ALLENDALE, Mich. – The No. 20 Grand Valley State baseball team swept Purdue Northwest in a doubleheader Tuesday (April 12) at the GVSU Baseball Field. The Lakers improved to 21-9 on the season and 4-2 in the GLIAC. GVSU will travel to Detroit, Michigan to face off against Wayne State for a four game series beginning Thursday (April 14).
Game one – W, 10-7
GVSU came out firing with a five run first inning.
Christian Faust singled to left field that scored
Spencer Nelson. Next batter,
Nathan Logan doubled to deep center field, scoring
Kyle Nott and Faust to make it 3-0. Logan would score on a wild pitch to make it 4-0.
Cade Stanton hit an RBI single to left field to make it 5-0.
Purdue Northwest got on the board in the second inning off a sacrifice fly. The Lakers answered in the bottom half of the frame when Faust scored on a wild pitch to give the Lakers a five run lead again. In the top of the third, Purdue Northwest scored one run off a Laker error that cut the lead back to four. The Lakers answered once again, this time with a
Spencer Nelson 2-run home run over the left field wall. Nelson launched his fourth home run of the season that made it an 8-2 game.
Purdue Northwest would answer with a home run of their own in the top of the fourth. The 3-run shot made it an 8-5 ballgame. Next inning, Purdue Northwest made it a one run game off back-to-back RBI singles. GVSU responded with two runs in the bottom half of the frame to make it a 3-run game again. Nott hit an RBI single to the right side and Faust ripped an RBI double that made it 10-7.
Nick Shaw came in and recorded the final three outs for his sixth save of the year.
Allan Thorington got the start on the mound and had a no decision pitching 3.2 innings allowing four earned runs off four hits, while striking out three Pride batters.
Ben Thomas earned the win (3-1) after tossing 1.1 inning of relief.
Nathan Wargolet pitched an inning of relief in the win.
The Lakers offensively were led by
Kyle Nott who went 3-4 at the plate with and RBI and two runs scored.
Christian Faust batted 2-3 with 2 runs batted in and two runs scored.
Nathan Logan hit 1-3 with a run scored and two RBI's.
Game two – W, 9-6
After a scoreless first inning,
Jake Rydquist hit a 2-RBI single to get the Lakers on the board. In the third inning,
Spencer Nelson crushed his second home run of the day, fifth of the season to make it 3-0 GVSU. Later in the inning,
Kyle Nott scored on a wild pitch to increase the lead to four.
Purdue Northwest scored on a sacrifice fly in the fourth inning to get on the board. The Lakers responded in the bottom half of the frame with two more runs to make it 6-1. Nelson hit an RBI single and
Carter Smith scored on a passed ball.
Purdue Northwest would cut the Laker lead to two off a 2-RBI single in the sixth and a solo home run in the seventh. The Lakers responded again with an RBI single by
Connor Schuman in the seventh that gave the Lakers a three run lead. In the eighth,
Spencer Nelson smoked an RBI triple to right center and then scored off a Purdue Northwest error to make it 9-4. Purdue Northwest scored two runs ninth to make it 9-6, but
Nick Shaw came in to record the final out and earned his seventh save of the year.
Rylan Peets got the start on the mound and earned the win (2-1) after tossing 5.1 innings allowing three runs off seven hits.
Logan Wynalda pitched 3.1 innings of relief allowing three runs off five hits, while striking out one Pride batter.
Spencer Nelson led the Laker offense going 3-5 at the dish with a home run, triple, three RBI's and two runs scored.
Jake Rydquist batted 2-4 with two RBI's and one runs scored, while
Kyle Nott hit 2-4 with a double and two runs scored.
Cade Stanton added two hits and two runs scored.
Between the two games, the Laker offense scored 19 runs and compiled 25 hits. Nelson and Nott each had five hits on the day, while Stanton and Rydquist added three hits.
