both double-digit home run hitters as well, with 15 and 13 dingers, respectively.
 
Attempting to shut down the lethal West Texas A&M offense is a GVSU pitching staff that ranks second in the GLIAC in shutouts (12), third in opponents batting average (.233), and fourth in ERA (2.15). Three Laker pitchers have recorded at least 10 victories, as Andrasik is 14-3 with a 2.01 ERA in a team-best 108.0 innings. Andrasik has recorded seven saves this year (10 for her career, second all-time at GVSU) and has retired 18 of the last 19 batters she has faced this postseason.
 
Righty Allison Lipovsky was named the GLIAC Freshman of the Year and brings an 11-1 overall record and a 0.98 ERA into the World Series. Her earned run average is ninth in all of Division II and the lowest of any freshman in the country. She has a team-high eight complete games and Laker-high 80 strikeouts. Sophomore Courtney Reinhold is 10-4 with a 2.75 ERA and has walked just 12 batters in 89.0 innings.
 
Balbach, the team's only lefty, is 8-3 with a 2.86 earned run average and has tossed 88.0 innings. All four GVSU pitchers are between 88.0 and 108.0 innings pitched. Balbach also has two saves, but her offense is equally as important. She leads Grand Valley State in batting average (.365), hits (65), doubles (16), and slugging percentage (.539), while ranking second in homers (five) and RBI (39). The only Laker with better power numbers is senior McKenze Supernaw, who has team-highs of seven home runs and 41 RBI, while tallying 14 doubles.
 
Sophomore Kaylie Rhynard is hitting .341 and leads GVSU with 35 runs scored, 13 sacrifice bunts, and is a perfect 21-for-21 on stolen bases. Her 61 hits trail only Balbach's 65 safeties. Lenza owns a .340 average with 15 doubles, three homers, 27 RBI, and a GLIAC-best 27 walks helps her lead the Lakers with a .426 on-base percentage.
 
After joining the team midway through the season after an outstanding basketball postseason, Langs is hitting .337 in 31 starts, totaling 33 hits and 19 runs scored. Sophomore Teagan Shomin ranks second with a .423 on-base percentage, as the shortstop has totaled 19 walks, 12 hit by pitches, and scored 31 runs on the year. Freshman Shannon Flaherty has held down the third base position, hitting .262 with six doubles, four triples, four home runs, and 31 RBI, the third-most on the team.
 
Joining Langs in the outfield is senior right fielder Chelsea Horvath, who drove in the winning run in the game one victory at Wayne State in the Midwest Super Regional and has collected six doubles and 16 RBI. Junior left fielder Kelsey Dominguez is hitting .259 with 15 runs, six doubles, 13 walks, and 14 RBI.
 
Grand Valley State and West Texas A&M have never met before on the softball diamond. The winner plays at 2:00 p.m. ET (12:00 p.m. MDT) on Wednesday (May 18), while the losing team plays at 7:00 p.m. ET (5:00 p.m. MDT).
 
Regardless of the outcome, GVSU will face either #16 Armstrong State or #5 Humboldt State in its second game of the College World Series on Wednesday. The 2016 National Championship three-game series is scheduled for Friday (May 20) and Saturday (May 21).