ALLENDALE, Mich.—It was a vastly different game between the Grand Valley State baseball team and the Tiffin baseball team played on Saturday, and that was good news for the Lakers, who won on a walk-off RBI single by shortstop Johnny Nate in the eleventh inning just a day after suffering a defeat to the Dragons.
 
GVSU (30-14-1) reached the thirty win plateau for the season in dramatic fashion, plating the game winning run in extra innings after the regulation nine innings were not able to supply a winner. The 2-1 victory evens the series up at one game apiece for the two teams ahead of Sunday's pivotal doubleheader at GVSU Baseball Field, slated for a noon start.
 
Grand Valley had Mitch Ashcraft (2-0) on the mound to start the game, and suffered the only blemish of his outing in the first inning, as a botched flyout allowed a Dragon to get on base, and an RBI single later plated him for an unearned run. Ashcraft would be dominant from that point on, working out of a bases loaded jam in the fourth inning but cruising through four easy innings after that.
 
After the Laker offense struggled to get started, Ashcraft was finally given a run in support in the bottom of the fifth inning. After consecutive bunt singles got Keith Browning and Josh Smith aboard to lead off the inning, a sacrifice bunt by catcher Brody Andrews moved them ahead to third and second, respectively. A groundout by Nate then scored Browning to tie the game at one apiece.
 
After tying the game in the fifth, neither team was able to score for the remaining four innings of regulation play. The Lakers got two men aboard in the eighth with two outs, but were unable to push across a run on Dragon reliever Patrick Bellinger, who relieved Tiffin starter Tyler Nichols.
 
Once the game went to extra innings, the Lakers loaded the bases with two outs in the bottom of the tenth, but Bellinger got a strikeout to end the threat and push the game to the eleventh frame.  In the top of the 11^th, Matt Williams came in to relieve Brett Nearing, who had himself relived Ashcraft to start the ninth. Williams got a groundout and two strikeouts to set the Dragons down in order and give the Lakers one more chance to win the game.
 
In the eleventh inning, second baseman Josh Smith drew a four pitch walk from Bellinger, and was promptly bunted over to second on a sacrifice by Andrews, his third sacrifice hit of the day. That brought up the shortstop Nate, who took a first pitch ball, and lined the second pitch past a diving first baseman for a hit into right field to score Smith and give the Lakers a 2-1 victory.
 
Ashcraft hurled a terrific outing for the Lakers, scattering four hits over eight innings of work, walking two and striking out five. He allowed one unearned run, but did not factor in the decision. Nearing pitched two innings of relief, striking out two, while Williams (3-0) earned his third win of the season by striking out two in a scoreless 11^th inning.
 
Nate was the hero on offense, driving in both Laker runs. Willliams and third baseman Anthony Villar each had a pair of hits, while Andrews was 1-1 on the day with a walk and three sacrifice hits.