WINTER HAVEN, Fla. – The No. 7 Grand Valley State Lakers matched their best start to a season since 2012, but had the season-opening win streak cut at 12 games after splitting Friday's (March 11) contests at the Diamond Plex. The Lakers beat Lake Erie, 8-1, before falling to Nova Southeastern, 6-4, in the nightcap. The Lakers are now 12-1 on the season with one more day of their spring trip with two games Saturday morning.
 
Lake Erie would take a one-run lead after the first inning, but GVSU responded by scoring in five of the next six frames to pull away with the regional win. Joanna Cirrincione, Lydia Goble and Kelsey Komorous each drove in a pair and Megan Koenigshof and Taylor Rieger also drove in a run.
 
Hannah Dieck (W, 2-0) threw the first four innings, allowing an unearned run on four hits while striking out a pair. Ashley Platek hurled three scoreless, hitless innings to close it out for the save.
 
Nova Southeastern opened game two with a four-run first, but GVSU responded on one swing with Morgan Wagner's second home run of the season, a three-run shot, in the home half. That score would hold until the sixth inning, when the Sharks used back-to-back two-out doubles to plate two insurance runs, which would prove costly as GVSU got a run back in the seventh, and sink the Lakers for the first time this season.