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Findlay (10:00 a.m., Friday): Live Stats
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Grand Valley State heads into this weekend's GLIAC Tournament in Findlay, Ohio as the league's regular season champion and the #1 seed in the conference competition. For the second year in a row and the third time in five seasons, the Lakers will face the home team in the opening round, as GVSU and Findlay will square off on Friday morning (May 5) at 10:00 a.m.
 
For the final time, the GLIAC Tournament will be held at two fields at the Marathon Diamonds Complex in Findlay - this is the sixth straight year the league tournament has been hosted by the Oilers. Findlay will join the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (GMAC) starting next season.
 
Meeting again in the first round, this year will also be the fourth time in the past five seasons that GVSU and Findlay will meet on the tournament's first day. The Lakers won in 2013's opener (3-0) and defeated UF in 2014's second game (8-4), while the Oilers were victorious in last year's opening game (5-0). Overall, Grand Valley State is 4-2 in GLIAC Tournament play against Findlay.
 
GVSU enters Friday's opener as the tournament's #1 seed with a 17-5 mark in GLIAC play. The preseason favorites to win the conference regular season championship, the Lakers finished two games ahead of second-place Wayne State (15-7) in the league standings. Winners of 19 consecutive games, Grand Valley State is 31-15 overall and has reached the 30-win plateau for the seventh consecutive year.
 
After losing a 1-0 pitcher's duel at #18 Wayne State on April 2, GVSU was 12-15 overall and 2-5 in GLIAC play. Since then, the Lakers are 19-0, have swept nine consecutive doubleheaders, and tossed nine shutouts during that span. For the month of April, Grand Valley State finished 20-2 and allowed two runs or less in 16 of those 22 contests.
 
Here is the opening round schedule for Friday (May 5) in Findlay, Ohio:
 
10:00 a.m.: #1 Grand Valley State (31-15, 17-5 GLIAC) vs. #8 Findlay (20-23, 10-12 GLIAC)
 
10:00 a.m.: #4 Ohio Dominican (27-21, 14-8 GLIAC) vs. #5 Ashland (28-21, 13-9 GLIAC)
 
12:00 p.m.: #3 Saginaw Valley State (31-14, 14-8 GLIAC) vs. #6 Hillsdale (25-22, 13-9 GLIAC)
 
12:00 p.m.: #2 Wayne State (36-12, 15-7 GLIAC) vs. #7 Ferris State (18-22, 11-11 GLIAC)
 
The winning and losing teams of both sets of games will play each other in the next rounds on Friday afternoon, meaning Grand Valley State will face either #4 Ohio Dominican or #5 Ashland in its second game of the day. That will take place at either 2:00 p.m. (with a loss to Findlay) or 4:00 p.m. (with a win over the Oilers). The rest of the double elimination tournament will play out on Saturday and Sunday, with the championship game and the 'if necessary' game being scheduled for Sunday (May 7).
 
GVSU has won both the GLIAC regular season and conference championships in the same year just twice - the Lakers did so in 2001 and 2003. The GLIAC Tournament was cancelled due to weather in both 2004 (when the Lakers were the regular season champions) and again in 2010. Overall, Grand Valley State has captured the league tournament title in 1987, 1990, 2001, 2003, and 2006.
 
This is the 32nd GLIAC Tournament appearance for the Lakers, who have competed in every conference tournament that has been played, save for the 2004 and 2010 tournaments that were cancelled due to inclement weather. All-time in the league tournament, GVSU is 72-59. If the Lakers face Ohio Dominican in the second round on Friday, it will be the third meeting between the schools in the last five years with GVSU winning 3-1 in 2013 and falling 11-3 in 2014. Grand Valley State has faced Ashland three times in the past four seasons, winning 1-0 in 2013 and falling by identical 3-1 scores in 2015 and 2016.
 
The last time GVSU won the GLIAC Tournament title was in 2006 and the Lakers had quite an uphill battle that year after falling to Ashland 2-1 in the opening game. From there, however, Grand Valley State won six consecutive games in two days, starting with wins over Saginaw Valley State (4-3) and Northwood (7-0) on May 5, 2006, after losing to Ashland earlier the same day.
 
Grand Valley State earned revenge on Ashland the next day, winning 6-1 to stay alive before beating Gannon 4-1 to advance to the championship game. The Lakers needed to beat Wayne State twice to win the tournament and they did; GVSU outlasted the Warriors 5-3 in eight innings and 4-3 to notch the GLIAC Tournament title. All four of those victories came on May 6, as the Lakers won six straight elimination games to become league tournament champions.
 
Earlier this season - on April 8 - GVSU swept Findlay in Allendale as wins two and three during the team's current 19-game win streak. Game one was a 6-0 Laker win, with the home team scoring two runs in the first, fourth, and fifth innings. Sophomore Allison Lipovsky tossed a four-hitter with seven strikeouts, while junior Teagan Shomin and sophomore Shannon Flaherty each collected a pair of hits.
 
Game two saw the Lakers bounce back from an early 3-0 deficit to take a 4-3 lead and hold on for the 6-4 victory. UF tied the score at 4-4 in the sixth inning, but RBI singles from Flaherty and junior Jessica Ramos helped GVSU prevail in the nightcap. Junior Courtney Reinhold was strong in relief, allowing one unearned run on four hits in 4.1 innings to earn the victory. Ramos went 3-for-4, while Flaherty, Shomin, and freshman Kelcie LaTour tallied two hits apiece.
 
In regards to Friday's second opponent, Grand Valley State dropped a doubleheader at Ohio Dominican on Mar. 24 in the GLIAC opening twinbill of the season. ODU eeked out a pair of one-run wins; 5-4 in eight innings and 3-2. The Lakers came back to beat Ashland 5-1 in the opening game the following day, but fell 10-2 in the nightcap.
 
Since that weekend trip to Ohio, GVSU is 22-2 overall and the team's only two losses in that span came by one run apiece.
 
The tournament champion earns an automatic bid to the NCAA Midwest Region Tournament next weekend at a pair of sites to be determined. GVSU moved up three spots in this week's rankings, sitting at sixth place in the Midwest Region. The top eight teams from each region make the NCAA Tournament. Last season, Grand Valley State won the Midwest Region #1 Tournament in Indianapolis, Ind. before topping #10 Wayne State in the Midwest Super Regional series in Detroit to advance to the College World Series in Denver, Colo.