vs. Wayne State (at Cornerstone University)
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vs. Purdue Northwest
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The #6 Grand Valley State Laker softball team is ready to start a five-date, 10-game homestand with a pair of doubleheaders against Wayne State and Purdue Northwest this Tuesday (April 16) and Wednesday (April 17), respectively. GVSU is coming off of a rough stretch that saw them lose three of their last four games but still lead the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) with a 29-7 record overall and 13-5 record against conference competition. 
 
Due to the recent weather, Tuesdays doubleheader against the Warriors will be played at Cornerstone Universities all-turf softball field in Grand Rapids, Mich. 
 
Sophomore Kaitlyn Plocinski won her first career GLIAC Player of the Week honor after she hit .591 (13-22) and chalked up eight RBI's, four doubles, and a homer. On the season, the DH is batting .400 (18-45) with seven doubles, one homer, and 11 RBI's to go with a .622 slugging percentage.
 
Fellow sophomore Bailey Thatcher leads the squad with a .410 batting average while yet another sophomore in Nikoma Holmen is second with a .400 average and leads the team with 40 RBI's and 10 doubles to go with her seven home runs. Senior Shannon Flaherty has posted a .379 average to go with her 22 RBI's while freshman Lydia Goble (.347) leads the way with nine homers and 40 runs scored. 
 
The duo of Taylor Rieger and Kaylie Rhynard are hitting .318 and .311, respectively, while Rieger is tied with Holmen for the team lead in doubles to go with her six homers and Rhynard has been a headache on the base paths, swiping 10 of her 11 total attempts. 
 
In the circle, senior Allison Lipovsky suffered just her second loss of the season against Davenport as she is now 17-2 overall and sports a 0.98 ERA. She has tallied 18 complete games and 10 shutouts to go with her 189 strikeouts and 22 walks. Freshman Samantha Gehrls also suffered her second loss of the season as she is now 4-1 overall. In her 39.1 innings of work, she's posted a 4.63 ERA, 28 strikeouts, and 19 walks. 
 
As a team, the Lakers are batting .334 and have scored 248 total runs while the pitching staff has a combined 1.93 ERA as they've allowed just 90 runs so far this season. 
 
This is the second matchup between the Lakers and Warriors this season. GVSU took both games of a doubleheader back on March 23rd by scores of 5-0 and 11-2. The Warriors are 4-2 in their last three doubleheaders that most recently includes a sweep of Ashland last Saturday (April 13). 
 
As a team, the Warriors are hitting .311 and are led by Hannah McClounie with a .429 average, 10 homers, seven doubles, and two triples. She also leads the team with 39 runs scored and sports a .496 on-base percentage. Bryanna Kressler is also almost hitting in the .400's as she's batting .396 with a team-high 34 RBI's and 53 hits. Presly Buchanan (.359), Rainey Psenicka (.324), Emily Dodge (.318), and Ashley Messina (.300) are all also hitting above the .300 mark to lead the offensive attack. 
 
In the circle, Megan Guitar has seen a majority of the innings, tossing 152.0 so far this season as she's 15-8 with a 1.66 ERA. She's also totaled 144 K's to just 31 walks. Paige Ameel is 9-5 on the season with her 96.0 innings ranking second on the team as she has a 3.21 ERA, 58 K's and 30 walks. 
 
It will be exactly a week between doubleheaders against the Purdue Northwest Pride, as the two teams split last Wednesday in Hammond, Ind. Since then, the Pride took two games from Ferris State and are scheduled to face Davenport tomorrow afternoon (April 16). 
 
The Pride feature a high-powered offense that is batting .313 and includes 13 different players batting at least .300. Kalyn Learnard is leading the way with a .398 average and a tie for the team lead with nine doubles. The other Pride member with nine doubles this season is Amanda Noblett, who is also second on the team with a .358 average and 13 RBI's. Zoee Anderson (.353), Taylor Mendenhall (.338), Heather O'Kelly (.336), and Tessa Stevens (.301) help to power the Pride's offense while Madison Schultz is second on the team with 21 RBI's while Learnard has a team-high 27. 
 
In the circle, Courtney Blackwell and Mia Stevens have racked up a majority of the inning pitched as Blackwell leads the team with a 10-4 record and four shutouts while Stevens is 6-7 with a 3.39 ERA in her 93.0 innings.