After a weather delay held Friday’s game back, senior Jayden Dentler took the mound for the Lakers. The Lakers first put the ball in play in the fourth inning with back-to-back hits from junior Evan Morrison and senior Ryan Dykstra. GVSU scored first off a single from senior Brendan Guciardo, which brought Morrison and Dykstra home. Davenport responded in the following innings with a couple runs of their own to tie things up.

The lead returned to GVSU with a triple by Dykstra and a flyout by junior Jovan Gill, which scored two more. Dentler and the Lakers’ defense took down the next six batters to secure the win.

“When pitching, batting and fielding are all working for us, that’s when we click and get on a hot streak,” said Dysktra.

Assistant coach Jarret Olsen agreed with Dysktra.

“Well, we’re just playing good, complimentary baseball right now,” added Olsen.

Dentler was credited with his sixth win of the season, completing all seven innings with 97 pitches.

Pitching in game two was redshirt sophomore Owen Avery. Down 1-0, the Lakers got on base in the fourth inning with singles from senior Jonas Gulbrandsen and Guciardo. A hit up the middle by sophomore Ryan Stimac scored two, pulling the Lakers ahead, 2-1.

Allowing six hits and giving up five runs in the fifth inning, Avery was substituted for senior Colby Phipps. In the sixth inning, a triple by Caleb Estrada and a wild pitch brought him home to bring the score to 6-3. Three more hits by the Lakers led to scoring two runs, but despite bringing things close, Davenport pushed back with a home run in the seventh inning. 

In the ninth inning, Dykstra brought it back to a one-score game with a home run to right center. However, the Lakers were unable to close the gap, losing game two. Phipps finished with 59 pitches, while Avery threw 84 pitches and was credited with the loss.

Starting on the mound in Saturday’s game three was junior Collin Bradley. Davenport obtained an early lead in the first inning, scoring one run, and later extended it with two walks and three hits in the second inning. This scored the Panthers three more runs.

Down 4-0, the Lakers rebounded with hits by junior Nick Krstich and Morrison, as well as a walk by Estrada. With bases loaded, Dykstra was able to get a ground out RBI. A double hit down the right field line by Gill brought home the remaining runners, bringing the score to 4-3.

After giving up a solo home run in the fifth inning, the Lakers fought back with hits from Guciardo and junior Ayden VanEnkevort. A sacrifice fly from Krstich scored one run, putting it back to a one-run game.

Freshman Sebastian Talaga took over on the mound for Bradley in the sixth inning, where he held Davenport scoreless in the next two innings. In that time, the Lakers were on a roll, scoring from a sacrifice fly from Dykstra and a hit from Krstich that scored two more.

Heading into the ninth inning, VanEnkevort was brought in to close out the game. Unfortunately, chaos struck with the final batter up. With bases loaded, a wild pitch was not able to be controlled by the Lakers’ defense. Davenport took advantage and was able to send three runners home for the win, 8-7.

At the plate on Sunday, the Lakers capitalized early on a RBI double from Gulbrandsen. By the third inning, the score was tied, 3-3. Stringing together more runs throughout the game, GVSU held onto a small lead into the eighth inning. However, Davenport pulled together two runs to take a one-score lead, 7-6, and held this for the remainder of the game.

Upcoming for the GVSU baseball team is a long streak of home games that will last through the end of April.

“We got a new turf field this year, so just knowing how it plays and feels will help us out,” said Dykstra. “The last two home games we’ve had, we’ve had pretty big crowds, so (it’s) kind of cool to have at a home field again.”

The team will next take on Saginaw Valley State University (18-6) in another four-game series from Friday, April 4 through Sunday, April 6.

The Lakers lost after beating the Rangers by a combined 29-4 in their three previous matchups this season, GVSU had the script flipped in game one of Saturday’s doubleheader in Allendale, Michigan. In the second game, Lakers sophomore pitcher Mike Morawski allowed just two baserunners in a dominant 13-strikeout, complete game, performance.

