May 7, 2011
Game One Box Score (4-3 W)
Game Two Box Score (4-3 W) |
Photo Gallery 
Allendale, Mich. - The second-ranked Lakers squeaked out a pair of 4-3 victories against Ohio Dominican on Saturday (May 7) as head coach Steve Lyon collected his 500th career victory as the leader of the GVSU baseball squad. The Lakers also extended their winning streak to 23 straight games, a new school record. Sophomore Brad Zambron got a save in both ends of the doubleheader, giving him nine saves on the season to tie the single-season school record.
In the opener, the Lakers struck in the first inning again this season, pushing one run across on a ground ball to the shortstop from junior Cody Grice, scoring senior Cory Phillips who led the inning off with a double.
After the Panthers took the lead with a two-run third inning, the Lakers responded in the bottom half of the frame as Phillips singled in junior Derrik Strzalkowski to knot the game at two.
The Panthers went out in front in the fifth with a double and single in consecutive at-bats to make it 3-2. After Phillips singled to lead off the bottom of the fifth, senior Paul Young advanced him to third on a single off a hit-and-run and Grice brought Phillips home to tie the game on a single into center field to make it a 3-3 game.
In the bottom of the sixth, junior Brian Robinson singled into left field to lead off the frame and with one out, Young then lifted a sacrifice fly deep into right field to score Robinson from third.
The Panthers got a single to lead off the top of the seventh, but a double play and strikeout from Zambron capped off the victory.
Phillips finished the game 3-for-3 with two runs, one RBI and a walk. Young and Strzalkowski were both 2-for-2 while Grice was 1-for-2 with two RBI and two walks. Senior Joe Jablonski didn't factor into the decision, but went five innings, allowing seven hits and three runs while striking out four. Junior Cory Rademacher moved to 3-0 on the year by earning the victory with his perfect inning of work. Zambron nailed down the save with one inning of work and one strikeout.
The Lakers got out to an early lead in game two as well with a sacrifice fly from Grice in the bottom of the first inning that scored Phillips, who walked to lead off the inning. After the Panthers tied the game in the top of the third, Phillips led off with a single in the bottom half of the frame, then stole second and moved to third as the catcher's throw hit off the fielder's glove and rolled into right field. Again, a Grice sacrifice fly brought Phillips in to make it a 2-1 game.
A triple into the right field gap from senior Torre Aguirre scored Strzalkowski with one out in the bottom of the fourth inning as the Lakers moved the lead to 3-1. A single down the right field line from Robinson then plated Aguirre to make it a 4-1 game.
The Panthers mounted a comeback in the top of the sixth as the lead-off batter reached on a throwing error that pulled the first baseman off the bag. After a strikeout, walk and pitching change, a passed ball moved the runners to second and third with one out. A sacrifice fly to the warning track in left field brought one run in to make it a 4-2 game and a single through the left side brought the second run in to cut the lead to 4-3.
After Zambron came in with two outs in the inning and a runner on second, a ball was shot back up the middle that was knocked down by Phillips in shallow center field. The runner from second attempted to round third and score, but a strike from Phillips to junior Jared Cowan at the plate erased the runner for the final out of the inning, cutting down the tying run.
Zambron struck out two in the final inning to preserve the win and earn his second save of the day. That gives him nine saves on the year, tying the single-season school record with Joe Finnerty (2004) and Tom Beard (1991). Junior Kyle Schepel moved to 9-0 on the season with the victory, as he went 5.1 innings, allowing two hits and no earned runs while striking out six.
Phillips went 1-for-2 with two runs and a walk in the game while Grice had two RBI. Aguirre and Robinson each had one hit and one RBI.
Head coach Steve Lyon moved to 500 career wins at Grand Valley State with the nightcap victory. He holds a career record at GVSU of 500-187-2 (.727).
The Lakers (43-3, 32-1 GLIAC) will finish their regular season and home schedule on Sunday with another doubleheader against Ohio Dominican (19-25, 16-17 GLIAC) slated to begin at noon.
