West Chester Falls To Grand Valley State, 6-1

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DENVER, CO - Grand Valley State scored six runs in the top of the seventh inning to come from behind and defeat West Chester, 6-1, in an elimination game at the 2021 NCAA Division II Softball Championships Friday night at Assembly Athletic Complex.

West Chester (34-16) saw its season come to a close with the loss to Grand Valley State (45-9).

The Golden Rams scored its only run in the bottom of the first inning, and senior pitcher, Jen Hanshaw (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley) made that stand up until the Lakers finally got to her in the seventh with three doubles that plated five of the six tallies in GVSU's final at bats.

In the first, West Chester opened with three straight singles. Fifth-year senior Bri Garber (Willow Street, Pa./Lampeter-Strasburg) scored on a throwing error when Jaime Klemas (South Brunswick, N.J./South Brunswick) singled to short. When Courtney Stump (Kutztown, Pa./Kutztown) walked, the Golden Rams had the bases loaded with nobody out and one run already in. Unfortunately for the Purple & Gold, the next three batters were retired on a strikeout, popout and ground out, and Grand Valley State escaped a potentially disasterous first frame and only trailed, 1-0.

As we stated earlier, Hanshaw was marvelous for six innings. She scattered six hits over that span and held the 13th-ranked team in the country in check. 

In the fateful seventh, the Golden Rams got the first batter to ground out to short. However, the Lakers responded with a single, a double, another single and a double, and finally a third single and double to take a 5-1 lead. They tacked on one more before the Golden Rams could get out of the inning.

Hanshaw (19-6) allowed six runs on 13 hits over 6.2 innings. She walked one and struck out five. Grand Valley State's Hannah Beatus (25-3) went the distance for the win. She surrendered one run on eight hits, walked three and struck out six.

The end of the 2021 campaign also brings to an end the collegiate softball careers of five seniors - two fifth-year seniors and three traditional seniors. Garber and Stump, the fifth-year members of the senior class, won two PSAC championships, three PSAC Eastern Division championships and three straight Atlantic Region titles. Annamarie Hartman (Phoenix, Ariz./Xavier Prep.), Klemas and Hanshaw also played an integral role in those impressive achievements.