On the mound to open the day for the Lakers was redshirt freshman pitcher Owen Avery. Avery has made appearances in four other games this season, allowing just one earned run.

In a 23-pitch first inning, Avery retired each of the Rangers’ first three hitters in order, but the second inning is where things took a turn for the worse. After an error from GVSU sophomore shortstop Ayden Vanenkevort put a runner on base for Parkside, Rangers’ junior catcher Owen Brock doubled, advancing runners to second third. Avery then walked a batter to load the bases with one out.

After getting behind in a 3-0 count, Aver gave up a grand slam to Parkside sophomore right fielder Camden Kearney. Kearney crushed the ball past the right field fence, equalling the number of runs the Rangers had scored against GVSU in their previous three matchups combined in just one swing of the bat. Avery, who was quickly worn down, finished his two innings of duty having thrown a whopping 72 pitches.

Needing to score after early pitching woes, GVSU proceeded to load the bases themselves. Junior catcher Brendan Guciardo reached on an error after a popup was dropped by the Rangers’s second baseman. Then, junior designated hitter Conner McCormack reached on a single. Senior first baseman Jake Rydquist walked, which allowed Vanenkevort to score Guciardo on a sacrifice fly.

The Lakers stranded the remaining two runners but left the inning having still chipped away at the deficit to make it a 4-1 ballgame.

That is until the fourth inning when GVSU junior pitcher Michael Riley, who came in for Avery in the third, gave up a triple after a fly ball to left field was dropped by junior left fielder Ryan Dykstra. The next at-bat Riley was called for a balk, which brought home Rangers’ junior shortstop Joe Hoeks, making the score 5-1.

The Lakers’ bats struggled for much of the game, but McCormack blasted a solo home run, his third of the season, to draw GVSU back within three.

Then, to start the fifth inning, Vanenkevort got on base with a bunt single down the third baseline. The Lakers loaded the bases yet again. With just one out and the heart of the batting order at the plate, Guciardo and Logan both struck out and left all three runners stranded.

This is where things got ugly for the Lakers, who proceeded to surrender eight unanswered runs in the final two innings of game one.

“I mean as a whole I didn’t think we played very good baseball,” said GVSU head coach Jordan Keur. “We gave up too many free bases (in the first game) and that’s been the message all year. We can’t give up free bases.”

Game two of the doubleheader was a story of a dominant pitching performance by Lakers sophomore Mike Morawski and Rangers freshman Donovan Dykas.

“Mike Morawski gave us a giant giant boost that we needed,” Keur said.

Through the first five innings, both teams had surrendered just one run. The Lakers got on the board in the fifth when Vanenkevort doubled for and scored senior catcher MacArthur Graybill, who had reached base after being walked.

GVSU added another run in the sixth when Nott singled. He then stole second base and advanced to third on a wild pitch moments later. Logan walked two at-bats later to put runners at the corners with two outs as McCormack stepped up to the plate.

McCormack, who had hit a solo homer in game one of the doubleheader, checked his swing on a wild pitch, scoring Nott from third. Believing McCormack had struck out, Parkside threw to first base on what was believed to be a dropped ball strike three. But the catcher, Brock, missed the first baseman on his throw. This also scored Logan and advanced McCormack to second all on the same play. The Lakers were now up 3-0, giving Morawski a cushion of run support to pitch with.

In the top of the seventh, Morawski’s dominance was on full display. He struck two batters to bring his total to 10 strikeouts on 82 pitches. In the eighth, Morawski retired the batters in order and added another strikeout.

He returned in the ninth to finish off a 106-pitch, one-hit, complete game with two more strikeouts. Bringing his total to 13, Morawski had just one walk across a dominant nine innings.

Even though Morawski had a high pitch count, Keur felt like Morawski’s impressive performance earned him the opportunity to finish off the game.

“Mike was rolling, we wanted to give him the opportunity to get a complete game,” Keur said.

After striking out just 13 batters in 2023, Morawski believes that expanding his pitching arsenal was the main reason for his success this season.

