AUBURNDALE, Fla. – The Grand Valley State baseball team opened up their spring trip in Florida with a doubleheader sweep of the University of Findlay, winning game one 9-3 and game two 6-2. The Lakers are currently riding a four-game win streak and improve their record to 4-1 overall.
Game 1 (W, 9-3)
GVSU found themselves trailing 1-0 early before a seven-run second inning gave the Lakers a commanding lead. After scoring on a pair of Findlay errors, junior
Spencer Nelson recorded a RBI single and senior
Ryan Blake-Jones belted a RBI double to left field, scoring senior
Connor Grice and pushing the lead to 7-1. The Oilers would score one in the third and fifth inning to trim the Laker lead to 7-3, but senior
Anthony Cocco answered in the bottom half of the fifth, ripping a two-run double to the opposite field which scored Blake-Jones and
Jordan Chandler to move the score to 9-3.
Junior
Nick Shaw (1-1) earned the win on the mound, tossing 5.1 innings while allowing three runs (1 earned) on four hits and three strikeouts. Senior
Jared Skubic pitched the final 1.2 innings in relief without allowing a run.
Senior
Parker Murdie recorded two hits and a run scored, while Cocco totaled two RBI.
Game 2 (W, 6-2)
Junior
Ben Thomas (1-0) threw a gem in game two, finishing with a complete-game line of: 7 innings, four hits, two runs, one walk, and seven strikeouts. The Zeeland, Mich. native brought a no-hitter into the sixth inning before a two-out hit by the Oilers broke up the no-hit bid.
The Lakers opened the scoring in the first with a Blake-Jones RBI double to left center, bringing home Cocco. In the second inning, Cocco would launch a double to right center to score
Ryan Lorber and give GVSU a 2-0 lead through two innings of play. After three straight scoreless frames by both teams, the Lakers increased their lead to 5-0 in the sixth inning with a Lorber RBI single, a Murdie RBI triple, and a Nelson sac fly. GVSU added another run in the top half of the seventh before Findlay threatened in their final at-bats. However, Thomas finished out the contest, earning his first complete-game in a Laker uniform.
Seniors
Nathan Bonter and
Stephen Pim each recorded a team-high two hits.
GVSU will take on West Virginia Wesleyan in a doubleheader tomorrow morning (Mar. 2) at 9:30 AM.