Last weekend brought two more GLIAC double-headers to a team that seems to never rest. On Friday and Saturday, the Grand Valley State University softball team hosted rival Saginaw Valley State University for four competitive games, two of which were Laker victories. While the team was happy to win two, the Lakers know they have some work to do in practice.

“It was definitely a tale of two games,” said GVSU coach Doug Woods. “We made some crucial errors in a few of the games. We managed to mount a comeback but we dug ourselves too deep of a hole.”

The Lakers (30-8, 13-5 GLIAC) lost the first game of Friday’s double-header, falling 2-1 to the Cardinals (15-15, 8-8 GLIAC) after trailing from the first inning. The Lakers made up for their mistakes in game two by playing a strong offensive
game, eventually leading them to an 11-0 victory after only five innings due to the mercy rule. GVSU had six extra-base hits and three home runs.

Junior Kayleigh Bertram led the Laker offense in game two, going was 3-for-3 with a single, a double and a home run — a triple away from hitting for the cycle. Hannah Santora led the Lakers in the circle, outpitching the Cardinals during the second game.

“We had to adjust after game one,” said Santora. “Their pitcher is pretty strong, and we still need to continue to improve our hitting before our next few games.”

On Saturday, the Lakers fell 5-3 to the Cardinals after falling behind in the third inning. Once again, the Lakers redeemed themselves in the second game, leading from the third inning, eventually finishing the game with a final score of 5-3.

“We can always do better,” said junior designated player Katie Martin, who hit a home run during Saturday’s second game. “It is what it is, we’ll keep improving and we’ll move on for the next game.”

After 10 games at home, six of which were victories, the Lakers will return to the road on Tuesday to face off against Northwood University.

While the team admits that they will miss the support of their fans and the home-field advantage, the Lakers are eager to take their skills on the road and show why they are the GLIAC North Division leaders.

However, as always, the Lakers continue to be critical of themselves, knowing that there are always improvements that can be made to refine both the offensive and defensive aspects of the team. As Woods said, hitting can only take a team so far if the defense isn’t solid, something the Lakers will look to improve on for Tuesday’s
games.

“You have to play good defense to be a good team, so we’re really going to have to shore that up,” he said. “We’ve done quite well, but we have a few things to work on.”

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