Grand Valley State has played with a lead for most of its current eight-game win streak, but it was able to come from behind in the opener on Tuesday night (Mar. 3) on its way to a third consecutive sweep in Clermont, Fla. The Lakers rallied to top Assumption, 6-5, before tossing a shutout in a 6-0 victory over Post.
GVSU's win streak moves to eight games and the Lakers are now 10-1 overall, with wins in all six games on the Spring Break trip. In an odd twist, Grand Valley State scored two runs in both wins on Sunday, 11 runs in each of its two victories on Monday, and six runs apiece in Tuesday's triumphs.
The Lakers faced their biggest deficit of the young season, falling behind 4-0 as Assumption took the lead in the top of the first inning. GVSU starter
Sara Andrasik allowed the four runs, but only gave up two hits. The Greyhounds (4-1 overall) capitalized on a pair of Laker errors and used a two-run triple to take the four-run advantage.
Grand Valley State, however, quickly answered with four runs of its own. Sophomore
Ellie Balbach used a sacrifice fly to score freshman
Teagan Shomin, who led off the inning with a single. Three batters later, fellow rookie
Heather Sperlazzo came through in the clutch. The first baseman delivered a two-out, bases-clearing double that scored
Jenna Lenza (reached on catcher's interference),
McKenze Supernaw (single), and
Kaylie Rhynard (walk).
Balbach relieved Andrasik to start the second inning and fanned two batters in the frame. Assumption did plate a run in the third inning, but again GVSU responded immediately.
In the bottom of the third, Supernaw and Rhynard led off with back-to-back singles. Later in the inning, Shomin walked with two outs and the bases loaded to tie the score at 5-5. After a pitching change, sophomore
Kelsey Dominguez also worked a bases loaded walk to put the Lakers on top, 6-5.
Balbach would make the lead hold up. She retired six straight batters until a one-out single in the sixth inning. That runner quickly disappeared as Balbach snared a line drive up the middle and turned a double play by getting the runner out at first base.
Assumption went 1-2-3 in the seventh inning, as Balbach struck out the first two batters and induced a groundball to end the game. In six innings in relief, Balbach (4-0) allowed one unearned run on just three hits, while walking one. She had even distribution with her defense: six flyouts, six groundouts, and five strikeouts.
Sperlazzo's three RBI and Supernaw's three hits led the Laker offense. Shomin delivered two base hits from the leadoff spot, while Dominguez reached base three times, including a pair of walks. Rhynard scored two of the team's six runs.
Freshman
Courtney Reinhold tossed the first shutout of the season for GVSU, throwing a five-hitter in the win over Post. In moving to 3-0 on the year, Reinhold walked one batter, struck out six, and recorded 10 groundball outs.
The game was scoreless through the first five innings until the Lakers took control in the sixth. Shomin doubled to lead off the frame, which was followed by a Dominguez single. Lenza reached on an error to load the bases for Balbach, who singled back up the middle to bring in Shomin and Dominguez for a 2-0 lead.
Sperlazzo continued her strong day with a two-run single to push the Laker advantage out to 4-0. Junior
Chelsea Horvath followed with an RBI triple and GVSU took over with a 5-0 cushion.
Reinhold put down Post with a 1-2-3 bottom half of the sixth inning before the Lakers added the game's final run in the top of the seventh. To finish off the contest, Reinhold struck out a pair of batters in the bottom of the seventh inning and used a groundball to close the door.
Shomin was 2-for-4 and scored a pair of runs, while Horvath went 2-for-2 with the RBI triple. Sperlazzo's two ribbies gave her five RBI for the day, while Balbach also drove in a pair of runs.
The Lakers are off on Wednesday. GVSU returns to the field on Thursday (Mar. 5) with games against Saint Rose (9:00 a.m.) and Southern New Hampshire (11:00 a.m.).
