The #5 seed Grand Valley State dropped a 2-1 decision to #4 seed Texas A&M-Kingsville in the opening round of the 2019 Division II College Softball World Series. The Lakers will now face LIU Post, the loser of the first game of the day, in an elimination game tomorrow afternoon (May 24) at 4:00 PM MDT (6:00 PM EDT). The Lakers fall to 49-9 with the loss while the Javelinas improve to 49-8. 
 
In the low scoring affair, it was just two swings that accounted for all three runs scored as Taylor Rieger launched a homer in the top of the first inning before the Javelinas knocked a two-run homer in the bottom of the sixth that turned out to be the game-winning hit. 
 
Senior righty Allison Lipovsky was stuck with the loss as she falls to 31-3 on the season. She tossed a complete game three-hitter, striking out seven and walking just one while the lone homer stuck her with two earned runs. 
 
The Laker offense managed seven hits against TAMKU's Breanna Smith but weren't able to string any of those together as they managed just the one run on the Rieger homer. 
 
GVSU got things going early as they took a quick 1-0 lead on a moonshot from Rieger, her 10th homer of the season and the teams' 47th. Holmen picked up a two-out single but was stranded after a final foul out to first base. 
 
Lipovsky got hot early, putting down the Javelinas in order each of the first two innings, picking up three strikeouts in the process. Rhynard was put into scoring position with just one out in the top of the third but TAMKU's Smith induced a ground out and fly out to end the threat. 
 
The Javelinas picked up their first hit of the game on a grounder back up the middle in the third that was just barely out of the reach of an outstretched Rieger. It wouldn't matter much as she got the final out of the inning before getting yet another 1-2-3 inning in the fourth. 
 
Neither team had anything doing in the fifth as the score remained 1-0 before the Javelinas tallied just their third hit of the game but it was the two-run homer that put them ahead for good, 2-1. GVSU went down 1-2-3 in the top of the seventh to fall in the one run game. 
 
No Laker had more than a single hit but seven different Lakers contributed, led by Rieger and her solo shot. Senior Kaylie Rhynard, sophomore Nikoma Holmen, junior Kelcie LaTour, sophomores Brooke Henning and Bailey Thatcher, and freshman Morgan Wagner all tallied hits as well.