The Ferris State University softball team battled nationally seventh-ranked rival Grand Valley State to a pair of one-run games at home on Friday (March 29), beating the Lakers in the opener at the FSU Softball Field.

The two West Michigan rivals fought to identical 2-1 scores with FSU winning the opener before the Lakers pulled out the win in the nightcap for the split.

In the opener, Grand Valley State was held to a single run on two hits as senior ace Aryn Gallacher put together a great performance in the circle while being aided by strong defensive play. She struck out four and walked only one in the victory.

The Bulldogs scored the first two runs of hte game in the bottom of the third on RBI's from Abby Meyer and Jadyn Joseph. GVSU answered with a single run in the sixth, but could not find the equalizer.

Ferris State had four hits overall, including hits from Meyer along with Ella McDonald, Emma Gillard and Maddie Gkekas. FSU held the Lakers to only two hits.

In game two, the Lakers tallied 13 hits, but could manage only two runs. However, the Lakers again held the Bulldogs to four hits and FSU totaled only a single run.

Grand Valley State scored in the fourth to break the scoreless tie before Ferris State responded with a single run in the bottom of the sixth to knot the game back up. The contest went to extra innings and GVSU put a run on the board in the eighth to pull out the win.

Gillard had two hits and tripled for the Bulldogs in addition to driving in FSU's only run while Ferris State also got hits from Alexis Kozlowski along with Brooklyn Verbeek.

In the circle, the Bulldog combination of Ashley Webb and Izabella Regner combined to allow only two runs on 13 hits with three strikeouts and a walk.

GVSU's Genesis Eggart earned the game two win, striking out three and walking three in going the distance.

The Bulldogs will visit Davenport on Saturday (March 30) for a league doubleheader in Caledonia. First pitch for game one has been pushed back to 2 p.m. (ET) with game two set for approximately 4 p.m. (ET).