ALLENDALE—The Grand Valley State softball team welcomes Saginaw Valley State for a doubleheader, slated for a 3 p.m. start on Wednesday at the GVSU Softball Field.
 
The Lakers swept the Cardinals earlier this season on April 8. GVSU won the first game, 11-3, in five innings and Lydia Goble hit a clutch home run to down the Cardinals, 10-9, in eight innings in game two.
 
GVSU is partnering with the Kelly Cares Foundation for Paint the Park Pink. Kelly Cares strengthens communities and inspires hope by investing resources to improve health and education. Students who attend Wednesday's game will receive free Dairy Queen ice cream, free t-shirts and participate in a cornhole tournament. 
 
SCOUTING THE CARDINALS
Saginaw Valley State enters Wednesday with a 28-10 record and are firmly entrenched in second in the GLIAC with a 12-4 conference record.
 
The Cardinals lead the GLIAC in total runs with 226 runs scored on the season. Jackie Popko also leads the conference in stolen bases with 24 stolen bases.
 
Alexis Gills leads SVSU in batting average, hitting .394 this season. Sarah Gersch is one of the motors of the Cardinal offense. She has driven in 35 runs this season and has 15 extra-base hits on the year. Paige Kolinski provides SVSU power with a team-leading four home runs this season.
 
Emily Depew is the Cardinals' ace. She is 11-4 in the circle and is third in the GLIAC with a 1.51 ERA. Depew has tossed 14 complete games, which leads the conference and has tossed 86 strikeouts.
 
HEATING UP
The Lakers have won 14 games in a row, dating back to March 20. In its past 14 games, GVSU has outscored its opponents, 104-25, which is a scoring margin of 5.6 runs per game.
 
Half (7-of-14) of the Lakers' wins in their win streak have come via the run-rule. 
 
The streak has also pushed the Lakers out to an 12-0 start in GLIAC play. GVSU's other two wins in the streak came against Northwood on April 11.
 
The win streak has clinched GVSU's 12th straight season (not including the COVID-shortened 2020 season) of 30 wins or more.
 
GLIAC PITCHER OF THE WEEK… AGAIN
Hannah Beatus was named the GLIAC Pitcher of the Week, the conference announced on Monday.
 
The Illinois native claimed her fifth GLIAC Pitcher of the Week award of the season.
 
Beatus tossed a combined 15 innings last week and won all three of her starts. She totaled 15 strikeouts, growing her conference leading season total to 100 strikeouts. Beatus did not allow a run in her three starts.
 
To begin the week, Beatus tossed a five-inning complete game shutout against Northwood on Tuesday as the Lakers won via run-rule, 8-0, in five innings. She allowed three hits and struck out three batters against the Timberwolves.
 
She then tossed a five-inning complete game shutout against Wayne State on Wednesday, leading the Lakers to an, 8-0, run-rule victory in five innings. Beatus gave up just one Warrior hit and struck out five batters.
 
To cap off the week, she was dominant again beating Ferris State with a five-inning complete game shutout in GVSU's, 10-0, run-rule win against the Bulldogs. She allowed just three hits and struck out seven Bulldogs in her 15th victory of the season.
 
Beatus is the nation's leader in ERA with a 0.46 mark on the season. She is also third in the country, allowing 0.68 walks/hits per inning pitched (WHIP).