The #10 Grand Valley State softball team is set to close out their GLIAC regular season schedule with a home doubleheader against Purdue Northwest on Saturday, April 28 before hitting the road for doubleheaders at Ashland and Davenport on Sunday and Monday (Apr. 29-30). The Lakers game against PNW will serve as GVSU's annual Senior Day where the 2018 senior class, consisting of Courtney Reinhold, Teagan Shomin, Tanner Kiessel, Allie Grys, and Jessica Ramos, will be celebrated for their time in a Laker uniform before the first game of the twinbill. The Lakers will head into this weekend with a 31-7 overall record and an 18-2 mark in conference play.
 
The Lakers are in line to take home their second straight GLIAC Regular Season Title, as they are leading the pack heading into the final weekend of play before the postseason tournament, which they have already clinched a spot in. GVSU's 18-2 mark leads all teams, while Davenport (15-11), and Purdue Northwest (15-11) are chasing the Lakers in the number two and three spots, respectively. The GLIAC Tournament will take place next weekend, May 4-6, at the Sports Force Parks in Sandusky, Ohio.
 
Not only are the Lakers the #10-ranked team in the country, they have also held the top spot in the NCAA Midwest Regional Poll for the last two weeks. The top eight teams from the eight regions around the country will advance to the NCAA Tournament on May 11-13. There will be on more poll released next Wednesday (May 2) before the selection show, web streamed via NCAA.com, will announce this year's NCAA Tournament field. GVSU boasts a 27-7 record against in-region competition and are followed by Illinois Springfield (32-10), Indianapolis (28-13), McKendree (26-13), Missouri-St. Louis (23-16), Saginaw Valley State (19-17), Southern Indiana (19-17), and William Jewell (24-18), to round out the top-eight. Ashland (15-14) and Ohio Dominican (22-18) were the #9 and #10 teams, respectively.
 
Last weekend, the Lakers split a pair of doubleheaders with Ashland and Tiffin for their first two conference losses of the season. The loss to Ashland in game one of the twinbill also saw the Lakers impressive 21-game winning streak, tied for the second longest in program history, come to an end. GVSU then bounced back for a 7-0 victory in game two before taking down Tiffin in game one 11-2 and falling in game two, 5-4. GVSU almost pulled off a two-run comeback in the bottom of the seventh inning in the second game, as Shomin delivered a two-out double off of the wall in centerfield that almost left the park, to bring in a run and bring the Lakers within one, before Tiffin's centerfielder made a great catch against the wall in center off of the bat of Kaylie Rhynard.
 
On the season, the Lakers are batting .320 and are scoring just over five runs a game. Rhynard and Shomin lead the charge in terms of average, as they are batting .437 and .422 respectively. Rhynard has racked up a team high 55 hits while Shomins' .511 on-base percentage is leading the team. Freshman Nikoma Holmen has been the Lakers biggest source of run generation at the plate, as she has knocked in 41 runs, which is second in the GLIAC, and has blasted six homers as well. Fellow freshman Brooke Henning, Taylor Rieger, and Bailey Thatcher are all batting over .300 as well, with Rieger ranking second on the team with 28 RBI's.
 
In the circle, the trio of Allison Lipovsky, Allie Grys, and Hannah Beatus have been a nightmare for opposing lineups. Their combined ERA of 1.29 is second in the entire Division II field, while their 18 shutouts and 5.61 strikeout-to-walk ratio also rank second in the nation. Individually, Lipovsky leads the country with her 11.33 strikeout-to-walk ratio and 12.1 strikeouts per seven innings, while ranking second in shutouts (10), and fourth in ERA (0.83). Grys isn't far behind her teammate, as she ranks 11th in the country and second in the conference with a 1.05 ERA, and 20th with six shutouts. Beautus' 6.8 strikeouts per seven is also third in the GLIAC.
 
The Lakers first opponent of the weekend, Purdue Northwest, currently sport a 24-19 overall record and a 14-12 record against GLIAC competition. The Pride are strong offensively, as they are near the top of the league in most offensive statistical categories, including a conference-high 246 runs scored and 216 RBI's. However, the Pride are in the bottom half of the conference with their .282 team batting average and have tallied the second most strikeouts with 210 on the season.
 
The Pride's Kyleigh Payne is batting .451 and leads the team in nearly every offensive stat, including RBI's, home runs, hits, and total bases. PNW then has four other players batting at least .300 in Samme Miller (.313), Kalyn Learnard (.304), Taylor Kotzo (.303), and Taylor Mendenhall (.302). In the circle, Courtney Blackwell (90.0 IP), Samantha Burgard (89.0 IP), and Mia Stevens (67.1 IP) have all seen extensive time. All three sport seven wins on the season while Blackwell leads the way with a 3.19 ERA.
 
Ashland, who handed GVSU their first regular season conference loss last weekend, are 19-21 overall and 9-13 in the league. The Eagles split a doubleheader with SVSU yesterday (Apr. 25) and are playing Ferris State this afternoon (Apr. 27). The Eagles are hitting .289 as a team while their pitching staff boasts a 3.31 ERA.
 
Kylie Asmus, Paige Summers, and Camille Pollutro lead the Eagles offense, as they are batting .373, .368, and .353, respectively. Summers has been the main source of RBI's for the Eagles as she has tallied 28 this season, while Asmus and Pollutro aren't far behind with 20 and 19.
 
Hannah Stroe and Paige McMenemy have seen a majority of the time in the circle for the Eagles, as they are 7-9 and 7-8, respectively, while Laney Jones has seen almost 60 innings of work and boasts a 4-4 record.
 
Davenport currently ranks second in the conference behind the Lakers, as they sport a 30-17 overall record and a 15-11 mark in the conference. The Panthers have been solid in the circle all season long, especially on the arm of Mallory Teunissen, who has pitched 169.0 innings this season and owns a 20-7 record and a 1.45 ERA. Ellie Muilenburg has also seen a lot of time with the ball in her hand, as she has tossed 133.2 innings and is an even 10-10 overall with a 4.14 ERA.
 
In the batter's box, Alexa Flores leads the Panthers with a .390 average, as she has racked up team high's in hits (57), doubles (16), home runs (9), and RBI (42). Also batting over the .300 mark is Rachel Griffin, who is hitting .318, and has scored 16 times. Along with Flores and Griffin (24), Selene Pauley (24), Jewell Madison (23), Alexis Koza (21), and Briana Allen (20) have all recorded at least 20 RBI.
 
Again, following this weekend's full schedule, the Lakers will participate in the 2018 GLIAC Tournament on May 4-6 in Sandusky, Ohio.