Game Notes
Live Stats 

ALLENDALE, Mich.—In an unexpected turn of events, the home opener for the Grand Valley State baseball team will happen sooner than previously scheduled, as unexpected snowfall in Saginaw prompted a switch of venue. A doubleheader against the Cardinals previously scheduled for Friday, March 25^th  in Saginaw will instead take place at the GVSU Baseball field on Saturday, March 26^th.
 
The doubleheader is set for a 1:00 p.m start, with the second game following the conclusion of the first.
 
GVSU (9-7-1) will be playing it's first games in the state of Michigan this season when it takes the field tomorrow to open GLIAC play. Saginaw Valley (8-9) comes into the matchup having defeated Ashland in a three game series last weekend, taking two of the three contests. The Lakers have also thrived as of late, winning three of their last four games, including a 3-1 victory over then #15 University of Indianapolis at the Midwest Regional Baseball Crossover last weekend in Westfield, Indiana.
 
With the warmer weather of Florida boosting their bats, the Lakers hit .360 as a team during the southern slate of games and scored an average of eight runs per game. A return to chilly weather in Indiana last weekend saw the hot bats cool, but allowed for the emergence of strong starting pitching from the Lakers. In the three games Grand Valley played in last weekend's crossover, each Lakers starter pitched at least six full innings, and they combined to allow just six earned runs in 20 innings of work (an ERA of 2.70), allowing 17 hits and striking out 13 batters.
 
In Saturday's victory over #15 University of Indianapolis, junior hurler Kyle Lawson pitched seven strong innings, allowing one unearned run on five hits,  while walking three and striking out four. In picking up his third victory in as many starts, Lawson dropped his ERA over that span to just 0.85, and earned a second straight nod as the GLIAC North Division Player of the Week.
 
This weekend's matchup features two offenses in the top half of the GLIAC conference rankings in total runs scored, with GVSU holding the fourth spot with 118 runs, and SVSU in sixth at 110 runs.  This narrow difference holds true for most of the statistical comparisons between the two, as the margins across the board are quite close.  An oft-overlooked area where the Lakers may be able to work an advantage is on the base paths, as they sit in second in the conference in stolen bases this season, and the Cardinals have allowed 13 swipes this season.  The ability to get into scoring position via stolen bases has been a pivotal facet of the Laker offense this season, as GVSU has lower power hitting numbers than some of the opponents they have faced so far.
 
The top hitter (by average) for the Lakers is Anthony Villar, with a .400 clip, good for the tenth best in the GLIAC. A trifecta of other Laker batters, Keith Browning (.370), Jason Ribecky (.362) and Joel Schipper (.357) have been swinging the bat with authority as well this season. Six different Lakers have double digits RBI's so far, led by Browning and Villar with 15 apiece. Browning leads the team with 27 total hits and six stolen bases, while Villar had a career high six RBI's against Rockhurst (3/14) to close out the Florida trip with a win for GVSU.
 
GVSU with have their hands full with the top three hitters for the Cardinals, as each of the three is hitting above .375 this season. Brendan Harrison (.421) leads the Cardinals with 24 hits and has driven in 11 runs, while Jordan Swiss (.389) had 16 RBI's and is tied with Garrett Soule (.379) for the team lead with 15 runs scored. Soule leads the SVSU attack with 18 RBI's on the season.
 
 The second doubleheader will still take place at Saginaw Valley, but will now take place on Tuesday, March 29th.