Grand Valley State continued its hot streak and used terrific pitching and timely hitting to push its winning streak to seven games in a row, as the Lakers swept Saint Joseph's in Rensselaer, Ind. on Tuesday (Apr. 11). GVSU notched a 7-1 win in the opener before clinching the sweep with a 2-0 victory in the nightcap over the Pumas.
 
Sophomore Allison Lipovsky - the back-to-back GLIAC Pitcher of the Week - notched a 13-strikeout performance in the opening game victory before juniors Courtney Reinhold and Allie Grys combined to blank Saint Joseph's in game two on only five hits.
 
The Lakers have won seven consecutive games and 10 of their last 12 contests. Overall, GVSU is 19-15 on the season, while Saint Joseph's falls to 13-24. This weekend, Grand Valley State stays on the road with a Friday (Apr. 14) twinbill at Northwood and a Saturday (Apr. 15) matchup at Saginaw Valley State.
 
Game One (W, 7-1)
 
GVSU had a very balanced lineup in the opener, as all nine Laker starters contributed to the 13-hit barrage. The Lakers notched runs in four different innings and led 4-0 before closing out the 7-1 opening game win.
 
Speed helped GVSU score its first run, as senior Janae Langs led off the game with a single, then stole second base, and came around to score on the first of two Teagan Shomin doubles in game one. Shomin moved over on a single from senior Jenna Lenza and scored on a fielder's choice off the bat of sophomore Shannon Flaherty.
 
The 2-0 lead doubled to 4-0 in the third inning. With two outs, freshman Kelcie LaTour singled to left field, then moved to second base on a passed ball. Flaherty ripped a single to center field that was misplayed by the Puma outfielder for an error, allowing not only LaTour to cross home plate, but Flaherty to race all the way around and score for a 4-0 Laker advantage.
 
Saint Joseph's was able to get a run on the board against Lipovsky - her first run allowed since her Apr. 2 start at Wayne State - on a solo homer, but the righty struck out two of the other three batters in the frame.
 
In the fourth, senior Kelsey Dominguez led off with a double to left center and advanced to third on a passed ball. Junior Marianne Deppe singled the opposite way to bring in Dominguez for a 5-1 cushion. Pinch runner Ali Vander Meer moved up on a wild pitch and over to third on a Tanner Kiessel single; both runners then advanced on another wild pitch, as Vander Meer crossed the plate and put GVSU in front 6-1.
 
The Lakers capped their scoring with another Shomin double, as this one brought in Kiessel, who singled with one out in the sixth inning.
 
In the circle, Lipovsky continued to cruise through the Puma lineup. She worked around a two-out single in the fourth inning to strike out the side. In both the fifth and sixth frames, she struck out the final two batters in each inning. With two outs in the seventh inning and a runner on base, Lipovsky struck out the final batter of the contest, sealing the win and setting a new personal best.
 
Lipovsky's 13 strikeouts are a new career-high, topping her previous best of 12 K's in a 5-0 win over Quincy on Mar. 7, 2016 as a true freshman. That is also the most punchouts in a game since Lauren Gevaart fanned 14 batters in a Mar. 2, 2014 game against Georgian Court; the Lakers won that game behind Gevaart's effort, 3-1.
 
Now 8-3 on the year, Lipovsky allowed one run on three hits in the complete game win. She walked two batters in her 117-pitch gem.
 
Offensively, nine Lakers collected at least one hit, with Langs, Shomin, Dominguez, and Kiessel tallying two apiece. Shomin added a pair of RBI and had two of the team's three doubles, with Dominguez tallying the other. Seven different GVSU players crossed home plate.
 
Game Two (W, 2-0)
 
The strong Laker pitching continued in game two, this time behind the starter Reinhold. However, Saint Joseph's had a couple of early scoring chances, loading the bases with one out in the second inning. Reinhold battled out of trouble to induce a flyout and a groundout to escape the jam and keep the game scoreless.
 
It looked as if Saint Joseph's would break through in the third inning, as leadoff batter Amanda Melzoni - SJC's game two starting pitcher - tripled to right center field. Melzoni never was able to come home, as Reinhold used a lineout and a pair of groundouts to again get out of trouble and hold the Pumas off the board.
 
GVSU rewarded Reinhold in its next at-bat. Lenza and LaTour notched back-to-back singles in the top of the fourth inning; both moved up on Flaherty's sacrifice bunt. Junior Jessica Ramos singled to left field to bring in Lenza for the game's first run. Dominguez then drove in pinch runner Jenna Czart with a sacrifice fly to right field to up the Laker edge to 2-0.
 
The Pumas placed runners on the corners with two outs in the fourth inning, but Reinhold fielded a comebacker and recorded the out, keeping GVSU in front.
 
Grys relieved Reinhold in the fifth inning, allowing only a two-out walk, then struck out the side on swinging K's in the sixth. Grys had little trouble in the seventh inning, recording the final two outs on the ground and in the air, earning her first collegiate save for Grand Valley State.
 
Grys' three hitless innings of relief came after Reinhold allowed five hits in four innings of work, totaling 55 pitches. Reinhold is now 5-4 on the year.
 
Lenza was the only player for either team to tally more than one hit, as the senior was 2-for-3 with her 17th double of the year, which leads all GLIAC players.