Ferris State Softball Beats Rival GVSU To Advacne In GLIAC Tournament

Big Rapids, Mich. - The Ferris State University softball squad advanced to the winner's bracket final at the 2026 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Tournament with a dominating 9-1 win over rival Grand Valley State in six innings on Friday (May 8) in Crown Point, Ind.

The Bulldogs tallied five runs in the opening inning of play and added two more runs in both the fifth and sixth innings to put the game away. FSU limited the Lakers to a single run in the third and outhit GVSU 12-6 for the day.

With the win, the Bulldogs will face top-seeded Saginaw Valley State in the winner's bracket final of the double-elimination league tournament on Saturday (May 9) starting at 12 p.m. (ET). The winner will advance to Sunday's (May 10) league title game while the loser will play an elimination game later on Saturday afternoon.

In the win over GVSU, the second-seeded Bulldogs got three hits and five RBI's from shortstop Jayden Marlatt. Second baseman Jadyn Joseph also had two hits as did center fielder Emma Gillard. Marlatt homered and hit a double while first baseman Alexis Kozlowski also had a double for Ferris State.

Along with Marlatt's five RBI's, the Bulldogs also got RBI's from Gillard and fellow outfielder Ava Gardner along with third baseman Emma Herremans and catcher Emily Dillon.

In the circle, freshman Katie Shuboy notched her 16th win of the year, limiting the third-seeded Lakers to no earned runs on four hits with two walks and a strikeout. Cecelia Bell tossed one inning and did not give up a run on two hits.

The win was the Bulldogs' 12th in a row this year as FSU improved to 36-18 overall this campaign.