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The #8 nationally-ranked Grand Valley State softball team will finally play on their home field when they host Wisconsin-Parkside tomorrow (March 27) at the GVSU Softball Field in a doubleheader slated to start at 3:30 PM. The Lakers already have 22 games under their belt this season and are 19-3 overall and 3-1 in Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) action. They most recently swept #15 Wayne State in a doubleheader before splitting with the Ashland Eagles when they opened their conference schedule last weekend (March 23-24). Parkside enters the twin bill with an 0-20 mark overall and an 0-2 mark in conference play.
 
The Laker pitching staff has been nothing short of dominant so far this season as it currently ranks first in the entire country with an earned run average (ERA) of 0.94 and second with a 6.92 strikeout-to-walk ratio. As a combined unit, they have struck out 173 batters and issued just 25 walks in their 148.2 innings of work. 
 
Laker ace Allison Lipovsky has posted a 10-1 record and seven shutouts in 11 complete games this season and ranks second in the nation with a 0.53 ERA. Her seven shutouts its currently tied for first nationally while her 10.2 strikeouts per seven innings is sixth as she's gotten off to a blistering start in her senior season. The Lakers No. 2, sophomore Hannah Beatus, has been impressive in her second season in Allendale as well. She currently ranks eighth nationally with a 0.86 ERA and has struck out 53 batters to just 10 walks while holding opposing lineups to a .178 average. 
 
Seeing action in the circle for the first time this season were freshman Samantha Gehrls and Hannah Dieck, who tossed their first innings last weekend. They are both 1-0 as Gehrls sports a 1.31 ERA and Dieck a 6.30 ERA. 
 
The Laker lineup has been solid so far this season as well. Freshman Lydia Goble has been the breakout star on offense, as she's batting .366 and leads both the team and the league with 26 RBI's and seven home runs. Sophomore Taylor Rieger ranks right behind Goble in the leaderboard with 21 RBI's this season as she's batting .347 to go with three homers, five doubles, and a triple. It's sophomore Nikoma Holmen who leads the team with a .400 batting average however as she's already tallied 30 hits to go along with 16 RBI's, seven doubles, a triple, and a homer as well. 
 
Redshirt senior and sophomore Brooke Henning have also racked up double digit RBI's so far this season as well as they've knocked in 14 and 12 runners, respectively. 
 
The Rangers are off to a tough start to their 2019 campaign, having dropped their first 20 contests of the season. Their team ERA is currently 7.51 as they've allowed 133 earned runs in 124.0 innings of work. On the other side, their offense is hitting at a .252 clip and scoring 2.77 earned runs a game. 
 
In the circle, Allison Hausl has seen the most action with 42.1 innings of work where she's tallied a 5.29 ERA and an 0-7 record. Alyssa Hrncar has pitched 32.0 innings where's she's gone 0-5 with a 6.78 ERA. 
 
At the plate, Kellie Fenza is batting .383 with 17 runs scored, five RBI's, three doubles and a pair of triples while Megan Aliverti has racked up a team-high 17 RBI's as she's belted six doubles. Jessica Crull is batting .319 to rank second on the team while Cassie Welek is batting .276 and ranks second with 14 runs scored. 
 
This is the first of four straight doubleheaders for the Lakers over the next week. They also host Purdue Northwest (March 30), Davenport (March 31), and Northwood (April 2) in the next seven days.