Grand Valley State will open GLIAC action on the baseball diamond Saturday in a four-game series that has had schedule changes. Friday's single game has been moved to Saturday and will now be a 7-inning game starting at 1 p.m., followed by a 9-inning affair. Sunday will also be a doubleheader that will consist of  7-inning and 9-inning games beginning at 1 p.m. GVSU enters the weekend 7-8, while Wayne State is 14-3. The Warriors won the series 3-1 a year ago in Detroit. The Lakers have played one of the toughest schedules in Division II baseball with nine of 15 games coming against teams that are ranked regionally in the NCBWA regional and national polls. 
 
The Lakers rank third in the league in hitting with a .294 batting average, while the Warriors rank eighth at .272. GVSU has walked 56 times and struck out 82 times, compared to WSU's 73 walks and 118 strikeouts. GVSU and WSU have similar pitching numbers with Wayne State leading the GLIAC in team ERA at 3.15, while the Lakers are third at 3.88. Wayne State pitchers have recorded 179 strikeouts and walked 56, while the Lakers have 106 strikeouts and 63 walks. 
 
Junior Joe Laudont leads the Laker attack offensively as a catcher and in the DH role, hitting .421 with nine RBI and 10 runs scored. OF Chase Carpenter is hitting .396 and collected a team-best 19 hits and 13 runs scored. 2B has come up with some clutch hits and is hitting .300 with a team-high 12 RBI, while 1B Ryan Blake-Jones is hitting .293 with 12 hits and nine RBI. RF Jacob Gleason is hitting .283 with 13 hits, 11 runs and nine RBI, followed by 3B Anthony Cocco hitting .277 with 13 hits and 10 RBI. Junior SS Parker Murdie is hitting .268 and ranks third on the team in hits with 15. 
 
Junior LHP Cade Cintorino, who is 2-1 on the year, has a 1.59 ERA in 17.0 IP, including back-to-back shutouts for the Lakers. Freshman RHP Rylan Peets has a 1.88 ERA in 14.1 innings pitched, while Michael Morelli has a 2.45 ERA in three appearances and two starts. Brendan Nearing, Brett Nearing and Luke Hargis have had solid outings for Grand Valley State.