No. 11 Grand Valley State softball earned a couple of wins over Minnesota State-Mankato and LIU Post on Thursday morning (March 7) to improve to 10-2 on the season and 7-1 at the PFX Spring Games down in Clermont, Fla. A two-home, three-RBI game from freshman Lydia Goblel ed GVSU to a 5-4 victory over the Mavericks before a great performance from sophomore righty Hannah Beatus in game two helped them to a 3-1 win over the Pioneers. 

Senior Allison Lipovsky got the win in the circle against MSU-Mankato after spinning a complete game eight-hitter. Only three of the Mavericks four runs were earned off the righty as she fired nine strikeouts to zero walks in her 115-pitch effort. The Harrison, Mich. native is now 6-0 on the season with a 0.68 ERA to go with 61 K's and just five walks in 41 innings of work. 

Beatus improved to 4-2 overall with a 1.06 ERA after her win where she struck out four and allowed four hits. Both Lipovsky and Beatus have gone the distance in all of their starts. 

It was a huge day for Goble at the dish as she went 3-6 with two home runs, four RBI's, three runs scored, and a walk to power GVSU to the pair of wins. Sophomore Bailey Thatcher was 2-2 in game two with an RBI while scoring a pair of runs while Brooke Henning went 3-7 and Taylor Rieger drove in a pair of runners. 

Game One vs. Minn. St. – Mankato (W, 5-4)

Goble started the first game of the day off in style, smashing a full-count pitch over the fence in left-center to put the Lakers up one early. Rhynard put down a bunt single the following pitch but the Lakers couldn't push across the second run of the inning. Lipovsky opened the game with a K but got into trouble after a double and single put runners on second and third with just one out. Lipovsky stayed composed however and induced a flyout and groundout to end the threat.

REPLAY | GVSU vs Minnesota State - Mankato

Kelcie LaTour opened the second with a single through the left side before Goble came up big once again, blasting a 0-1 pitch to left center to put the Lakers up three, 3-0. Lipovsky would retire six of her next seven batters faced before GVSU would add to their lead in the top of the fourth.

Rachel Terwilliger and Goble both drew two-out walks and a hustle play by Kaylie Rhynard on a wild pitch after striking out loaded the bases. Another Maverick error off the bat of Rieger would allow both Goble and Terwilliger to come around and score to put the Lakers up 5-0. 

Lipovsky tossed a 1-2-3 inning in the fourth before the Mavericks finally got to her in the bottom of the fifth. A single and double with one out put runners on first and third before scoring on a wild pitch and an error would allow two to come around. A groundout RBI would cut the lead to two, 5-3. Both teams would fail to score until the bottom of the seventh when Makato managed to push one across but Lipovsky would slam the door with a strikeout and groundout to secure the win. 

Game Two vs. LIU Post (W, 3-1)

Both teams would post 1-2-3 innings to start things off but LIU Post would get the scoring started with a run after a double, sacrifice, and sac fly. The Lakers got their first single in the bottom of the third off the bat of Thatcher but couldn't make anything happen.  

REPLAY | GVSU vs LIU Post

It was six up and six down in the fourth before the Lakers would use a big fifth inning. LaTour would knock a one-out single before Joanna Cirrincione would knock a double to left to score Flaherty who got on with a fielder's choice. Thatcher would then double to score another before being brought in herself by none other than Goble who singled right back up the middle. 

Beatus gave up a leadoff single in the sixth before spinning a looking strikeout and getting out of the jam with a big double play from Flaherty to Rieger and then over to LaTour at first. In the seventh, an error put one on but a fielder's choice got the runner at second. Beatus tossed another backwards K before a single to right put runners on the corners with two outs. A final Pioneer groundout back to Beatus would end the game with the Lakers up 3-1.