GVSU Softball College World Series History:

• This is the Lakers fifth appearance and second straight (2002, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021)
• The Lakers are 8-8 in CWS games, finishing as high as second place (2002)
• Overall, GVSU is 56-37 (.602) in NCAA Tournament games 

Current GVSU single-season Top 10s

• Nikoma Holmen: 9^th, RBI (58); T-8^th, HR (12, with herself)
• Hannah Beatus: T-7^th, Wins (24); 8^th, SHO (11); 8^th, K (191)

 
College World Series Coverage Information:
Tournament Central              
Live Stats and Video
 
DENVER, Colo. – The No. 13 Grand Valley State Lakers begin their College World Series run Thursday (May 27) at the Assembly Athletic Complex on the campus of Metropolitan State University of Denver. The Lakers are the 3-seed in the field and will face off with 6-seed West Texas A&M in the opening round at 6:30 PM MDT (8:30 EDT) in the final of four games on opening day.
 
The Lakers have the second-most wins of the eight teams at the College World Series and have won 15 of their last 16 games, including a 7-1 mark in the post-season, to enter at 44-8. The Lakers are hitting .331 as a team and have scored 284 runs while the pitching staff has posted a 1.76 ERA in the circle and a .204 opponent batting average.
 
Sophomore pitcher Hannah Beatus, an NFCA All-American, has been the workhorse in the circle for the Lakers, hurling 185.2 innings this season. With a 0.96 ERA and 24-3 overall record, Beatus has proven she has the stuff, and the demeanor, to be counted on in big games. She's struck out 191 opponents, including the final out of the winner-take-all regional championship last Saturday to close out her 13^th inning of work that day alone.
 
At the plate, senior Nikoma Holmen continues to impress with eye-popping post-season numbers; she's 14-22 (.636) at the plate with four home runs, eight runs scored and 15 RBI in eight games. Holmen, a unanimous all-region selection and GLIAC Player of the Year, is hitting .421 overall with 12 homers and 58 RBI. Five other Lakers are hitting above .300, led by Lydia Goble's .358 average. Goble ranks second on the team in homers, RBI, doubles and total bases all while striking out just 11 times in 173 at bats.
 
Joanna Cirrincione and Taylor Rieger have been a keen 1-2 punch at the top of the Laker order. Cirrincione has reached base in 22 straight games, hitting safely in 20 of them. Add in her team-high 13 stolen bases and she becomes an instant threat. Rieger has pop with 11 doubles and four homers, but also leads the team with nine sacrifice hits as she has done her part to move along Cirrincione to set up the heart of the order.
 
The top of the order has been able to strike for a first-inning run in 27 games this year. The Lakers are 26-1 when they score in the first inning.
 
The clutch hitting of upper classmen Morgan Wagner, Bailey Thatcher and Brooke Henning, combined with exciting freshmen Hannah Hollister and Megan Koenigshof, have given the Lakers the depth they need to manufacture runs throughout the game.
 
The Lakers face West Texas A&M for just the second time in program history. These two teams met in the opening round of the 2016 World Series, where the Lakers fell 4-0 in a frustrating game that saw the Lakers strand 12 baserunners and the Lady Buffs scored all four of their runs in one inning. That is the only CWS in GVSU history in which the Lakers didn't win at least one game.
 
The 2021 Lady Buffs won the south-central region to advance to Denver, emerging as the 2-seed in the regional bracket. Sitting at 36-11 this season, they have won 16 of their last 17 games after splitting championship Saturday to win the regional.
 
The high-powered offense will be a big test for Beatus and the Lakers with the Lady Buffs hitting .342 and scoring 355 runs as a team behind the dynamic duo of Ruby Salzman and Shanna McBroom. Salzman is hitting .457 this season with 12 homers, 16 doubles and five triples, while driving in 56 runs and scoring 57 times.
 
McBroom, the NFCA DII Catcher of the Year, is hitting .444 with 27 extra-base hits, 66 runs scored and 34 RBI. Gabriella Valforte and Madison Johnson join Salzman and McBroom with season OPS over the 1.000 mark and the Buffs have hit 58 homers as a team this season.
 
The Lady Buffs are 110-126 in stolen base attempts this season, with McBroom going 35-37 and Salzman 29-35 and four other players have at least six stolen bases with one or fewer caught stealing.
 
Four pitchers have made at least 11 appearances for WTAM in the circle, but the two big inning-eaters have been Kyra Lair and Emilee Wilson, both of whom have over 100 innings of work this season. Lair is 20-5 with a 2.71 ERA and has struck out 174 batters in 147.1 innings. Wilson is 14-6 with a 2.99 ERA and has been more of a pitch-to-contact option.
 
Two red-hot teams collide in the opening round Thursday night in what should be an explosive offensive display. The winning team will face the winner of 2-seed St. Anselm and 7-seed West Chester on Friday (May 28) at 1:30 PM MDT while the loser plays in an elimination game at 6 PM MDT.