The #10 Grand Valley State softball team is set for a busy final weekend of Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) play with three doubleheaders over four days. The Lakers host the Ferris State Bulldogs on Thursday, April 25 in their final home game of the season before they hit the road for Northwood on Friday, April 26 and Wisconsin-Parkside on Sunday, April 28.
GVSU's final home doubleheader against the Bulldogs will also serve as the annual cookout where fans will be treated to free hot dogs and hamburgers courtesy of Family Fare starting at 3:00 PM.
The GLIAC Tournament will take place on May 3 through May 5 this season and the Lakers are sitting in the driver's seat for the #1 overall seed with a 20-6 conference record. Not far behind them however is Davenport, who is 20-8 while Ashland has an outside chance at the top seed as well with a 16-12 record. Behind those teams are Northwood (14-12), Purdue Northwest (13-13), Wayne State (12-14), Saginaw Valley State (11-15), Ferris State (10-18), and Parkside (4-22). The top eight teams at the conclusion of the regular season will move on to the postseason tournament.
GVSU was also the #1 seed in the latest NCAA Division II Midwest Region rankings as they look to nab the top spot for the second season in a row. Stay tuned to GVSULakers.com for all ranking's updates for the remainder of the season.
The Lakers are coming off of a busy but successful week, going 7-1 while senior righty
Allison Lipovsky took home her fifth GLIAC Pitcher of the Week award this season. She went 4-0 in the circle, striking out 39 and walking just seven in 29.0 innings of work while allowing just one run for a 0.24 ERA. Her season ERA of 0.85 is the third highest in Division II while her 13 shutouts and 228 strikeouts are both tops in the entire nation.
To go along with Lipovsky and the rest of the Laker pitching staff, GVSU has the top offense in the league as they are scoring nearly seven runs a game. Their .332 team batting average and .385 on-base percentage are first in the conference while their 416 hits and 36 home runs are both second.
The duo of
Nikoma Holmen and
Bailey Thatcher are batting .413 and .400, respectively, while Holmen – the reigning GLIAC RBI champion – currently ranks third in the conference with 44 RBI's. Leading that RBI charge this season however is GVSU freshman
Lydia Goble, as she's knocked in 48 runs this season to go with her .360 average and 12 homers (T-2nd in the league). Senior
Shannon Flaherty is tied with Goble for the third best average on the team at the .360 mark as she's knocked in 24 runs and scored 34 herself while sophomore
Taylor Rieger is third on the team and fifth in the league with 39 RBI's. She's also blasted eight homers this season as well.
The Bulldogs enter the weekend with a 19-29 overall record and 10-18 conference record as they are currently sitting in the eighth and final spot for this year's postseason tournament. They are an even 3-3 in their last three doubleheaders, splitting with Saginaw Valley State, Wayne State, and Ashland.
As a team, the Bulldogs are batting .285 with 201 total runs scored while also sporting a .349 OBP and .408 slugging percentage. Senior Logan Fleming leads the way with a .365 average while Kylie Winkels is batting .336, Paige Kortz .331, and Kodi Ramierz .326. Fleming also leads the way with 30 RBI's and 58 total hits while Ramirez and Lexi Hongisto have knocked in 28 runners apiece.
In the circle, seven different Bulldogs have combined for a 5.02 ERA and 119 total strikeouts. Connor Proctor has seen the most action with 121.1 innings where she's gone 7-15 with a 4.15 ERA, 64 strikeouts, and 34 walks. Not far behind her is Abby Highway who's seen action in 117.0 total innings, going 10-13 with a 5.15 ERA while striking out 3 along the way. Kaitlyn Nugent has also spun 54.0 innings where she's 2-1 with a 5.31 ERA.
The Timberwolves are currently fourth in the conference standings with a 24-21-1 overall record and 14-12 conference record. Since a doubleheader sweep of Wayne State on April 19, they have dropped three of their last four but most recently beat SVSU in the night cap of a doubleheader split.
They are batting .291 as a team, led by Maddie Coulter with a .397 average. Two other Timberwolves, Tara Gross (.370) and Grace Dutoi (.324), are also batting over .300 while Dutoi leads the way with 30 RBI's while Abby Joseph has batted in 29 and Julia Gross 27.
Six Timberwolves have combined for a 3.42 ERA in 307.0 total innings. Shayna Frank has seen the most action with 102.2 innings pitched where she's gone an even 8-8 with a 3.41 ERA. April Bennett's tossed 83.2 innings, racking up 40 strikeouts and a 3.85 ERA as she's also even with a 7-7 record. Taylor Wright has also tossed 61.0 innings where she's gone 6-2 with a team-high 64 strikeouts.
The Lakers final opponent of the season is the Parkside Rangers, who are 7-41 overall and 4-22 in conference action, having dropped their last seven contests. Prior to the matchup between the Lakers and Parkside, they will play Wayne State and Saginaw Valley State.
On the offensive side, the Rangers are batting .233, led by Kellie Fenza who's batting .340 with a team-high 48 hits. Megan Aliverti has knocked in a team-best 21 RBI's while Morgan Sikon is just behind her with 20 ribbies. Jessica Crull has also added a team-best eight doubles.
In the circle, five different Rangers have seen even time, each pitching at least 40 innings this season. Allison Hausl leads the way with 88.2 IP where she's gone 2-12 with a 4.34 ERA, 37 strikeouts, and 48 walks. Kiley Akey's spun 69.2 innings where she's struck out 15 and walked 38 for a 7.13 ERA and 1-7 record. Alyssa McClelland has also tossed 56.0 innings while Alyssa Hrncar has tossed 43.2 and Kate Czoschke 41.1.
