Quick hits: Softball’s Allison Lipovsky, baseball’s Jacob Gleason, basketball’s Cassidy Boensch

Lanthorn Sports

GVSU softball’s Allison Lipovsky named Louisville Slugger/NFCA National Pitcher of the Week

Grand Valley State’s Allison Lipovsky was named the Louisville Slugger/NFCA National Pitcher of the Week for the week of Monday, March 5, through Sunday, March 11, per a release from the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) the morning of Wednesday, March 14.

The junior righty posted a 4-0 record with wins over Notre Dame (Ohio), Cedarville, No. 14 Southern Indiana and Illinois-Springfield during the Lakers’ week in Clermont, Florida, over spring break. Against Notre Dame (Ohio), Lipovsky tossed the first perfect game of her Laker career and just the fifth in program history and the first since 2003. She tallied 14 strikeouts in the outing and obviously didn’t allow a single baserunner in her seven innings of work.

On the week, Lipovsky tallied 47 strikeouts to just one single walk in 28 innings of work, while holding opponents to a .097 BA and posting a 0.25 ERA.

GVSU baseball’s Jacob Gleason named GLIAC Baseball Player of the Week

After an efficient showing during the Grand Valley State baseball team’s spring break trip to Florida, junior right fielder Jacob Gleason was named Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Baseball Player of the Week on Monday, March 12.

During the Lakers’ nine games in Florida, Gleason totaled 17 hits off 34 at bats for a .500 batting average, along with a 13 RBI, 11 runs scored, four doubles and a home run. Gleason also walked six times and was 1-1 in stolen bases. He tallied a slugging percentage of .706 and an on-base percentage of .585. Gleason was 5-for-6 with six RBI in a win over Cedarville, while also recording a 4-for-4 effort versus Rockhurst and a 3-for-3 outing versus defending National Champion and currently 13th-ranked West Chester. Gleason currently leads the GLIAC in hits (27) and RBIs (20), while ranking second in batting average (.482).

The Lakers will return to action at Lewis on Friday, March 16, through Sunday, March 18, for a four-game series. First pitch on Friday is set for 4 p.m.

GVSU basketball’s Cassidy Boensch named to All-Midwest Regional Tournament Team

Although the Grand Valley State women’s basketball team had its season come to a close in the NCAA Tournament on Saturday, March 10, sophomore center Cassidy Boensch is still receiving accolades after a dominant end to her season. 

Boensch was named to the 2018 All-Midwest Regional Tournament Team for her performances against No. 24 Michigan Tech and No. 1 Ashland in this year’s national postseason tournament. 

Throughout the season, Boensch earned four GLIAC Player of the Week Awards and was named to the All-GLIAC Defensive Team as well as the GLIAC All-Tournament Team. 

Against the 24th-ranked Huskies, Boensch dropped 32 points to tie her career high while also bringing down 10 rebounds for her sixth double-double of the season and the fifth in her last seven games. Boensch shot 14-of-20 from the floor and 4-for-5 from the charity stripe. The 6-foot-4-inch center also tallied a game-high four blocks to go along with two steals and an assist.

Once again, Boensch was the main source of offense for the Lakers against No. 1 Ashland, as she supplied 27 points to go along with nine rebounds, two blocks, two steals and two assists on 12-of-14 from the field.

Overall, the young Laker averaged 29.5 points on a blazing 76.5 percent from the field and 9.5 rebounds to go along with six blocks, four steals and three assists in the tournament. Boensch also currently ranks third in the entire NCAA Division II in field-goal percentage, shooting 66.0 percent on the season.