Tournament Homepage | Lakers in GLIAC Tournament History
 
vs. Ferris State (Sandusky, Ohio)
Friday (May 4)
10:00 AM
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After taking home the 2018 GLIAC Regular Season Title, the #9-nationally ranked Laker softball team now has their sights set on the conference tournament crown. As the #1-seed in this year's postseason tournament, the Lakers will face #8-seeded Ferris State in the first round with the teams set to square off on Friday, May 4 at 10:00 AM. Use the links above to follow along with the action. This year's conference tournament will have a different look than previous year's, as it will be held at Force Sports Parks in Sandusky, Ohio. Prior to the venue change, the tournament had been held at Marathon Diamonds Complex in Findlay, Ohio for six years.
 
The Lakers and Bulldogs played just twice during the regular season, as one of their two scheduled doubleheaders was cancelled due to inclement weather. GVSU was the winner of both games of the doubleheader, winning by scores of 3-0 and 2-0. This will be the 13th meeting between the Lakers and Bulldogs in the GLIAC Tournament – and the first since 2012 – with GVSU holding the 8-5 edge overall. 
 
GVSU, the preseason favorite to win the title, finished with a 24-2 (.923) conference record (37-7 overall), which outpaced the 17-13 second place Davenport Panthers by a healthy margin. During the season, GVSU managed to rattle off 21-straight games from Mar. 8-Apr. 21, to tie the second longest streak in program history, and at one point held the longest active streak in Division II. 16 of those 21 wins also came in against GLIAC competition, as GVSU started 16-0 in conference play.  
 
Below are the opening round matchups for Friday, May 4:
 
10:00 AM - #1 Grand Valley State (37-7, 24-2) vs. #8 Ferris State (17-29, 11-19)
 
10:00 AM - #4 Purdue Northwest (25-24, 15-17) vs. #5 Tiffin (25-26, 13-15)
 
12:30 PM - #3 Saginaw Valley State (25-23, 16-14) vs. #6 Ashland (23-23, 13-15)
 
12:30 PM - #2 Davenport (32-19, 17-13) vs. #7 Northwood (24-21, 12-16)
 
The winning and losing teams from each timeslot will face each other in a game later in the day, meaning the Lakers will face either #4 Purdue Northwest or #5 Tiffin. If the Lakers lose to Ferris State, they will play at 2:30 PM and if they beat Ferris State, they will play at 4:30 PM. As the tournament is set up for double-elimination, play will continue on Saturday and Sunday (May 5-6), with the championship game and the "if necessary" game being played on Sunday. 
 
At the forefront of the Lakers success this season is their pitching staff. The trio of junior Allison Lipovsky, senior Allie Grys, and freshman Hannah Beatus have put together an impressive regular season resume and will look to continue their success into the postseason. The three have combined for the second lowest ERA in the entire NCAA Division II field, allowing just 1.15 runs per game, the second most shutouts with 21, and the third best strikeout-to-walk ratio at 5.11. This trio also leads the GLIAC conference in nearly every pitching category, including ERA, strikeouts (and strikeouts per seven innings), earned runs, total runs, hits allowed, and opponent batting average. 
 
Lipovsky, who was selected as one of just 25 finalists for the national player of the year award, has been one of the dominant forces in Division II this season. She currently ranks first in both strikeout-to-walk ratio (11.95) and strikeouts per seven innings (12.2) and second in shutouts (12) while ranking third in both ERA (0.72) and total strikeouts (239), and fourth in hits allowed per seven innings (3.37). Grys isn't far behind her teammate, as her 1.01 ERA currently ranks eighth in DII, while ranking inside the top-50 nationally in a handful of other categories as well. 
 
GVSU hasn't been a slouch in the batter's box this season however. As a team, the Lakers are batting .325, racking up 381 hits. GVSU's .386 on-base percentage is first in the conference while they rank second in both slugging percentage (.458) and fewest strikeouts (139). 
 
Senior Teagan Shomin and redshirt junior Kaylie Rhynard are both batting over the .400 mark, as Shomin is hitting .431 and also leads the team with a .531 on-base percentage, while Rhynard is hitting .418 with a team high 61 hits. Freshman Nikoma Holmen is batting .361 and has knocked in a conference leading 47 runs and leads the team with a .612 slugging percentage. Fellow freshman Brooke Henning, Bailey Thatcher, and Taylor Rieger are batting .350, .330, and .311, respectively. 
 
This will be the Lakers 33rd GLIAC Tournament appearance, as they have competed in every conference tournament that has been played (2004 and 2010 tournaments were cancelled due to inclement weather).