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May 11, 2007
Grand Valley State capitalized on 18 hits Friday morning to record a 14-1 five inning win over Shepherd in the second round of the NCAA DII Great Lakes Region Tournament hosted by Lewis University in Romeoville, Ill. The Lakers improve to 33-17 overall and will play the loser of the Ferris State vs. Missouri Rolla game on Saturday, May 12 at 12:30 p.m. ET. Shepherd ends its season with a 31-19 overall record.
The Lakers jumped out early, posting three runs in both the bottom of the first and second innings. Junior right fielder Sarah Holland started off the first inning with a double to right field. She moved to third base on a single to center field by sophomore short stop Nichole Woityra. Junior second baseman Kristin Moleski put the Lakers on the scoreboard first with a three-run home run to left center field. The home run marked her second in as many games.
Shepherd scored its lone run of the game in the top of the second inning, cutting the Laker lead to 3-1. Short stop Courtni Williams led off the inning reaching base on a throwing error by catcher Breanne Kronberg and moved to second base. One out later, second baseman Rebekah Walsh singled to left field to move Williams to third. Williams scored on a balk by pitcher Stephanie Cole.
Grand Valley came back and added three runs in the bottom of the second to go up, 6-1. With one out, sophomore left fielder Karen Walters singled to left field and then stole second. She advanced to third on a bunt single by Woityra. Moleski singled down the left field line to bring in the first run of the inning. Junior designated player Elizabeth Smith singled to right field, driving in Woityra and a single to left field by senior first baseman Crista Buresh brought in Moleski for the third run of the inning.
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The Lakers blew the game open by scoring eight runs on seven hits and one Shepherd error in the bottom of the third inning. With one out, sophomore third baseman Becky Rudenga walked and moved to third base on a single by Walters. Holland hit her fifth home run of the season, posting a three-run shot to right center field. Woityra then reached first on a bunt single and advanced to third on a double to right center by Moleski. Both runners scored on a single to center field by Smith. Buresh singled to left field, moving Smith to third base. Junior center fielder Lisa Preuss hit a three-run home run to center field off the first pitch of a new Shepherd pitcher. Shepherd was finally able to get the next two Laker batters out to end the inning.
Shepherd recorded one hit in the fourth inning and two in the fifth, but couldn't push any of the runners across the plate.
Grand Valley State tallied 18 hits in the game to Shepherd's four. Both teams also committed three errors apiece. The Rams stranded seven runners on base, while the Lakers left six on.
Six different Lakers recorded multiple hits in the game. Junior right fielder Sarah Holland went 2-for-3 with three RBI and two runs scored, while sophomore short stop Nichole Woityra was 4-for-4 with three runs scored. Junior second baseman Kristin Moleski was a perfect 4-for-4 at the plate with four RBI and three runs scored. Junior designated player Elizabeth Smith went 2-for-4 with three RBI and a run scored and senior first baseman Crista Buresh was 2-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI. Sophomore left fielder Karen Walters was 2-for-2 with two runs scored and junior center fielder Lisa Preuss went 1-for-3 with three RBI and a run scored.
Junior Stephanie Cole (15-7) picked up the win, allowing just four hits and an unearned run in the victory. She also tallied six strikeouts.
Shepherd's starting pitcher, Mia Zappacosta (14-5) suffered the loss as she gave up seven hits and six earned runs in 1.2 innings. Becca Jacobs allowed seven hits and seven earned runs in 0.2 innings, while Tiffany Jones finished the final 1.2 innings, giving up four hits and one run.
Grand Valley will play the loser of the Ferris State vs. Missouri Rolla game, which is being played on Friday, May 11 at 5:30 p.m. ET. GVSU's next game will be on Saturday, May 12 at 12:30 p.m. ET.
