ROSEMONT, Ill. – The No. 9 Grand Valley State Lakers erupted out of the gates with nine first-inning runs in their season-opener en route to a run-rule victory, 11-2, over Minnesota State Moorhead Thursday (Feb. 24) at the Lewis Dome Tournament. The Lakers start the year 1-0 and will play two more games tomorrow as the tournament continues.
 
Four Lakers had two-hit games as part of a 12-hit day as a team with Kaitlin Lynch driving in three runs on a pair of hits to lead the attack. Lydia Goble drove in two runs and five others had a single RBI.   
 
Hannah Hollister walked to lead off the first, stole second and was sacrificed to third. After a strikeout, it looked as though the Lakers would go quietly in the first. But true freshman Kelsey Komorous doubled into the gap in left-center in her first collegiate at-bat to plate the first run of the season. Taylor Rieger would start her redshirt-senior year with a double of her own to chase home Komorous, then score herself on a Bailey Thatcher single.
 
Redshirt-junior Morgan Wagner doubled into center to plate Thatcher then scored on a Lynch double. After an error kept the inning alive, Joanna Cirrincione singled home another run then Lydia Goble roped a double into right field to plate two more. The Lakers would strand two in the inning, but the damage was done.
 
Moorhead responded with two unearned runs in the top of the second, but the Lakers got both back on a Lynch double in the fourth to reach the run-rule limit. Ashley Platek got the start in the ciricle, hurling three innings while Genesis Eggart (W, 1-0) pitched the last two scoreless frames, striking out two.
 
The Lakers face McKendree at 2:30 ET on Friday then William Jewell at 9:00 PM ET. Follow live stats through gvsulakers.com or links provided by @GVSUSoftball on Twitter.