“I’ve kind of been like a ground ball pitcher that just gets low pitch counts,” Morawski said. “I’ve developed a slider that kind of is that swing-and-miss pitch. I assume I’ll get more strikeouts this year compared to others (because of adding the slider).”

After throwing more than 100 pitches in the game, Morawski said he felt like his arm was feeling good, but that he would have to wait and find out how it really feels in the morning after the adrenaline wears off.

GVSU will now travel to play Northwood University on Tuesday, April 9 at 3 p.m. in Midland, Michigan before coming back to Allendale for a four game home series against Purdue University Northwest that begins on Friday, April 12 at 2 p.m.

Prior to hosting their home opener, GVSU played seven games in seven days, bringing their overall record to 13-2 on the season and 5-3 in conference.

The Lakers first split a doubleheader against Saginaw Valley State University, losing the first game 6-2 and winning emphatically in the second, 10-2. GVSU then lost to Hillsdale College 4-3, before splitting once again versus Purdue University Northwest. 

To conclude the week, the Lakers dropped the first game against the Warriors 5-3 and won the second game 6-1. The start of the doubleheader versus WSU was delayed by an hour due to rainy conditions. The rainy weather persisted throughout the day and affected field and pitching conditions.

“We spent probably three or four hours working on the field prior to the game just to make it playable,” said GVSU head coach Jordan Keur.

Regardless of the conditions, Keur’s team had a solid start at the plate. The Lakers hit three singles from their first three batters: senior shortstop Connor Schuman, senior center fielder Kyle Nott, and junior left fielder Ryan Dykstra. With the bases loaded early, the Lakers were able to take advantage of the offensive outburst.

Batting cleanup, in the fourth spot, was junior third baseman Jonas Gulbrandsen. Gulbrandsen also singled to score Schuman, which was followed by a sacrifice fly by senior right fielder Nathan Logan to bring home Nott.

The Lakers first five batters all hit singles in the bottom of the first inning and led 2-0 until the fourth.  The game stayed pretty stagnant with only two hits combined, one by each team, and no runs scored. 

Then Wayne State had a monster fourth inning. Following two singles by Warrior batters, senior left fielder Logan Tobel blasted a three-run homer to give WSU a 3-2 lead. GVSU was unable to come back.  The Lakers surrendered two more runs and scored just one of their own. GVSU fell 5-3 in the first game of the day. 

After what seemed like an early scare by giving up a run in the first inning, GVSU displayed a dominant pitching performance in the second game.

Sophomore pitcher for the Lakers Mike Morawski settled in and threw six scoreless innings after the first. Additionally, he was not even supposed to pitch in the second game.

“Originally I was gonna go game one of the series,” Morawski said. “Our pitching coach Jarett Olson thought it would be better for me to go game two.”

It turns out that Olson was correct. Morawski would go on to strike out five batters and allow just six hits across his 7.1 innings of play. 

“I came in and had to set the tone after a loss,” Morawski said. “My main goal was to get these guys going.”

Still, the run support for the Lakers came late as GVSU trailed until the bottom of the fifth inning. After Schuman drove home senior second baseman Jake Rydquist on a single to tie the game, the runs came pouring in for the Lakers’ bats. GVSU scored six runs in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings, giving them a 6-1 lead as the final score of the game. 

“I challenged them to come out again in game two and stay locked in and they did,” Keur said. “We executed and made plays and that’s ultimately what it comes down to.”

Getting some rest from travel and playing seven games across a week, the Lakers will stay at home for a three day and four game series against the University of Wisconsin-Parkside Rangers. The series will begin on Friday, April 5 at 2 p.m. in Allendale, Michigan at the GVSU Baseball Field.

It was the first series of Great Lakes Intercollegiate Conference (GLIAC) play for the Lakers. After a sluggish start offensively, the GVSU bats heated up. They won both games dominantly, beating the Rangers 7-2 in the first game and 12-1 in the second. GVSU was led offensively by junior designated hitter Conner McCormack, who went 4-for-6 batting with three RBIs, while crossing the plate four times himself.

