ERIE, Pa. – The Grand Valley State baseball team won their sixth straight game after defeating Salem (WV) 7-3 Friday (March 17) afternoon on the campus of Mercyhurst. The Lakers improve to 10-4 on the season, while Salem falls to 5-15.
 
The Lakers got on the board first in the top of the first inning. Kyle Nott singled to left field and advanced to second on an error by the Salem pitcher. Jonas Gulbrandsen hit him home with an RBI double to left field. Salem took the 2-1 lead in the bottom half of the inning off an RBI infield single and double play with the bases loaded. 
 
GVSU answered right back the next half inning to tie the game at two. Connor Schuman launched a solo home run to right field for his first of the season. The Lakers would retake the lead in the fourth inning. With runners on first and second with two outs, Nott notched an RBI single to right field to score Justin Mansager. Salem tied the game again in the seventh inning with an RBI single to center field. Nick Rutkowski kept the game tied by escaping out of a bases loaded jam later in the inning. 
 
In the top of the eighth inning, the Lakers put up four runs to take a 7-3 lead. After Brendan Guciardo reached first off a Salem error and Spencer Nelson single, Nott walked to load the bases. Nathan Logan ripped a double down the left field line to score Guciardo and Nelson. Next batter, Gulbrandsen doubled to center field scoring both Nott and Logan. Sam Leck recorded the final three outs to secure the win.
 
Nick Rutkowski got the start on the mound and earned the win (3-1) after tossing seven innings allowing two earned runs off five hits, while striking out two. Sam Leck tossed the final inning and did not allow a hit. 
 
Offensively the Lakers recorded 14 hits with six players having multiple hits. Spencer Nelson led the team going 3-5 with a run scored. Jonas Gulbrandsen batted 2-4 with two doubles and three runs batted in. Connor Schuman batted 2-5 on the afternoon with a home run. Kyle Nott and Jake Rydquist each went 2-4 at the plate, while Nott scored two runs. Nathan Logan added two hits with two runs batted in and a run scored. 
 
The Lakers will return to the diamond next week Wednesday (March 22) when they travel to Hillsdale, Michigan for a nine-inning game against Hillsdale College. First pitch is scheduled for 3:00 PM. Follow @gvsubaseball for live in-game updates and visit gvsulakers.com for links to live stats and video.