The Grand Valley State University softball team built their season around timely hitting and strong defense, and it got them to the NCAA DII Midwest Super Regional title game against Saginaw Valley State University.

Unfortunately, those same strengths weren’t there last weekend, as the Lakers fell twice to SVSU, 5-2 and 2-0.

“In the 5-2 loss we had a couple fielding miscues that hurt us, which is not characteristic of us this season,” said GVSU head coach Doug Woods. “In that second loss their pitcher was just very, very sharp. We loaded the bases a few times and couldn’t get a timely hit.”

The miscues were something that plagued the Lakers throughout their elimination loss to SVSU. Their defense, which ranked near the top of the GLIAC during the regular season, was attributed to the focus and being mentally ready during the game.

“Sometimes you’re going to get a bad hop, but for the most part we have to make sure we’re focused in practice on how the game is played mentally,” said freshman Miranda Cleary, the 2011 GLIAC Freshman of the Year. “That’s the biggest problem, but I don’t think it was a problem all year. The jitters might have gotten to us, but stuff happens.”

Those jitters will be eased by experience, and despite the Lakers’ loss, it will be a building block for the young team going forward. Everyone from this year’s team is expected to return, which should set the Lakers up for another run at the World Series next year.

“This year helped a lot,” said sophomore Katie Martin, the 2011 Daktronics Regional Player of the Year. “We know our capabilities and strengths on this team, and everyone has that confidence, so it can only lead to greater things next year.”

Despite the season-ending loss, the Lakers took big steps in 2011. After a lackluster 2010 that saw the team struggle to stay over .500, this year’s team took DII softball by storm with their powerful offense.

The Lakers led the nation in batting average, home runs and slugging percentage. The 50 home runs is the most in school history, and the dynamic duo of Martin, who hit 20 homeruns, and Cleary, who smacked 19, were a big part of that offensive success.

“Every year is different, but we had a young team and the season we had should give them some confidence going forward,” said coach Woods. “Maybe we did surprise some teams – we might have a target on our backs next year – so that confidence gained will definitely help next season.”

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