To start game one, Parkside took a quick 1-0 lead over GVSU with a run in the bottom of the first on a sacrifice fly that scored the Rangers’ Peter Fusek, who had gotten on base to start the game after being walked. Then, both teams would go scoreless until the fourth inning, where GVSU would begin to take over the game.

In the fourth inning, Lakers’ right fielder Nathan Logan hit a single, then advanced to second on a throwing error. Logan tied the game on the next at-bat thanks to McCormack, who tripled home Logan, before catcher Brennan Guciardo hit a single that scored McCormack.

With a 2-1 lead, the momentum would continue in the Lakers’ favor in the fifth when shortstop Connor Schuman singled up the middle to start the inning. This was the beginning of a four-run onslaught, as Shuman was followed by outfielder Kyle Nott, who got walked after a long at bat. Nott and Shuman then advanced on a double steal and scored when GVSU third baseman Jonas Gulbrandsen singled to left field. This extended the Lakers lead to 4-1.

Logan would then ground out to first base, allowing Gulbrandsen to advance to third. McCormack then hit a home run to take a 6-1 lead at the top of the 5th.

The Lakers and Rangers each traded a single run the rest of the way, but it wasn’t enough to elicit a comeback as GVSU held on to their 7-2 victory. GVSU starting pitcher Nick Rutkowski threw for five full innings, allowing just two hits and one earned run. He was relieved by Logan Wynalda, who gave up one hit and one run in the final two innings of the first game.

GVSU head coach Jordan Keur praised Rutkowski.

“First off, I thought Nick Rutkowski gave us a really good start,” Keur said. “Anytime he’s on the mound, we know we’re gonna have a good start from him, so I would just say that he set the tone for the day.”

Rutkowski commented on and directed praise towards his team’s defense.

“I think it really makes it when you can just go in there and know that you can throw strikes and your defense behind you will make plays,” Rutkowski said. “That’s the whole thing for me, is knowing that my defense is going to their job, so I trust them and that makes me better.”

The Lakers would then play their second game against Parkside, which would be an even bigger rout for GVSU as they would defeat the Rangers, 12-1. GVSU scored five runs in the top of the second and would then score six runs at the top of the sixth.

Logan, who had two hits and four RBIs on the day, felt that the doubleheader sweep was because of a well-rounded team performance.

“It was nice that everyone on the team contributed,” Logan said. “I think we did a really good job of attacking early and our approach and how we played good, clean, defense behind our pitchers. I thought our pitchers did really well.”

With both wins over Parkside, the Lakers improved their record to 10-8 and started their conference record with a 2-0 start.

For the first game on Friday, March 15, GVSU really struggled to get any sort of momentum going. The Lakers struggled offensively, but the pitching of GVSU senior Nick Rutkowski held Seton Hill to just one run through the first four innings of play.

Then the Griffins heated up in the hitting department. They scored five runs in the next four innings, making the score 6-0, which was ultimately the final score. The Lakers had one hit for the entire game, GVSU designated hitter Macarthur Graybill had a single. 

“They didn’t give you anything, you had to earn everything,” said GVSU head coach Jordan Keur. 

The doubleheader on Saturday was a much better showing from GVSU, but still resulted in a tough 6-2 loss and a 7-3 loss.

In both games Seton Hill came out hot, scoring three runs in the first three innings of each game. However, GVSU would answer in the top of the fourth when Graybill capitalized on a wild pitch and took home plate.  The Griffins then got another runner home in the bottom of the fourth inning to make the score 4-1 going into the fifth inning.

The Lakers would go scoreless for the next three innings, while Seton Hill added another run in the bottom of the fifth. 

GVSU was able to score after the drought with back-to-back doubles from senior right fielder Nathan Logan and senior shortstop Connor Schuman. Logan scored on Shuman’s double to make the score 5-2. 

