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The #6 Grand Valley State softball team (26-4, 10-2) is set for a busy next two days as they will host the Davenport Panthers (17-14, 9-5) on Tuesday, April 9 before heading to Hammond, Ind. for another doubleheader against the Purdue Northwest Pride (17-11, 8-6) on Wednesday, April 10. Both conference twin bills are scheduled to be played at 3:30 PM with the second games tentatively starting at 5:30 PM. Tuesday's matchup with the Panthers is a make-up date as the previously scheduled games were postponed due to inclement weather. 
 
The Lakers are coming off of a solid four-game road trip where they went 3-1 after splitting with Saginaw Valley State last Thursday (April 4) before sweeping a doubleheader against Ferris State on Sunday (April 7). Sophomore Bailey Thatcher led the Laker offense with a .583 batting average (7-12) and four runs scored while also belting her first career homer against SVSU. Four other Lakers in Kaylie Rhynard (.467), Kaitlyn Plocinski (.444), Morgan Wagner (.429), and Shannon Flaherty (.417) all hit above .400 as the team combined to hit .361 in its four contests. Flaherty had quite the weekend overall, tallying five hits – of which were extra base hits that included two triples, a double, and a homerun while sophomore Nikoma Holmen led the way with seven RBI's.
 
Senior righty Allison Lipovsky notched two more wins to improve to 15-1 overall as she allowed just one run over two complete games while tallying 23 strikeouts to just two walks. Her season ERA is now a miniscule 0.52 which leads the entire NCAA Division II field. Freshman Samantha Gehrls earned a win as well as she improves to 3-0 on the season with a 5.10 ERA while fellow freshman Hannah Dieck lost her decision and is now 1-1 overall. As a staff, the Lakers rank fifth in the nation with a combined 1.45 ERA while their 14 total shutouts are the third most in DII. 
 
The Panthers are currently second in the GLIAC standings and are winners in three of their last four contests that include a split with SVSU before a pair of wins over Ashland. As a team, they are hitting .305 with 170 runs scored while their pitching staff sports a 3.68 ERA while allowing opposing lineups to hit .303 against them. 
 
Leading the offensive charge is Gabby Palazzolo who is batting .394 with 13 RBI's, 24 runs scored, and a .452 on-base percentage. Both Abby Merice and Rachel Griffin have racked up 21 RBI's while ranking second and third on the team with .388 and .341 averages, respectively. Mariah Cura (.307) leads the way in production with runners on base as she's knocked in 23 runners while scoring 13 runs herself. 
 
In the circle, Mallory Teunissen leads the way with a 10-4 record to go with her 2.50 ERA and 11 complete games in 13 starts. She's racked up 88 K's so far this season compared to 27 walks while opposing batters are hitting .256 off the senior. Ellie Muilenburg has seen quite a bit of action as well as she's gone 5-6 with a 3.89 ERA in her 12 games started and 14 total appearances. She's tallied 37 K's and 18 walks in her 59.1 innings pitched. Emma Miller has also seen action in 33.1 innings, going 2-2 with a 5.25 ERA.
 
The Pride are also 3-1 in their last four games and are currently in fourth place in the GLIAC standings after sweeping #20 Wayne State and splitting with Saginaw Valley State most recently. They're batting .317 as a team and have scored 146 total runs while their pitching staff has accumulated a 3.18 ERA and a .289 opposing batting average. 
 
Six different players are batting at least .300 for PNW, led by Kalyn Learnard who is hitting .388 with a team-high 22 RBI's and 15 runs scored. She's also knocked eight doubles, two triples, and a homer this season. Both Taylor Mendenhall and Zoee Anderson are batting .368 and have combined for 19 RBI's and 31 runs scored. 
 
Courtney Blackwell has seen the most success in the circle, going 8-4 with a 2.61 ERA in her 67.0 innings pitched. She's struck out 29 but also walked 26 as opposing offenses are hitting .271. Mia Stevens has actually seen the most innings with 79.0 but is 5-6 overall with a 3.54 ERA. Ashley Bravo has also seen some time on the field, as she's 3-1 with a 4.06 ERA in her 20.2 innings. 
 
Following the weekday doubleheaders, GVSU will travel to Davenport for another twin bill on Saturday, April 13 before heading to Wisconsin-Parkside on Sunday, April 14.