Coming off an undefeated fall campaign, the Grand Valley State University men’s club baseball team is gearing up for what will hopefully be an even more successful spring.

“We are a very confident group right now,” said Marcus Gignac, a pitcher for the team. “We went 9-0 in our conference during fall ball, so we hope we can build off of that and go from there.”

With no spring break trip to a warm climate to prepare for the upcoming season, and with Michigan’s recent weather making it impossible to practice outside, the team will need to shake off the rust accumulated over the winter before they step onto the field for the first time this year.

“It’s hard to tell where our overall game is at right now since we haven’t been able to get onto the field yet,” Gignac said. “With that said, we are really excited just to get out there and start playing again.”

GVSU’s club baseball team is anchored by a handful of strong pitchers that look to lead the Lakers on the field this spring. This season’s pitching staff features veterans such as Gignac, Scott Feist and Ron Fantor.

“Our pitching staff is very deep this year,” said teammate Ryan Crawley. “We have three guys that can throw in the 80 mph range. I doubt you are going to see three guys on any other team that are as good as us.”

A key for GVSU’s club baseball team’s success is having pitchers that can manage games through at least seven innings game in and game out. It’s a mutual feeling among the team that believes they have the pitchers to do so.

“Our (pitching staff) is a very confident group,” Gignac said. “We have guys that can control the game for seven innings, which is crucial. It’s a really close-knit group we have, we are always there for each other. We have guys that will help out a teammate when they need it.”

Aspirations are high for this season’s squad, and after the successful fall they have had, a district championship is just the first step on how far they want to go.

“Our team goal is to get to the World Series,” Gignac said. “We will have to get through our district and then regionals in Wisconsin, but the World Series is definitely a reachable goal. We are going to be on our ‘Kentucky grind’ until we reach Kentucky for the World Series.”

In order for GVSU’s club baseball team to make a deep post-season run, chemistry between teammates must be strong. Team member Max Elkins said the chemistry is already something this group of Lakers thrives off of.

“Chemistry is something we don’t have to worry about,” Elkins said. “The guys hang out all the time, after class and even on the weekends. We know we all have each others back.”

GVSU’s club baseball spring season’s opening day will be this upcoming Saturday, when they head to Muskegon to face Muskegon Community College at 1 p.m.
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