In the eighth inning, Seton Hill would go on to add another run and GVSU would fall 6-2 in game two of the series.

The finale of the series was a close one until the end. The Griffins once again started hot and scored three runs in just the first inning.

GVSU did not get on the board in the first, but the Lakers had an excellent top of the second, which resulted in two runs. Logan and Graybill were the scoring runs, once again making impact plays for their team. 

Seton Hill would respond with three straight hits in the bottom of the second, which allowed another run to score for the Griffins. Although GVSU was down 4-2 going into the third, it was the best they looked all series. 

Both teams went scoreless for the next four innings, until the bottom of the seventh, where the Griffins would get another runner home to make it 5-2. The Lakers weren’t done though as Connor Schuman would make it home on a sacrifice fly, making it just a two-run game going into the final two innings.

Seton Hill’s two-run eighth extended their lead to 7-3 and made a comeback that much tougher for the Lakers.

GVSU did not score in the ninth, getting swept in the series by Seton Hill. Keur had a lot of praise for Seton Hill and their program after the game. 

“There’s a reason their coach has 700 wins,” Keur said. “They’re a very fundamentally sound team that does not hurt themselves. They don’t give you free bases and they don’t make mistakes.”

GVSU senior center fielder Kyle Nott remained optimistic after the tough series sweep.  

“I thought it was a good growing series for us,” Nott said. “We struggled a bit in the beginning on the first day but came back today and competed, sometimes that’s just baseball.”

GVSU will now get a week to prepare for a doubleheader that begins Great Lakes Intercollegiate Conference (GLIAC) play, starting with Saginaw State University on Saturday, March 23.

Friday’s doubleheader was the debut for GVSU’s first-year head coach, Jordan Keur. Keur said he has been leaning on his experienced veterans to help establish a successful program.

“I looked toward our guys and asked what they needed and what they wanted this program to look like, but also laid my own standards of how I want to build this program going forward,” Keur said. “Having a veteran leadership group already established allowed us to hit the ground running to prepare for the season.”

After surrendering zero runs in the top of the first inning in game one, GVSU got a chance to step up to the plate. Center Fielder Kyle Nott got the offense started when he had a base hit to left field. After moving into scoring position on an error by the Golden Knights, Nott scored on a double by right fielder Nate Logan. Logan then scored on an error by Gannon’s center fielder, giving the Lakers a 2-0 lead at the end of the first.

In the third inning, the Lakers batted through the entire lineup. Nott tallied another single and advanced into scoring position on errors by the Golden Knights. Then, catcher Brendan Guciardo drove him in with a single up the middle, before infielder Jonas Gulbrandsen reached on a fielder’s choice. This allowed Guciardo to come around and score on a double by first baseman Jake Rydquist in the next at-bat.

After being moved into scoring position on a single by designated hitter MacArther Graybill, Rydquist slid into home on a groundout by second baseman Ayden VanEnkevort. The Lakers would score their final run of the inning when shortstop Connor Schuman singled, driving in Graybill, up 7-0 going into the top of the fourth.

The Lakers ended with a 10-2 win after allowing a couple of runs and scoring three more.

Senior pitcher Nick Rutkowski made six innings of work while racking up nine strikeouts and allowing just two runs. Rutkowski credits the new coaching staff’s standards and early run support from his team for his performance on the mound.

“Coach has his expectations clear-headed into the season,” Rutkowski said. “We were all on the same page as a pitching staff, and when you have as much run support early in the game it’s easier to settle into a rhythm and just focus on throwing strikes and trusting your defense to make plays behind you.” 

Game two started similarly to game one. Nott, again, singled with one out to get things started, followed by a single by Guciardo. Both runners would advance bases on a wild pitch and scored on an RBI single off the bat of Gulbrandsen with two outs. In the second inning, there were four consecutive walks, which allowed GVSU to take a 3-0 lead early in the game.

Lakers’ designated hitter Justin Mansager opened the fourth inning with a lead-off single and would later score via a groundout by Ryan Dykstra. 

