Wet and wild wins on Saturday capped a busy series of home doubleheaders for Grand Valley State University softball this week.

The team came away from its opening weekend of GLIAC play with a 5-1 record (17-9 overall), which began Thursday against Lake Superior State University (5-25, 0-8). GVSU defeated LSSU 10-1 (five innings) and 4-0 behind freshman pitcher Katie Martin’s five hits, four RBIs and complete-game shutout in game two.

“Katie’s an excellent player for us,” said GVSU head coach Doug Woods. “Her offense is great and her pitching is really coming along.”

Six games during three days began to take their toll on Friday, however, as GVSU dropped its first game in its last eight against Northwood University (11-10 overall, 3-1 GLIAC). The first game saw Northwood’s Megan Eddy pitch her first career no-hitter. Two walks and a fielding error kept her from perfection in an 8-0 victory.

“It was really a lack of adjustment during the game on our part,” said GVSU assistant coach Dana Callihan. “We hadn’t seen her pitch before and she’s a little faster than what we’ve seen this year. We just didn’t make the right adjustments on her pitching when she kept going low and outside on us.”

Martin’s blistering offensive start to the season came to an abrupt halt against Eddy, though she was able to resume her earlier success in game two.

“There were some good pitches being tossed (in the first game),” Martin said. “She was a really good pitcher and we weren’t hitting any good balls. I didn’t think anything was wrong with my swing, but her pitch selection was really big.”

After not recording a base hit in the opener, Martin pitched and hit the Lakers back to victory. The second game was bountiful for the Laker offense as the team scattered 16 team hits in a 13-2 route. After starter Jessica Wojcik gave up four runs on three hits and a walk with only two total outs in the first inning, Northern chose to allow Eddy to pitch in relief. This allowed the Lakers to make the needed alterations to their plate approach as the team hit nine times and added four more runs against her.

“Some of our adjusting between games was mentality, having confidence at the plate and being aggressive,” Callihan said. “We knew the pitcher was throwing low and away, so when we were finally able to change how our batting approach, it made the difference in the second game.”

A rematch Saturday against LSSU began three hours earlier than scheduled due to the threat of inclement weather, though the hometown Lakers were able to dispatch the visiting Lakers early each time. Both featured five-inning mercy rule victories, 10-2 and 11-1, along with stellar pitching from sophomore Andi Nicholson (7-4) in game one and Martin (8-3) in game two.

Though LSSU had been in town just two days earlier, GVSU felt they still had to approach Saturday’s doubleheader with the same dedication against any opponent.

“Having played a team before isn’t necessarily any easier the next time around,” said senior outfielder Tina Briggs. “We still have to take each game one at a time. We went out with the same mentality and focus that we always do against anyone.”

The Lakers are on the road all next week against GLIAC foes, beginning with an April 8 rematch against Northwood.

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