Midland, Mich. – Offensive momentum is higher than it has been all season for the Grand Valley State baseball team. The No. 16 Lakers amassed 32 runs on 33 hits, sweeping a pivotal GLIAC divisional series at Northwood. Taking both games of the doubleheader moves GVSU into a tie for first place in the league's North Division.
 
GVSU opened with a 12-9 victory and capped the twinbill with a 20-5 drubbing, lighting up the scoreboard with 21 hits—its highest total since a 21-hit performance versus Charleston on March 9, 2013.
 
Game one saw the Lakers overcome a 2-0 deficit and run away with a victory in the later innings.
 
After giving up two runs in the second, GVSU tallied five runs in the third inning. With runners on first and second and two outs, redshirt senior shortstop Kevin Zak shot a single into left, scoring senior third baseman Mitchell Kozlowski. Back-to-back doubles by senior outfielder Jamie Potts and junior outfielder Jason Ribecky plated three more runs. Ribecky came home on a throwing error following a grounder from senior designated hitter Aaron Overbeck, capping the two-out rally.
 
A single by junior catcher John McLaughlin and squeeze bunt by Nadratowski brought two more runs across in the sixth.
 
The Lakers added even more insurance in the seventh, matching their highest single-inning total with seven runs.
 
Potts reached on a throwing error with one out, which set up Ribecky's second RBI double of the game. Not long after Overbeck walked, thanks to a wild pitch, he and Ribecky moved into scoring position. Pinch-hitting for junior first baseman Josh Griffith, redshirt sophomore Kevin Carroll walked to load the bases. A fielder's choice in the next at bat cut down the lead runner, but Kozlowski delivered a two-RBI single shortly thereafter. Nadratowski followed it up with a two-RBI triple to deep center.
 
It took five different pitchers for the Lakers to hold off Northwood's seven-run comeback in the bottom half of the frame. Nevertheless, they collected the win.
 
Junior starting pitcher Zach Anderson improved to 4-1 with a 6-inning outing. The Greenwood, Indiana native gave up three runs, two being earned, four hits and seven walks, striking out four along the way. Sophomore closer Matt Williams recorded the final out to nab his sixth save of the season.
 
Five Lakers—Kozlowski, McLaughlin, Nadratowski, Potts and Ribecky—recorded two hits. Kozlowski, McLaughlin, Overbeck, Potts and Ribecky scored two runs apiece, while Nadratowski led the club with three RBIs.
 
As it turns out, the offensive outburst in the opener was just only the beginning, as the Lakers routed Northwood to the tune of 20-5.
 
And GVSU jumped all over the Timberwolves in the first. Nadratowski led off the game with a double. Two outs later, Potts laced a single up the middle to drive him in. Right after a Ribecky single, Overbeck reached on a throwing error, and Potts came across to make it 2-0. Consecutive RBI singles by Carroll and freshman catcher Connor Glick rounded out the four-spot.
 
The three-run third started with a Ribecky double and Overbeck single. Glick picked up another RBI on a grounder that resulted in a throwing error, and Kozlowski plated Overbeck with a squeeze bunt. Another throwing error eventually brought Glick across.
 
The bulk of GVSU's scoring came in the fourth, when it notched six runs on six hits and anther Northwood error.
 
With the bases loaded and one out, catcher's interference allowed a runner to score. Glick added to his RBI total with a two-run double, and Kozlowski laced a two-run single in the very next at bat. An RBI single in Zak's second at bat of the inning produced the frame's final run.
 
Northwood came back with a two-spot, but Glick, sophomore outfielder Joel Schipper and senior infielder Jesse Abel drove in runs with singles and a sacrifice fly, respectively, in the fifth.
 
A two-RBI single by Potts, RBI double by Ribecky and an RBI single from senior catcher Patrick Bobolts put GVSU at the 20-run mark—the first time it reached that total since posting 22 runs at Saginaw Valley State on April 17, 2014—in the seventh.
 
Ribecky finished 4-for-5 with two doubles, an RBI and five runs, becoming just the seventh Laker since 2000 to score five times in a game. Overbeck scored a career-high four runs and went 2-for-3 with two walks. Glick's five RBIs were a career best, and tied for the second-most by a GVSU player this season. Kozlowski went 2-for-4 with three RBIs to continue his hot streak. Potts went 3-for-6 with three RBIs, ending the doubleheader 5-for-10 with five RBIs.
 
Reliever Jordan Drake picked up the win in relief of Griffith, who lasted three innings, to get to 1-1.
 
GVSU improved to 21-12 overall and 13-7 in GLIAC play. More importantly the Lakers now boast the same 8-4 divisional record as Northwood.
 
The club returns to Allendale for its final set of home games this weekend. GVSU faces Findlay on Saturday (April 18) and Sunday (April 19), which will also be senior day.

Notes:
-Mitchell Kozlowski has posted multi-hit performances in each of the last seven games, going 16-for-24 (.667) at the dish during that span
-Kozlowski's three RBIs in game two set a new career high
-Jason Ribecky is the fourth Laker to post a four-hit game this season
-Mike Nadratowski's two runs in the doubleheader were the 167th and 168th of his career, moving him into a tie with Scott Allen ('05) for the fourth-most in school history
-Jamie Potts' double in game one was the 40th of his career, tying Jon Visser ('98) for the sixth-most by a Laker
-Kevin Zak became the sixth Laker since 2000 to tally seven at bats in a game
-Zak's RBI in game one lifted his career total to 164 and broke a tie with Scott Allen ('05) for the third-most in program history
-Connor Glick's three runs and three hits were both career highs
-GVSU's 32 runs were its most in a doubleheader since it scored the same number at Tiffin on April 17, 2011
-The Lakers' 33 hits were its highest total in a doubleheader since racking up 36 against Findlay on April 2, 2010
-GVSU has recorded 10 hits in each of its last seven games, marking the first time since 2013 it has accomplished that feat
-The Lakers set season highs in at bats (48), runs (20), hits (21), RBIs (17) and total bases (25) in game two of the doubleheader