ALLENDALE, Mich.—The Grand Valley State baseball team finished its regular season with a doubleheader split with Tiffin on a sunny afternoon in Allendale, edging Tiffin 7-6 in the first game before falling in the second game by a 3-1 margin.
 
Grand Valley State finishes the regular season at 31-15-1, while carrying a 22-8 conference record into the 2016 GLIAC Tournament, which begins on Thursday. With the victory, GVSU ties Ashland for the best conference record and as such the two are Co-Champions of the GLIAC regular season.Tiffin ends its season at 21-29.
 
In the first game, the Lakers fell behind 1-0 in the third inning to the Dragons, only to respond in the bottom of the inning with a pair of runs. After Seth Johnson opened the frame with a leadoff double, he advanced to third on a groundout, and scored on an RBI double by shortstop Johnny Nate, the hero of GVSU's walk-off victory the day before. After Nate advanced to third on a groundout, he came in to score on a Tiffin error that allowed Jason Ribecky to reach at first, and the Lakers took a 2-1 lead.
 
The Dragons responded right back in the top of the fourth, taking a 6-2 lead back after scoring five runs in the frame. The Lakers would get a pair of runs back in the bottom of the inning, however, to trim the lead to two. After Connor Glick reach on a fielder's choice with two outs, he advanced to third on a Johnson single. After Josh Smith walked on four straight pitches, the bases were loaded for the Lakers with Nate up to bat. An errant pickoff throw of Smith by the Tiffin catcher caused a collision at first, leaving Smith shaken up on the play. He was replaced by Joel Schipper and would not return to the game.
 
After Nate drew a walk, he drove in his second run of the contest, and got the score to 6-3. Alex Young then came up with two outs and the bases full yet again, and was hit by a pitch, which drove in another Laker runner as Johnson scored. The pair of runs got the margin to two runs, 6-4, where it would stay for an inning.
 
In the bottom of the sixth inning, the Lakers would strike yet again. Needing two runs and having just two innings left to get them, the Lakers got a leadoff walk from Schipper, who then advanced on a single by Young. Ribecky then grounded out to first base, advancing Schipper and Young. Matt Williams was intentionally walked to load the bases for Anthony Villar, who delivered an RBI single to left field to score Schipper and Young for the game-tying runs. The next batter up, Josh Griffith, hit a ball to the second baseman, but got a fortuitous bounce off the grass high and over the head of the second baseman, plating Williams for the go-ahead run, 7-6.
 
With the lead now in hand, the Laker installed Williams into the game in the closer role, relieving Brett Nearing. Williams induced a pair of groundouts and struck out the final batter for his 16^th save and a Laker victory.
 
Nate and Villar each had a hit and two runs batted in apiece, with the former also scoring a run. Johnson had a pair of hits and scored twice, while Young and Griffith each had a hit and drove in a run.
 
Nearing (4-0) earned the win, pitching 1/3 of an inning in relief of Zach Anderson, who was taken off the hook for the loss by the Laker comeback. He pitched 5.2 innings, giving up six earned runs on nine hits, walking three and striking out three.
 
In the second game, also a seven inning affair, the Lakers struggled to get much offense going against Dragon starter Luke Fraley, and Tiffin slowly built up a lead against a quartet of Laker pitchers. Tiffin scored a run in the third inning, unearned, off of GVSU starter Kyle Lawson (8-3), knocked in a second run in the fourth off of Troy Dykhuis and got an insurance run in the sixth against Nearing. Williams came in to pitch 1.1 innings of relief, but struggled with his command, walking three batters.
 
The Lakers weren't able to scathe Foley until catcher Brody Andrews slugged a home run, his third of the season, over the fence in right center in the bottom of the sixth inning. That cut the lead to just two runs, but the Lakers had just one final frame to tie the game in the bottom of the seventh inning.
 
After Johnson led off the inning with a single to right field, he advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by pinch hitter Keith Browning, but that was as far as he would get, as the Lakers stranded him on second as Fraley closed out the game with a popout and a strikeout.
 
Andrews had one hit, one run and one RBI for the Lakers, while Johnson had a pair of hits.