Gulbrandsen stayed hot, blasting a solo home run in the fifth, followed by a three-run shot in the sixth. The Lakers would score six runs in the sixth inning as both Nott and Logan added RBI singles. Gulbrandsen put up a scorching six RBIs and two homers on three hits.

“I was just focusing on seeing the ball deep and hitting it back up the middle. Coach had us really prepared. We did a lot of live at-bats and scrimmages outside, which was different compared to the last few seasons” Gulbrandsen said.

GVSU ultimately finished off the doubleheader sweep by winning game two 12-1, led by four no-hit, scoreless, innings from pitcher Colling Bradley.

Overall, Keur was very pleased with how his hitters performed at the plate, as the Lakers scored a total of 22 runs off of 21 hits in the two games.

“We had a good approach in the box, we battled every at-bat. There was no easy out. We put the pressure onto them from the start. Up and down the line up one through nine guys came up with big hits when we needed them to,” said Keur. “Putting pressure and running the bases, limiting strikeouts, that’s what our offense is gonna be built around this season.”

Keur is replacing eleven-year coach Jamie Detillion, who resigned in May for unknown reasons following the conclusion of the team’s 2023 season where they went 32-21 and reached the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Championship Game. Becker had no comment regarding Detillion’s resignation, Becker said she was “looking forward to the future with Coach Keur.” 

Prior to his role as head coach of the Lakers, Detillion worked under the school’s Hall of Fame coach Steve Lyon (inducted in 2018). When Lyon retired following a stellar tenure with a record of 552-205-2 (0.729) Detillion filled his place. Detillion ended his career at GVSU with a record of 286-180-2 (0.613).

“He checked all three of our boxes as a leader of men, a baseball coach of course and a culture builder,” Becker said. “If there was one thing that I would have to say (that impressed the most) it was how he connected with people in the room. When we were interviewing him it felt more like a conversation than an interview. He talked like a head coach.”

Keur, a native of nearby Hudsonville, Michigan, has quickly become an experienced coach as he has risen the ranks since his playing career ended at Michigan State University. He earned an All Big Ten accolade and won the Big Ten Championship during his career with the Spartans (2010-2013). In his all-conference Junior season he was the team leader in hits (89), multi-hit games (31) and batting average (.353). 

His passion for coaching and the game of baseball is evident. In his first five years of coaching baseball Keur volunteered. Keur served as a volunteer assistant coach at Eastern Michigan for one year, taking on the same role for the following four seasons at MSU. Then Keur took the head coach position at Lansing Community College (LCC) where his team was dominant. LCC finished the regular season ranked first overall nationally in 2019 and seventh overall nationally in 2021, the two highest winning percentages in school history.

During Keur’s time as an volunteer assistant coach the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) did not allow volunteer assistants to be paid a salary by the athletic department. That rule has since been repealed as of Jan. 2023. This means Keur was not allowed to receive any compensation from the university for his services.

Now, as the newly named Grand Valley Head Baseball Coach, Keur attempts to reestablish the Lakers’ baseball program to the same high standards that it has reached in the past.

Keur has tabbed Peter Romsek from St. Xavier University as Assistant Coach and Recruiting Coordinator and Jarret Olson of Lansing Community College as Assistant Coach and Pitching Coach. Romsek served as St. Xavier’s recruiting coordinator, hitting coach, and infield coach for the last three seasons. There Romsek and the Cougars reached the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) World Series. Olson has spent his last two years as the pitching coach for Lansing Community College where he coached the Junior College National Pitcher of the Year and his team made two National Junior College Athletics Association (NJCAA) World Series appearances.

The Lakers now look towards the recruiting trail as they prepare for their upcoming 2024 season this Spring.

The March 27 double-header against Purdue Northwest (PNW) consisted of the Lakers winning the first game, 7-3 and dropping the second, 2-7 followed by a 4-16 loss against the Panthers the next day – bringing their undefeated conference record to 3-2.

