Game Notes l Live Stats l Video Link

ALLENDALE, Mich.— By all appearances, it appears the Grand Valley State baseball team is peaking at the right time, playing their best baseball of the season in the heat of the GLIAC season.  After playing in the Midwest Regional Crossover Baseball Showcase in mid-March, GVSU has gone 11-5 in games played since, all GLIAC matchups, and has yet to lose a conference series this season. 
           
Grand Valley State (20-12-1) will look to improve on their GLIAC North Division leading 11-5 record in a road series against the University of Findlay (13-18, 6-8 GLIAC) this weekend. Live Stats and a video link (without audio) can be found in the links above.
 
The Lakers are fresh off of a doubleheader split with Northwood on Wednesday, in which the Lakers dropped the first game by a 9-6 score before winning the encore by a 5-1 final.
 
In Findlay, the Laker's will face the statistically worst offense in the conference, as the Oilers are batting just .234 as a team this season. Additionally, the team ranks last in the GLIAC in runs scored (116), hits (216),  RBI (98), OBP (.314) and slugging percentage (.291).  Despite this, the Oilers have a 6-8 conference record, with a pair of wins over second place Hillsdale College, who the Lakers will face in their next conference matchup.
 
The Oilers offset some of their offensive struggles with the stingiest defense in the conference, having allowed a GLIAC best 128 runs through 31 games ( a 4.12 average).
Findlay's pitchers have struck out the fifth most batters in the GLIAC while sporting the fifth lowest earned run average (4.81). The Oilers also excel in an area where the Lakers struggle, as they have committed the lowest numbers of errors in the conference (40), and have surrendered just 30 unearned runs all season.
 
Fit to test the Oiler hurlers is the GLIAC's fifth best hitting offense (.310), as the Lakers have collected the sixth most hits in the conference (343) and score  6.2 runs per game, on average.  Nine Laker batters have averages above .300 points on the season, and  ten different players have double digit RBI's on the season, showing the depth of the lineup.
 
The weekend's matchup is one of the few this season in which the Lakers have a noticeable power hitting advantage over their opponent. The Lakers have had success as a contact hitting team that uses good team speed to manufacture runs out of hits that stay inside the park, but are not unable to produce a big hit when needed. The Lakers are fifth in the GLIAC in doubles,  fourth in triples and sixth in slugging percentage this season, despite being second to last in the conference in home runs this season.  The Lakers have made good use of their speed, swiping 42 bases on the season and reaching base at a .384 clip.
 
On the mound for the Lakers is an experienced and veteran pitching staff, as the team possesses  the third lowest ERA in the conference (4.60), has issued the fewest walks of any team in the GLIAC (96), and are second behind the Oilers in lowest total earned runs allowed. Kyle Lawson (6-2) and Tim Tarter (5-1) are second and third, respectively, in wins amongst GLIAC pitchers, as the former has shown the potential to be a clear number one pitcher for the Lakers at times, and the latter has been effective both in starts and relief appearances this season, as well as anchoring the Laker pitching staff with an experienced veteran presence.