Canton, Ohio – Fighting for the top seed in the GLIAC Tournament, the Grand Valley State baseball team split a pair of pitching duels at Malone on Saturday (May 2). The No. 13 Lakers tallied three runs in the final frame of a 3-2 victory in the opener, but managed just five hits after the opening inning of a 2-1 loss in the nightcap.
To begin the day, redshirt junior starting pitcher
Patrick Kelly allowed just two runs—only one was earned—on seven hits in six innings of work, collecting his seventh consecutive victory. The Brookfield, Illinois native racked up four strikeouts and issued a walk, his first 42 1/3 innings.
Due to a Malone run in the first, Kelly pitched from behind the entire afternoon. The Laker offense was stagnant, as it only recorded four hits in the first six innings.
Then came the seventh. GVSU smacked four hits and took advantage of an error to post a three-spot and seize the lead.
Junior first baseman
Josh Griffith knocked his second single of the game to lead things off. After a failed sacrifice bunt attempt, senior outfielder
Mike Nadratowski tied the game with an RBI double to right. A two-out single by redshirt senior shortstop
Kevin Zak brought Nadratowski across, putting the Lakers out in front. Following a botched pickoff attempt and an intentional walk for senior outfielder
Jamie Potts, a double by senior third baseman
Aaron Overbeck plated the club's final run.
The Pioneers used a GVSU throwing error and a single to make it a one-run affair, but sophomore closer
Matt Williams sealed the win with a pair of strikeouts and a fly out. Williams earned his 10
th save of the year, a figure that leads the GLIAC.
Griffith finished 2-for-2, while McLaughlin and Nadratowski were both 1-for-2; junior second baseman
Jesse Abel, Overbeck, Williams and Zak each had one hit.
Although junior starting pitcher
Zach Anderson bounced back from a pair of rocky outings with an eight-inning gem, GVSU was unable to make good use of it. Anderson yielded a mere two runs on five hits and a walk, fanning four in just his second loss of the season.
Things looked bright early on, though. A one-out double by Abel and two-out single by Potts resulted in a run. Unfortunately, it would be the only one the Lakers drove in.
Malone manufactured the tying run via hit by pitch, sacrifice bunt and a double in the third. Small ball also created the winning run in the sixth. A leadoff single, stolen base and an extra base from a fly out to center put a Pioneer on third with just one away. In the middle of the ensuing at bat, a wild pitch enabled them to take the lead and, eventually, the victory.
GVSU put a runner on second in the seventh and ninth innings, but could not produce the tying run.
Williams, who assumed the role of designated hitter in both games, went 2-for-4 at the dish. Freshman catcher
Connor Glick ended the day 2-for-3. Abel, Potts and junior left fielder
Taylor Huebner were the only other Lakers to record hits in the second matchup.
The split takes GVSU's overall record to 29-15, while its GLIAC mark goes to 20-10. Ashland swept its doubleheader with Wayne State, giving it a one-game lead on the Lakers for the GLIAC Tournament's top seed entering the final conference doubleheaders of the regular season.
GVSU's twinbill at Malone will begin at 1 p.m. EDT on Sunday (May 3).
