Game Notes

ALLENDALE, Mich.—After a relatively slow start to the 2016 season, the Grand Valley State baseball team has been playing better ball as of late, and head into this weekend's twinbill against Ashland University as winners of five of their last seven games. The Lakers (12-8-1, 3-1 GLIAC) are coming off of a split home/away series with the Cardinals of Saginaw Valley, and took three games out of four from SVSU to start the GLIAC season.
 
First pitch for Saturday is set for 1:00 p.m. at Ashland's Donges Field. Both Saturday and Sunday will feature a doubleheader, with the second game starting about 20 minutes after the conclusion of the first. Sunday is also set for a 1:00 p.m. start. 

The Eagles (13-9, 4-0 GLIAC) come into the matchup having won four straight GLIAC games against Ohio Dominican this past week, before dropping a close decision to West Liberty State on Wednesday. The Eagles have been one of the top scoring teams in the conference this season and currently sit five spots ahead of Grand Valley in second place, with 182 runs on the season in 22 games.
 
A noticeable shift for Grand Valley in recent games has been a steady decline in the team's ERA. After starting the season with a higher than normal earned run average, the pitching staff has improved vastly as a unit, and their combined 4.65 ERA is the third best mark in the GLIAC. This steady improvement has been highlighted by impressive individual performances along the way. Starter Kyle Lawson is making a strong case to be considered the Laker's No.1 pitcher, going 4-0 in his last four starts, giving up just three earned runs (a 1.00 ERA) while striking out 22 batters. Fellow starter Josh Griffith has been successful as of late as well, dropping his ERA by four runs since the beginning of the season. While picking up just one decision (a win) in his last three starts, Griffith has surrendered just four earned runs in 19.0 innings pitched, for a 1.89 ERA during that span. 
 
While the pitching has come around at the right time for the Lakers to make a pivotal impact in winning games, the Grand Valley offense has slackened off a bit with the return to cooler weather. The Lakers have not scored more than six runs in any of the seven games played since the 17-9 win over Rockhurst that ended the Florida trip. The Lakers are not struggling to hit the ball, sitting at fifth in the conference in total hits, but are the seventh best hitting team (for average) in the GLIAC with a .303 team average, and sit at the same rank in total runs scored, with 130 in 21 games.
 
Without relying on sheer power, the Lakers have been scoring runs in the way best suited to their team skills this season, chief among them being great team speed. With nine stolen bases in the series against the Cardinals, the Lakers moved up to second in the GLIAC in that category, and have 32 stolen bases this season through 21 games. At the current pace, the 2016 Lakers are in position to end up somewhere on the top 10 list for stolen bases by a team in program history. Speedy center fielder Alex Young is one of the primarily catalysts for the Lakers on the basepaths thus far, going a perfect 9-9 on steal attempts. In the four game series with the Cardinals, he had seven hits, five of the Lakers twelve runs scored, and swiped six bases, raising his season average from .200 to .311. If the Lakers find themselves in a game where runs are at a premium, Young has the skills to be a difference maker once on base.
 
Last season, the Lakers faced the Eagles five times, and got the best of the matchup, to the tune of four wins and just one loss, outscoring the Eagles 44-23 in those games. However the one loss was a big one, as it came in the NCAA Midwest Regional, and ended the Lakers season prematurely. With many news faces on the team this season, there is just a small faction of returning players that will no doubt be looking to get some revenge against the Eagles.
 
Barring a meeting in the GLIAC Tournament or other postseason matchup, this weekend's doubleheader will be the only matchup between the two teams this season. As one of the statistically better teams in the conference, Ashland will be a good matchup for the Lakers as they look to establish the identity of their season moving forward.