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The #7 nationally-ranked GVSU Laker softball team is set for a doubleheader on Tuesday, April 2nd when they host the Northwood Timberwolves for a matchup that features the top-two teams in the Great Lakers Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) standings. GVSU leads the way with a 5-1 conference mark (21-3 overall) while the Timberwolves are in second with a 8-2 conference record (18-11-1 overall) that includes wins in each of their last four games. 
 
The Lakers haven't seen the field for nearly a week due to the turbulent spring weather so far this season, as each of their last two scheduled doubleheaders had to be cancelled and changed to a different date. Their twin bill against the Purdue Northwest Pride has been moved to April 17th starting at 3:30 PM while their doubleheader against Davenport will be played on April 9th, also starting at 3:30 PM. Both are home contests. 
 
The Laker pitching staff continued their dominant start to the season when they finished their most recent doubleheader against Parkside last week with just one earned run to lower their season ERA to 0.91 – the lowest mark in the nation. Senior Allison Lipovsky pitched another gem, throwing a complete game shutout where she allowed just one hit and one walk to 15 strikeouts. In game two, freshman Samantha Gehrls threw five hitless innings against the Rangers before fellow freshman Hannah Dieck finished the game and allowed one earned run.
 
Individually, Nikoma Holmen leads the Laker lineup with a .402 batting average and eight doubles as she's knocked in 19 baserunners and scored 14 runs herself. In the RBI department, freshman Lydia Goble leads both the team and the conference with 26 while also leading both with seven homers. Not far behind her is sophomore Taylor Rieger who has knocked in 22 RBI's herself as she's batting .341 with five doubles, three homers, and two triples. Both Shannon Flaherty (.359) and Bailey Thatcher (.350) are hitting over .300 while Kaylie Rhynard (14) and Brooke Henning (12) have knocked in double-digit RBI's. 
 
The Timberwolves are winners in 10 of their last 12 games, including four of their last four after sweeping both Purdue Northwest and Wisconsin-Parkside. As a team, they're batting .298 and have scored 157 total runs while their pitching staff is sporting a 3.11 earned run average themselves. 
 
At the plate, Tara Gross and Maddie Coulter lead the pack with a .392 average and have combined for 25 RBI's and 18 doubles. Grace Dutoi and Julia Gross are batting .373 and .311 and are first and second on the team with 21 and 20 RBI's, respectively. Torriya Gray-Baker also has 21 RBI's while Sydni Culps and Abby Joseph have tallied 18 each. 
 
In the circle, April Bennett has seen the most action with 65.2 innings in 18 total appearances where she's gone 7-2 with a 3.20 ERA. Not far behind her is Shayna Frank who's 5-4 in 11 appearances and 57.1 innings pitched with a 2.81 ERA. The trio of Taylor Wright, Heather Diercks, and Marissa Tiano have also seen at least 20 innings and are a combined 6-5. 
 
Following this doubleheader, the Lakers will hit the road for an April 4th trip to Saginaw Valley State before an April 7th twin bill at Ferris State.