ALLENDALE—The Grand Valley State softball team is set for a doubleheader matchup against rival Ferris State starting at 3 p.m. on Monday at the GVSU Softball Field.
 
The matchups between the Lakers and Bulldogs were originally set for Saturday before the games were moved to Monday due to forecasted weather.
 
No. 7 GVSU is a week removed from their opening weekend of GLIAC play, sweeping Parkside and Purdue Northwest to kick off conference play 4-0. All-in-all, the Lakers outscored Parkside and Purdue Northwest, 35-4, and won three games via run-rule.
 
Hannah Beatus was excellent in the circle for the Lakers, going 2-0, totaling 11 innings and only surrendering four hits. She struck out eight batters and did not issue a walk.
 
The Laker offense went off for 35 runs and won three games via the run-rule. GVSU had 46 hits across the four games and 11 extra-base hits, including a home run from Kelsey Komorous for the third Laker home run of the year.
 
SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS
Ferris State sits at 12-20 headed into the weekend. The Bulldogs will face Davenport for a doubleheader on Sunday afternoon.
 
The Bulldogs sit at 2-2 in conference play with a pair of victories against Wayne State and a pair of losses to Saginaw Valley State. 
 
Aryn Gllacher and Catherine O'Donohue are the Bulldogs' two main pitchers, each logging over 70 innings this season. Gallacher is 6-6 with a 3.24 ERA and O'Donohue is 3-8 with a 3.30 ERA. O'Donohue is second in the conference with 50 strikeouts this season.
 
Kaitlyn Orme leads the Bulldogs in batting average, hitting .313 on the season. Kylie Winkels has 18 RBI for Ferris State, which is the fifth-most in the GLIAC this season. 
 
LOOK OUT FOR THE LAKERS
The Grand Valley State softball team had four players named to the 2023 Tucci/NFCA Division II Player and Pitcher of the Year Watchlist, the organization announced Thursday.
 
Hannah Beatus, Lydia Goble, Morgan Wagner and Joanna Cirrincione were four of the players named to the Midwest Region's section of the watchlist, which was split into eight regions, matching the NCAA Division II regions.
 
Beatus is off to an outstanding start to the season, leading the nation in ERA and WHIP. Beatus has yet to allow an earned run this season and has allowed 0.48 walks and hits in an average inning. She is 8-1 in the circle this season and has struck out a GLIAC-leading 58 batters. 
 
Goble, a First Team All-American from a season ago, is off to another All-American start to the season. Goble is seventh in the nation with a .507 batting average, a mark that also leads the GLIAC. She has hit 10 doubles this season, which is good enough for No. 45 nationally and first in the conference. 
 
Wagner has been an anchor for the Lakers' offense and is one of the nation's leaders in RBI. She is ranked 81st in the nation with her 28 RBI this season, which ranks second in the GLIAC. Wagner is hitting .492, which ranks 13th in the country and second in the conference. 
 
Cirrincione is having a stellar season for the Lakers. She is hitting .455, which ranks 46th in the country and third in the GLIAC. She is a threat on the base paths with 13 stolen bases, which is third in the GLIAC. Her speed has also shown with two triples so far this season.
 
SWEEPING WEEKLY AWARDS
Hannah Beatus and Joanna Cirrincione were named GLIAC Pitcher and Player of the Week, the conference announced on Monday.
 
Beatus claimed her third conference Pitcher of the Week award with a pair of excellent outings for the Lakers. She started against Parkside in the first game of Friday's doubleheader and threw five innings of shutout softball. Against the Rangers, Beatus allowed just three hits and struck out two batters. 
 
She started again for GVSU on Sunday against Purdue Northwest and took a perfect game into the fifth inning. Beatus allowed just one hit in six innings of work before the Lakers won the game via run-rule. She struck out six Pride batters and did not issue a walk.
 
All-in-all, Beatus combined for 11 scoreless innings of work last week for the Lakers. She has yet to allow an earned run this season, leading the country with a 0.00 ERA. She also leads the conference in strikeouts with 58 and is second behind teammate Ashley Platek in wins with eight.
 
Joanna Cirrincione was a key piece of the Laker offense which put up 41 runs last week, going 5-1 and opening conference play with four straight wins. 
 
Cirrincione went 10-for-21 (.476) over the six games GVSU played last week. She scored eight runs for the Lakers and drove in seven more last week. She had a combined four multi-hit games against Tiffin, Parkside and Purdue Northwest. Cirrincione stole four bases for the Lakers and made seven putouts defensively for GVSU.
 
The Chicago native is third in the conference in batting average, hitting .455 this season, and is third in the GLIAC in stolen bases with 13.
 
BY THE NUMBERS
The Lakers are one of the top teams in the country when it comes to two major statistical categories.
 
GVSU is No. 10 in the nation in batting average, hitting it at a .356 clip. The Laker pitching staff has the fourth-best ERA in the country with a 1.32 ERA.
 
The Lakers are leading the GLIAC in batting average (.356), ERA (1.32), fielding percentage (.975), on-base percentage (.417), scoring (6.22 runs/game), slugging percentage (.459), stolen bases per game (2.39) and WHIP (0.97).
 
Lydia Goble leads the GLIAC in batting average, hitting at a .507 clip. Morgan Wagner and Joanna Cirrincione are second and third in the conference, hitting .492 and .455, respectively.
 
In the circle, Hannah Beatus leads the GLIAC in ERA, holding a 0.00 ERA so far this season. She also leads the GLIAC in strikeouts with 58 and WHIP with a 0.48 mark.