at Davenport (DH)
Friday (April 6)
3:30 p.m. & 5:30 p.m.
Live Stats
Video
 
at Purdue Northwest (DH)
Saturday (April 7)
2:00 p.m. & 4:00 p.m.
Live Stats
Video
 
The #15-nationally ranked Grand Valley State softball team is set to travel to Davenport and Purdue Northwest for a couple of doubleheaders this weekend (April 6-7). The Lakers will put their 13-game winning streak on the line against the Panthers on Friday, April 6th, with a pair of games at 3:30 and 5:30 p.m. in Grand Rapids, Mich. before heading down to Hammond, Ind. to take on the Pride at 2:00 and 4:00 p.m. GVSU currently sports a 21-5 overall record and a clean 8-0 record against GLIAC competition but have played in just two true road doubleheaders, where they are 2-2 so far this season. The Panthers currently own a 19-10 overall record and a 4-4 mark in the conference but will face the Tiffin Dragons in a doubleheader this afternoon (April 5th). Purdue Northwest is currently 17-12 this season and 7-5 against conference opponents and will carry that record into the game this Saturday.
 
The Lakers traveled to Detroit, Mich. this past Monday (April 2) as they took on GLIAC rival Wayne State where they were able to nab both games of the doubleheader by scores of 6-1 and 4-1, respectively. Pitching was once again the name of the game for the Lakers, as Allison Lipovksy (10-2) and Allie Grys (7-1) each earned a complete game victory on the afternoon. Lipovsky got the nod in game one and delivered with a 115-pitch six-hitter where she allowed just one run while striking out eight and walking two. Grys came back for game two and kept the Warrior lineup befuddled, as Wayne State's lone run was unearned while Grys tallied four K's and allowed just four hits.
 
The Grand Valley State pitching squad, that also includes freshman Hannah Beatus (4-2), has been able to completely shut down opposing batters so far this season, as they lead the GLIAC in nearly every pitching category, including ERA (1.65), strikeouts (220), K's/7 innings (9.06), and hits allowed (126), while ranking second in walks issued (37). The trio has also combined to own a 5.64 strikeout-to-walk ratio, which is not only tops in the GLIAC, but also in the entire Division II landscape.
 
Despite their gaudy pitching numbers, the Laker lineup demands respect as well, as evidenced by their performance against a Wayne State pitching staff that has allowed just 1.96 runs per game this season, which is second in the conference. Against the Warriors, GVSU racked up 10 runs on 16 hits in the doubleheader, including four extra base hits. Freshman Brooke Henning set the pace for the Lakers, as she tallied four hits in seven at-bats (.571) and tallied two RBI's. Fellow freshman Taylor Rieger tallied three hits in the series with a team-high three RBI's while Kaylie Rhynard and Bailey Thatcher both picked up a pair of hits as well.
 
In terms of overall average, the Lakers rank second in the conference at .323 but that number jumps to .335 in league play, tops overall, where they are 8-0 to start the season.
 
Davenport, the Lakers first opponent of the weekend, got off to a blazing start to the season, winning 12 of their first 14 contests. Lately however, the Panthers have cooled off as they have dropped four of their last 10, including three straight. They split a doubleheader with Ferris State last weekend (Mar. 25) before dropping a pair of midweek contests to Wayne State on Wednesday, Mar. 28. Once again, the Panthers will travel to Tiffin, Ohio to take on the Dragons before GVSU comes to town.
 
Much of the Panther's success this season has come on the arm of junior Mallory Teunissen, who is 12-4 with a 0.69 ERA in 17 appearances and 102.0 innings pitched. Teunissen, who leads the GLIAC in wins and ERA, will present the rolling Laker lineup with some problems. Freshman Ellie Muilenburg is 7-6 in her young career after making 14 starts and collecting a 3.70 ERA in the process. That pair has pitched nearly every inning for Davenport so far this season as just one other play, Kelli Nyenhuis, has stepped into the circle and she tossed just 1.1 innings.
 
Offensively, the Panthers sport a trio of players batting over the .300 mark. Alexa Flores leads the way with a .333 average and a team-high 29 hits and 21 RBI's. Rachel Griffin (.321) has picked up 17 hits on the season while Briana Allen (.307) has tallied 23 hits and 15 RBI's as well. As a team, Davenport ranks second to last in terms of batting average but they make up for it with their dominant pitching as their 75 total runs allowed is second in the conference, just behind the Lakers.
 
GVSU's second opponent of the weekend, Purdue Northwest, has been up and down in their last six games after putting up an even 3-3 record during that time, earning splits with Tiffin, Wayne State, and Ashland.
 
The Pride sport one of the league's more powerful offenses, as they rank first in both RBI's (151) and triples (13), second in homeruns (21), third in SLG% (.464) and doubles (47), but have also tallied the second most strikeouts in the league with 144 K's. Kyleigh Payne is batting .487 and has belted a team-high five homers and eight triples and ranks second on the squad with 22 RBI's. Samme Miller holds the team lead with 23 RBI's and is batting .337 while Kaylyn Learnard (.333), Tessa Steffens (.308), and Taylor Mendenhall (.300) are all also batting over the .300 threshold.
 
PNW has used three different pitchers with regularity so far this season. Courtney Blackwell (4-5) has seen the most innings at 58.1 while Mia Stevens (7-3) and Samantha Burgard (4-2) aren't far behind at 54.0 and 46.0 innings pitched, respectively. Combined they sport a 3.40 ERA and have held opposing batters to a .285 average.
 
Following this weekend's games, the Lakers will play a trio of doubleheaders throughout the week, as they host Davenport (April 9) before heading to Saginaw Valley State (April 11) and Tiffin (April 12).