“We were pretty disappointed, we’ve been playing really well, but we just have to shake it off and focus on the next game,” said junior pitcher Nick Rutkowski.

Game one against PNW saw GVSU’s pitching and hitting work cohesively to capture the first game.

Sophomore third baseman Logan Anderson and sophomore catcher Brendan Guciardo helped propel the Lakers’ six-run third inning with two RBI’s each, while senior starting pitcher Rylan Peets and redshirt freshman pitcher Josh Schell held the Purdue Northwest offense to three runs.

“We have a unique combo of young and old guys,” Rutkowski said. “We have freshmen playing important roles and our pitching staff is older and experienced. We feel like we can always get out of a jam.”

Peets allowed just one earned run on nine hits, with three strikeouts in six innings on the mound. Junior left fielder Kyle Nott went 2-4 on the day with two runs and one RBI, Guciardo went 1-2 with two RBIs and two walks, and Anderson got a pinch-hit, two RBI single in the win.

“After last season, our emphasis was to stay consistent, just trying to make sure that we take care of everything and simulate game situations in practice,” Logan said. “The coaches have put us in great positions to succeed. Hitting is contagious, so when our guys are doing well, we feed off of that.”

The script flipped on the Lakers in game two, however, as the offense sputtered and was only able to muster two runs in the loss. On the other side, PNW crossed home plate early and never looked back as they scored seven runs on 12 hits.

Nott and senior center fielder Spencer Nelson recorded the only RBIs of the game for the Lakers, while sophomore right fielder Justin Mansager and junior catcher MacArthur Graybill scored. Despite the shaky pitching performances by the Lakers, junior pitcher Logan Wynalda allowed just one run and struck out six batters in his three innings on the hill.

The following day, the team finished their road trip against crosstown rivals Davenport University. 

The Panthers scored early and often against the Lakers, including nine runs combined in the third and fourth innings. The Lakers cut the deficit to four runs heading to the bottom of the fourth frame, but the team could not overcome the hot Davenport hitting and ultimately fell, 4-16.

“Davenport is a tough team to play against,” Logan said. “They don’t make a lot of mistakes and they capitalized on ours. We came out flat and we have to play our best baseball to beat a team like that.”

Despite the loss, senior relief pitcher Sam Leck played exceptionally well, fanning five batters and allowing no hits in 2.2 innings of work. Offensively, junior first baseman Nathan Logan finished 3-4 with an RBI, while Anderson, freshman shortstop Ayden VanEnkevort and sophomore right fielder Carter Rohman all finished with two hits with VanEnkevort and Rohman adding RBIs of their own.

Coming up, the team faces a busy slate of games with six games on the docket between April 3-8.

“We have to take it game by game; we play Parkside next,” Logan said. “(Every team is) so tight in the conference. Wayne State is really good, great pitching, they can swing really well, and they don’t make a lot of mistakes.”

GVSU faces No. 12 Wayne State University to start the home-stretch in a doubleheader April 3 with the first game starting at 1 p.m. at the GVSU Baseball Field, followed by two back-to-back doubleheaders on the road against the Parkside Rangers April 7-8.

Although the team is currently 11-4 overall and streaking, junior Nathan Logan noted the March 21 victory was the first complete win of the year for the Lakers in all facets, spotlighting the potential they have this season.

“From hitting, to pitching, to defense, we had contributions across the board,” Logan said. “This win speaks to the depth we have on this team, and how we all pull for each other.”

Going the distance of nine innings, Logan, senior Spencer Nelson, junior Kyle Nott and sophomore Carter Rohman all led GVSU with two runs each. Sophomores Logan Anderson, Brendan Guciardo and junior MacArthur Graybill would also follow it up with a single home run each. 

A slow beginning to the season after three-straight losses to UIndy dug the Lakers into a hole that seemed as though it would be hard to get out of. However, a tremendous 9-1 turnaround in the RussMatt Invitational ended in a five-game streak after their only loss of the tournament and their fourth of the season to Minnesota State-Manko.

