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ALLENDALE, Mich.—The Grand Valley State baseball team will host its final GLIAC series at home this weekend, welcoming Tiffin University to GVSU Baseball Field for an inter-divisional clash.  The Lakers are destined for the GLIAC Tournament next weekend in Xenia, Ohio, while Tiffin is mired in a 19-27 season that will likely see them miss tournament play. 
 
The Lakers will look to play one game on Friday against Tiffin, two seven inning games on Saturday, and a final nine inning game on Sunday. Sunday's game will also be Senior Day for the Lakers, as they will honor the efforts of four departing seniors, Zach Anderson, Tim Tarter, Jason Ribecky and Josh Griffith.
 
GVSU is 29-13-1, having split Thursday's rescheduled doubleheader against Wayne State at home. The Lakers took game one by a 6-0 score on a brilliant two hit complete game shutout by senior southpaw Tim Tarter, and had a chance to walk-off in the second game before dropping the nightcap by an 11-5 tally in twelve innings. The loss snapped the Laker's ten game win streak dating back to April 20^th, and was just their third loss at home this season.
 
Tiffin will come into the weekend having shown some signs of life, winning three of their last four, including a pair of victories over Ashland at home on Tuesday. The Dragons are the second lowest scoring team in the conference, averaging just over five runs per game, and hit just .272 as a team.  Despite hitting for a relatively low average, the Dragons have 405 hits as a team this season, which is eighth in the conference, however their feast or famine hitting approach has led to a conference worst 327 strikeouts this season.
 
Offensively, Tiffin is led by big-hitting infielder Nick Hueneburg, who leads the team in slugging percentage (.634), hits (55), RBI (45), home runs (12) and runs scored (36), among other categories. Alec McCurry and Kyle Durham are hitting .335 and .319, respectively, and both have crossed the plate at least 20 times for the Dragons this season.
 
For the Lakers, the name of the game has been collective prowess in hitting for contact, as the Lakers sport a healthy .312 batting average, the third best mark in the GLIAC, and are sixth in hits (449) and  fifth in on-base percentage. In addition to hitting for average, the Lakers have had timely power spikes, slugging seven home runs in their past twelve home games, including three by Jason Ribecky, to help outscore their opponents at home over that span by a 125-96 margin. Ribecky has taken the role of the teams leading power hitter in stride, eclipsing last seasons home run total and amassing 32 RBI on the season thus far.
 
Grand Valley State is 9-1 in their last ten games, and through solid pitching have made GVSU Baseball Field into very unfriendly confines for opposing hitters. In home games this season, opposing teams are batting just .268 against the Lakers pitching staff, which owns a 4.36 team ERA at home. Additionally, the Lakers have pitched two complete game shutouts at home, and gone a perfect 7-7 in save situations, with close Matt Williams allowing just five hits on a .094 average to opposing batters, while striking out 19 in home appearances.