ALLENDALE—The Grand Valley State softball team opens its conference slate with a pair of doubleheaders this weekend, taking on Parkside and Purdue Northwest at the GVSU Softball Field.
 
The Lakers open the weekend at 3 p.m. with a doubleheader against Parkside. GVSU then takes on Purdue Northwest for a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m. on Sunday.
 
No. 6 GVSU is coming off a split on Monday against Tiffin in The Buckeye State. Ashley Platek threw a one-hit shutout to defeat the Dragons in game one and a late rally fell short in the second game.
 
The Lakers open GLIAC play this weekend and they have found success in conference play, winning 18 GLIAC regular season championships all-time.
 
SCOUTING THE RANGERS
Parkside comes into Friday's doubleheader against GVSU with a 9-13 record and have lost four in a row.
 
The Rangers are last in the GLIAC with a .233 batting average and are sixth in the GLIAC with a 4.07 ERA.
 
Jadynn Powell leads the Rangers with 12 RBI and has hit two home runs for Parkside this season. 
 
In the circle, Parkside has been led by Kiley Akey. She holds a 5-4 record this season and is allowing 2.25 earned runs on average. Akey has struck out 24 batters this season.
 
SCOUTING THE PRIDE
The Pride come into Sunday's doubleheader with a 16-10 record. They won three of their final four games on their trip to Florida.
 
Purdue Northwest leads the GLIAC in hits (212) and home runs (13) this season. The Pride are third in the conference with a .294 batting average and third in the conference with a 2.23 ERA.
 
Selena Michko is a power bat for the Pride and leads the GLIAC in home runs with five and RBI with 26. Michko is also batting .431, which is third-best in the GLIAC and good for No. 96 in the country.
 
In the circle, Maddison Roop leads Purdue Northwest with a 1.53 ERA and holds a 4-2 record. Gabby Palliska is the Pride's leader in stirkeouts with 29 strikeouts this season.
 
BY THE NUMBERS
The Lakers have one of the best pitching staffs in the country when looking at the statistics.
 
GVSU is the third-best team in Division II in ERA, boasting a 1.35 cumulative ERA. It also has a cumulative WHIP of 0.96, which is good for seventh-best in the country. The GVSU pitchers have combined for eight shutouts, which ranks 15th nationally.
 
Hannah Beatus leads the nation with a 0.00 ERA and leads the conference in hits allowed per seven innings, shutouts, strikeout-to-walk ratio and WHIP. Ashley Platek has a 7-0 record and leads the GLIAC with seven complete games. 
 
The Lakers also have a potent offense to combine with their prowess in the circle. 
 
GVSU is 19th nationally in batting average with a mark of .339. The Lakers' six runs per game is good for No. 53 in the country.
 
Lydia Goble and Morgan Wagner are ninth and 11th in the country in batting average. Wagner, Goble and Joanna Cirrincione top-five hitters in the GLIAC by batting average.
 
Wagner is 22nd in the country with 1.26 RBI per game and she is second in the GLIAC with 24 total RBI this season.
 
Hannah Hollister and Lydia Goble are tied atop the GLIAC with 11 steals. Ashley Platek leads the conference in wins with seven.