vs. Ferris State (DH)
Sunday (March 18)
1:00 p.m. & 3:00 p.m.
Live Stats
 
Following an impressive 10-2 record over Spring Break to improve to 13-5 on the season, the #23 Grand Valley State softball team is set to open their GLIAC schedule with a twinbill against the Ferris State Bulldogs (6-10) on Sunday, March 18, beginning at 1:00 PM. GVSU, the reigning GLIAC Regular Season champions, currently boast the second best non-conference record in the league, trailing just Davenport (13-4). The Lakers will enter the contest as winners in their last five and nine of their last ten while the Bulldogs have taken three of their last five.
 
In Florida, the Lakers earned victories over then #1-ranked Minnesota State-Mankato and #14-ranked Southern Indiana. The winning pitcher in both of those games was junior Allison Lipovsky, the reigning Louisville Slugger/NFCA National Pitcher of the Week, who posted a stellar stat line in four games last week. Against Notre Dame (Ohio) the righty became just the second Laker in program history to toss a perfect game, tallying 14 strikeouts, no hits, no walks, and GVSU's defense had zero errors behind her. Lipovsky followed that performance up with three more wins over Cedarville, #14 Southern Indiana, and Illinois-Springfield to secure the national pitcher of the week award while also being named the GLIAC Pitcher of the Week as well. In her four wins, the junior tossed 28 innings, tallied 47 strikeouts to just one walk, held opponents to a .097 BA and posted a 0.25 ERA.
 
Lipovsky wasn't the only Laker pitcher to see success however. Senior Allie Grys tallied a 3-1 record in Florida to improve to 4-1 this season while freshman Hannah Beatus posted a 2-1 record to push her to 3-2 in her young Laker career. Just four days after Lipovsky's perfect game, Grys tallied a no-hitter against Bentley, the first no-no of her Laker career. The senior struck out nine and walked just three in five innings of work as GVSU mercied the Falcons, 8-0. On the same day as Grys' no-hitter, Beatus tossed a complete game against New York Institute where she tallied eight K's and allowed just three runs on four hits as the Lakers ended the game in five innings once again, 11-3.
 
While GVSU's pitching has been impressive as of late, it's offense has been on a tear as well. In Florida, the Laker offense churned out 73 runs while their defense and pitching allowed just 19. Kaylie Rhynard is batting an impressive .459 while picking up 28 hits, both of which lead the team, and is reaching base over 50% of the time. Teagan Shomin has posted a .379 BA this season and ranks first in runs scored (17) and second in both hits (22) and SLG% (.569). Freshman Nikoma Holmen has been the Lakers supplier of RBI's so far this season, tallying 21 a team-best 21 RBI and four homeruns, while hitting .356. Fellow freshman Taylor Rieger (.370, 17 H, 12 RBI), Bailey Thatcher (.341, 15 H, 6 RBI), and Brooke Henning (.227, 10 H, 7 RBI) have all had hot starts to their Laker careers.
 
As a team, the Lakers offense ranks second in the GLIAC in batting average, hitting .318, while ranking second in both runs scored and RBI with 103 and 98, respectively. Their .385 OBP and .452 SLG% both rank second in the conference as well. As a pitching staff, GVSU's 2.23 ERA is third in the league while it's combined 149 K's and 8.99K's per seven innings are both tops in the conference. Individually, Rhynard's .459 BA ranks third in the conference, while Holmen's 21 RBI and Kelcie LaTours 15 RBI rank first and second, respectively. Lipovsky's 84 strikeouts leads the GLIAC and her six wins are tied for second most.
 
Ferris State's offense has struggled at the plate so far this season compared to other teams in the conference, as they currently rank last at a .259 clip. Their 102 total hits as a team also rank ninth in the conference. Their pitching staff currently ranks eighth in the GLIAC with a 3.82 ERA. Where it's pitchers excel is in consistency, as they have only issued 27 total walks this season, the second lowest mark in the conference.
 
Despite their below average offense as a team, the Bulldogs feature a trio of seniors who can put a charge into the ball. Emily Smith is currently hitting .400 while Emily Reed and Lexee Summers are batting .378 and .326, respectively, and each has tallied 14 hits. Summers has launched a team-high three homers and also leads with 9 RBI and is slugging .558. Smith is a nightmare when she gets on the bases, as she has swiped eight bases and has only been caught once.
 
FSU features just a pair of pitchers, with a majority of the workload falling on senior Sam Bates and sophomore Abby Highway. Bates has tossed 38.0 innings and holds a 3.50 ERA in nine appearances. She has tallied 16 K's and six walks and has yet to give up a homer. Highway is just behind Bates with 30.2 innings pitched and leads the team with 18 strikeouts. The sophomore is 1-3 on the season and sports a 3.42 ERA in her seven appearances. Hannah Leppek and Katie Ross are the other Bulldogs to step into the circle this season, combining for 26.2 innings and nine strikeouts.
 
Following Sunday's game against the Bulldogs, the Lakers will have just a few days off before hosting Northwood on Saturday, March 24 and Saginaw Valley State on Sunday, March 25.