Xenia, Ohio – There was little drama in the Grand Valley State baseball team's second victory of the GLIAC Tournament. Unlike Thursday's (May 7) win over Malone, the No. 13 Lakers wasted no time getting out in front, seizing a one-run lead at the end of the first and turning it into a 6-1 triumph over fourth-seeded Ohio Dominican.
 
"We scored in four different innings, so it was a pretty steady performance. We had baserunners on for most of the game," said head coach Jamie Detillion. "I'm pretty pleased with our overall performance in all three phases of the game."
 
It looked as though junior starting pitcher Zach Anderson would be in for a long day after yielding a leadoff home run, a single and a walk against the first four Panthers he faced, putting the Lakers behind by a run. A pair of groundouts got him back on track, as he went on to retire the next eight Ohio Dominican batters.
 
"It doesn't really bother me. All I did, honestly, when the ball went out was turn back to the umpire and look for the ball, because I was ready to go," said Anderson. "The mindset was to just keep throwing up zeros…and get strikes, groundballs and outs any way I could."
 
The GVSU bats went to work quickly, erasing the deficit by the bottom of the first with two swings.
 
Following a leadoff bunt single by senior outfielder Mike Nadratowski, a triple off the fence in right center from senior second baseman Jesse Able tied things up. A one-out single to right by senior outfielder Jamie Potts put the Lakers out in front.
 
Anderson retired the side in order in the second and third. A leadoff walk snapped his streak of consecutive batters retired, but a fly out and double play got him out of the fourth unscathed.
 
Intelligent baserunning in the bottom half of that inning allowed the Lakers to extend their lead. After reaching on a hard-hit infield single, sophomore utility player Matt Williams stole second, and, while a wild pitch sent the ball to the backstop, took third without hesitation. Junior first baseman Josh Griffith's grounder to short brought him across five pitches later.
 
Shortly after Anderson tossed his fourth straight hitless inning, Abel led off the bottom of the fifth with a walk. Senior third baseman Aaron Overbeck's two-out walk kept things alive for Williams, who shot a single up the middle for an RBI, making it 4-1.
 
GVSU extended its lead even further in the sixth. With one out and freshman Connor Glick on second, Nadratowski belted a two-run homer—his third of the season—to right.
 
Ohio Dominican managed to drive Anderson's pitch count over 100 in the seventh, forcing him to depart. The Greenwood, Indiana native ended the day with a four-hit, one-run line that featured a pair of strikeouts in 6 2/3 innings. Only two of those hits came after the opening frame.
 
"He settled down and threw a great game, really kept them off balance," said Detillion. "(He) really had good command of his breaking ball today, and that was the difference."
 
Freshman Mitch Ashcraft hurled 1 2/3 innings of scoreless relief before giving way to Williams with one out in the ninth. The All-GLIAC First Team closer issued a walk, but set down the next two hitters to end the game.
 
In addition to his stats on the hill, Williams went 3-for-4 with a run, RBI at the dish. His evening was bolstered by a diving catch near the left field line as well. The Geneva, Illinois product is now 5-for-9 in the club's two GLIAC Tournament games.
 
Nadratowski was 2-for-4 with two RBIs and a pair of runs, while Glick finished 2-for-4 with a run. Abel ended the night a quiet 1-for-2 with two runs, an RBI and a walk.
 
Second-seeded GVSU will face top-seeded Ashland in a showdown of the only two undefeated teams in the double-elimination tournament. First pitch is slated for 10:30 a.m. EDT on Saturday (May 9).
 
"That's what the tournament set up for: No. 1 and No. 2. It's going to be a pretty competitive game," said Detillion. "We're looking forward to it."