Head Coach Jamie Detillion described how it was a challenge playing the fifth game (Minnesota) the morning after two double headers, but was proud of how the team bounced back to start their seven-game winning streak.

One game that really stood out to Detillion was the bout against Wilmington University as GVSU would tally just two hits to the Wildcats’ five, but still managed to walk away with a 2-0 victory.

“The two-hitter game; if you only get two hits in a game, you have about a 90% or higher chance of losing that game,” Detillion said. “Timing is important, it’s one of those little things that stand out and demonstrates the fact that we have a competitive group this season.”

Opening a season in a slump is hard to get out of, more so when a team has a roster full of young players. With 10 true freshmen and one redshirt on the Laker roster, Logan believes the underclassmen have held their own and bought into the game plan.

“The younger guys have done a really good job of embracing our work ethic, and the discipline shows in their everyday work habits,” Logan said.

Detillion said this same work ethic is passed down by the upperclassmen who he believes has brought in the young players and shown them how to be prepared for big moments.

“These older players look at the younger players with a, ‘They’re with us’ mentality, let’s show them how we do things, and help them become a part of us,” Detillion said.

Sitting at No. 3 in the GLIAC and one of two teams in the conference who has yet to start GLIAC action, the Lakers are all looking forward to the possibility of extending their streak.

Postponements have already hit GVSU’s schedule as they were initially matched up against Purdue Northwest this past weekend.

Instead, the doubleheader was pushed back to March 27, followed by a single match against Davenport University March 28. GVSU also has their home-opening weekend with two doubleheaders against the No. 1 GLIAC opponent Wayne State (March 31) and Parkside (April 2) with both dates starting at 1 p.m.

After an extensive break in coverage, many Grand Valley State University sports are finishing their seasons with high and lows while shaking off the rust of lengthy offseasons.

The men’s basketball team lost in the GLIAC Tournament semifinals to Michigan Tech (69-73) led by a near double-double from junior Marius Grazulis (19 points, nine rebounds), finishing their season 18-12 overall.

Both men’s and women’s golf secured invitational victories to begin spring action as the women’s team won the Augustana Spring Fling March 9-10 (+20 over par) and the men’s securing the Buccaneer Classic March 6-7 (-15 under par). Each team will participate in separate invites March 20-21 in the UF Spring Invite (women’s) and the Ralph Hargett Invite (men’s).

Women’s lacrosse is still finding their groove as they are 2-3 in their last five appearances and dropped both of their first two home games of the season against UIndy (12-13, March 12) and Maryville (12-15, March 17).

A huge battle for a national title saw both sides of the swim and dive program finish in the top-15 of the NCAA DII National Championships; men’s (sixth place, 239 points), women’s (14th place, 109 points). Although a disappointing end to the season, the teams were able to secure the GLIAC men’s and women’s titles this season.

The baseball team was almost perfect in the RussMatt Invite (9-1) March 6-12 to open up spring ball. The team’s most recent victory was against Salem University (7-3) March 17 followed by a canceled bout against Mercyhurst the same day.

Prior to two doubleheaders being canceled against Ohio Dominican (March 17) and Cedarville University (March 18), the softball team were also on fire to begin spring action as they finished 10-2 between March 5-11. The team has two doubleheaders scheduled March 25-26 against Parkside and Purdue Northwest respectively for their home opener.

GVSU’s DI hockey club finished their season in the semifinals of the ACHA Men’s 1 2023 National Championships against the No. 4 ranked University of Nevada-Las Vegas (UNLV). The Lakers were defeated in a heartbreaking 3-4 overtime loss.

Men’s and women’s tennis have combined for a 1-7 record in a total of eight matches played (four each) between March 6-17 with the women’s team defeating St. Petersburg 4-3.

Last but not least, track and field competed in the 2023 NCAA Indoor Championships with the men’s finishing in third place and the women’s sixth place overall. Both teams have started the outdoor season as the Raleigh Relays Invite is up next between March 23-25.