The No. 10 Grand Valley State softball team swept the No. 19 Cedarville Yellow Jackets on Saturday afternoon (March 16) as they improve to 16-2 on the season while the Yellow Jackets fall to 15-5. GVSU took game one, 1-0, behind a no-hit, 14 strikeout, two walk gem from senior righty Allison Lipovsky before taking game 10-0 in five innings after the bats came alive for the mercy rule victory. 
 
The no-hitter was the third in Lipovsky's career as she moves to 9-0 on the season with nine complete games, six shutouts, and a 0.56 ERA. She's struck out 91 batters to just 10 walks in her 62.0 innings in the circle as opposing lineups are hitting just .127 against her (27-212). Beatus went the distance in game two, which turned out to be just five innings, as she struck out six and issued zero walks while allowing just two hits. 
 
Junior Kelcie LaTour delivered the game-winning hit in the first game as she went 1-2 with the RBI while Nikoma Holmen and Shannon Flaherty were 2-3. The Lakers tallied a 13-hit parade in game two, led by Taylor Rieger (2-4, 3 RBI, 2 R), Holmen (2-3, 2 R), Brooke Henning (2-3, 3 RBI, 2 R), and Rachel Terwilliger (2-3). 
 
Game One (W, 1-0)
Offense was hard to come by for either team in this one as Lipovsky dominated the Cedarville lineup all afternoon long. The Lakers managed seven hits but pushed across just one run but that turned out to be enough in the end. 
 
Goble started things off with a single up the middle before moving to second on a Rhynard sac bunt but was out at third as runners sat at first and second with two out. A Henning walk would load the bases but a strikeout would end the early threat. Lipovsky would get to work early, striking out the side in the bottom of the first. 
 
She tallied at least two more strikeouts in the second, third, fourth, and fifth innings to keep the Yellow Jackets in check but the Laker offense was only able to scatter a few singles in that time until the lone run of the game came for them in the bottom of the fifth. 
 
A foul out and ground out would put the Lakers in a tough spot to start but a single off the bat of Flaherty was followed by a double ripped off the bat of LaTour to push the run across. Lipovsky would tack on two more strikeouts in the sixth and seventh innings as she would get her ninth win of the season. 
 
Goble would wind up 2-4 at the plate while Holmen would go 2-3, LaTour 1-2 with the lone RBI of the game, and Flaherty 2-3 scoring that lone run scored. 
 
Game Two (W, 10-0 – 5 inn.)
Both teams would go 1-2-3 to start the second game of the afternoon before GVSU would push two across in the top of the second. Henning would triple to right center field before Flaherty drew a full-count walk that set up LaTour for an RBI groundout as Henning raced home for the first run of the game. Terwilliger would then single to second before a throwing error by the second baseman would allow Flaherty to turn the corner and race home for the 2-0 Laker lead. 
 
Beatus would get another 1-2-3 inning from the Yellow Jackets as she induced a groundout and back to back pop ups to send the Lakers back up to the plate. 
 
GVSU would quickly start to pile it on from this point. A bunt single from Rhynard started the third before she would score all the way from first as Rieger blasted a double to center. A single from Holmen would be followed by a bomb to right center field from Henning as her homer would go for three runs to put the Lakers up 6-0. 
 
Beatus would give up just one of her two hits on the afternoon in the third after a weak grounder would escape the infielders and go for a hit. 
 
The Lakers would close out their scoring in the top of the fourth after Goble would smash a homer over the right centerfield fence before a Rhynard double was followed by yet another Laker home run, this time off the bat of Rieger, as they went up 9-0. Holmen smashed a triple following the latest homer and would eventually score on a wild pitch to put the Lakers up 10, 10-0.
 
An error would put the leadoff runner on but two straight strikeouts off the hand of Beatus and a final groundout would put the mercy rule into effect as the Lakers would take game two by a 10-0 margin. 
 
GVSU will be back in action on tomorrow (Sunday, March 17) when they travel to Columbus, Ohio to take on the Panthers of Ohio Dominican in a doubleheader starting at 12:00 PM.