April 6, 2014
Game One Box Score (2-0 W)
Game Two Box Score (9-4 W)
YPSILANTI, Mich. - The 17th-ranked Grand Valley State baseball team continued its stellar pitching on Sunday (Apr. 6), completing a three game sweep of Ohio Dominican with victories of 2-0 and 9-4 at Oestrike Stadium on the campus of Eastern Michigan University.
The victories move the Lakers to 19-7 overall with a 10-2 record in the GLIAC, while Ohio Dominican falls to 15-13 overall with a 5-8 mark in the conference.
GVSU is scheduled to take on Saginaw Valley State in a doubleheader on Wednesday (Apr. 9) at 2 p.m. at the GVSU Baseball Field. Any potential schedule changes will be announced here on gvsulakers.com in the coming days.
After Evan Nietfeldt threw a four-hit shutout against the Panthers on Saturday, the Laker pitching staff picked up from that point on Sunday, as game one starter Aaron Jensen was just as spectacular on the mound, yielding only two hits in 5.2 innings of work.
All the run support he needed came on two runs in the bottom of the third. Ariel Aracena-Sanchez drew a one-out walk, then moved to second on a bunt single by Mike Nadratowski. Jamie Potts continued his hot streak with an RBI single back up the box to plate the first run of the game. With runners on first and second, Kevin Zak laced a single in to center field that plated Nadratowski, giving the Lakers a 2-0 lead that they wouldn't relinquish.
The Panthers threatened in the top of the sixth, staging a two-out rally. A single and a walk put two on and after a pitching change, another walk loaded the bases. Laker closer Chris Ripple was able to induce a fly ball in to center field, however, for the third out to preserve the lead.
Ripple would nail down the seventh inning as well, picking up his seventh save of the year with 1.1 innings of shutout relief.
Potts and Taylor Banks each went 2-for-3 in the game, with Potts picking up an RBI. Zak went 1-for-3 with an RBI, while Nadratowski was 1-for-3 with a run scored.
In game two, the Lakers found themselves trailing early on in the game, as Ohio Dominican scored three runs in the top of the second after an error on a play at the plate allowed the inning to continue.
The Lakers cut in to the lead in the bottom of the third, beginning with singles by Stuart Eisler and Joel Schipper to lead off the inning that put runners at the corners. Nadratowski then lifted a sacrifice fly to right field that scored Eisler and cut the lead to 3-1. After Potts singled to put two runners on, Zak hit a ground ball to second where the throw on the turn of the potential double play ball got away from the first baseman, allowing Schipper to come in to score from second and make it a 3-2 game.
GVSU took the lead for good with a four-run fourth inning that began with a one-out walk from Aaron Overbeck and a single by Banks. Eisler then laid a bunt down the first base line, scoring Overbeck and putting two runners on with one out. Schipper then hit a ground ball to the short stop, but a bobbled ball on a flip to second to begin a double play loaded the bases. Nadratowski then drew a four-pitch walk to give the Lakers a 4-3 lead. With the bases still loaded, Zak hit a two-RBI single through the right side of the infield to move the lead out to 6-3.
GVSU got a single tally in the bottom of the fifth on an RBI triple from Eisler that scored Abel, who walked to lead off the inning.
The Panthers got that run back in the top of the sixth on a sacrifice fly with the bases loaded, but Dan Saier was able to get the Lakers out of trouble, getting a fly ball and a groundout to end the inning with minimal damage as the Lakers led 7-4.
GVSU got two more insurance runs in the bottom of the sixth, getting a lead off walk from Nadratowski, a wild pitch that moved him to second, and an RBI single from Potts. After Potts stole second, Brugnoni crushed an RBI double in to the left field gap to make it a 9-4 game.
Saier got the save with 1.2 innings of hitless relief. Kevin Hallberg got the victory in his first start of the season, throwing 5.1 innings and allowing oly four hits with four strikeouts.
Eisler led the offense, going 3-for-3 with two runs, two RBI and his first triple of the season. Nadratowski drove in two runs, scored once and drew two walks. Potts was 2-for-4 with a run scored, an RBI and his ninth stolen base of the season. Zak finished 1-for-4 with two RBI.
