ALLENDALE, Mich.-- The Grand Valley State baseball got a shutout victory over Hillsdale college in the opening game of Saturday's doubleheader before falling to the Chargers in the nightcap. A gem from
Ryan Arnold on the mound in game one delivered the Lakers an 8-0 shutout victory, but the Charger offense went unchecked in game two, earning Hillsdale an 8-3 decision.
GVSU moves to 25-15 on the season with the split, and will face the Chargers (20-21) in a home doubleheader on Sunday for the series. In addition, the Lakers will honor their nine seniors in-between their games.
Arnold (4-2) got early help from the Laker offense in the second inning, as
Connor Glick delivered a bases-loaded single to score
Austin LaDoux.
Josh Smith then drew a four pitch walk to bring in
Anthony Villar for the second Laker run.
An RBI single from
Alex Young opened the lead up to 3-0 in the fourth inning, and a sacrifice fly by
Johnny Nate rounded the lead to 4-0 in the fifth inning. Arnold, meanwhile, held the vaunted Chargers offense hitless until the fourth inning, and would allow just three hits total in the game.
In the seventh inning, the Lakers doubled their lead with a four-run outburst. First, an RBI single from
Keith Browning brought home LaDoux and Johnson, and a
Josh Smith RBI double then plated two more runs to make the lead 8-0.
Johnson, Villar, Smith and Glick all had a pair of hits, while LaDoux drew three walks and scored three runs. Browning scored twice and drove in two runs, while Smith knocked in another three. Arnold went the distance in the game, allowing three hits, wlaking three but striking out four.
In game two, both teams scored a pair of runs in the opening frame, but Hillsdale took a 3-2 lead in the third by scoring on a passed ball. A big fourth inning saw the Chargers take hold of the game for good, scoring four runs to take a 7-2 lead. A solo home run in the sixth further extended the lead to 8-2. The Lakers would score one run in the ninth innings on a sacrifice fly, bringing the score to 8-3.
For the second straight game, Smith had three hits and scored a run.
Alex Young tripled and drove in a run while scoring another, while
Matt Williams and
Nick Schultz drove in the other Laker runs.