After a disappointing showing in the nonconference portion of their schedule, the Grand Valley State University men’s baseball team approached their first GLIAC matchup as an entirely new season.

In the new season, GVSU is undefeated.

Over the weekend, the Lakers secured 1-0, 10-1, and 9-3 victories over Malone University in GVSU’s first games in conference play.

“We found a way to win, which is huge for this team,” said head coach Jamie Detillion. “The way we’ve been playing up to this point, it was almost like we were finding ways to lose. Our guys competed when it counted.”

GVSU (9-7, 3-0 GLIAC) needed a strong performance from senior pitcher Kyle Teague in the first matchup to score the win. Teague (2-0) pitched 6.1 innings, while only allowing five hits and three walks, and managed to strike out five batters.

“He pitched outstanding,” Detillion said about Teague. “Late in the game, when he started to get tired, he fought threw some tough situations and in the sixth inning, he had a couple guys on, but he pitched out of it. That’s exactly what we expect out of our number one pitcher.”

Teague’s pitching was needed after the GVSU offense only managed two hits in the game. The run was unearned after a passed ball put Zak and sophomore Giancarlo Brugnoni in scoring position. Then sophomore Jamie Potts hit a grounder to second base, which allowed Zak to score the games only run.

“I felt good out there,” Teague said. “I’ve been trying to get more back into my stride. Mostly just keeping the ball down, and earlier in the game, I was getting ahead of hitters pretty well. My fastball and slider had pretty good control in the start. There wasn’t really a situation where I felt I couldn’t get out of.”

Senior Brad Zambron picked up his third save of the season after he recorded the final two outs of the ball game.

In the second game of the doubleheader, it was all GVSU from the get-go. The Lakers scored four runs in the first inning, on their way to a 10-1 win.

“We did a lot of things right this weekend,” said sophomore Kevin Zaks, who went 2-for-3 and batted in two runs in the contest. “Our whole lineup started to hit from top to bottom. Our offense just clicked. When everyone starts hitting, it helps you hit. We’re looking to keep the ball rolling and to build off these solid wins.”

Eight different Lakers recorded hits in the contest, giving the team a total of ten.

In the final game of the weekend, GVSU used another strong start in the first inning on their way to the 9-3 win in a nine-inning contest.

The Lakers recorded two runs in the top of the first inning, and never trailed in the contest.

Junior pitcher Sean Clancy (2-2) earned the win after he pitched 3.2 innings of scoreless baseball, and only allowed two hits. Sophomore Mike Nadratowski fueled the Lakers offense, going 3-for-4 with two runs, three RBI, a walk, and two stolen bases.

“One of our goals was to do well in conference play,” Detillion said. “It was huge for us to use the first part of the season as a learning point. We did some things well, we made some mistakes here and there. It was good to get that all out of the way before you start conference play. It was great to finally put everything together offensively, defensively, and pitching.”

GVSU will have their first home game of the season this Wednesday at 2 p.m. when they host Hillsdale College.
[email protected]