Whether it was the regular and postseason GLIAC titles, the NCAA DII Midwest Regional title or their current 32-game winning streak, this season is looking like a special one for the Grand Valley State University baseball team.

The No. 1 Lakers (52-3, 15-1 GLIAC) took out Wayne State University in last weekend’s Midwest Regional title game, 13-5. The game, which GVSU came back to win, was “hosted” by the Lakers in Normal, Ill.

“In the final game (against Wayne State) we played with confidence, even though we fell behind early,” said GVSU head coach Steve Lyons. “We won a couple different ways versus good competition, that‘s always valuable to have in your back pocket in terms of confidence.”

That confidence is something the Lakers have had all season. One of the main things the team’s 32-game wining streak has given the players is the confidence Lyons speaks of.

GVSU has won in a variety of ways – blow outs, close games, come from behind – and they’ve used those experiences to prepare themselves for what is ahead of them in next week’s NCAA DII College World Series in Cary, N.C.

“Our focus has definitely been on the postseason,” said senior second basemen Cory Phillips. “Obviously, once we clinched the regular season you look to the next step which was the GLIAC Tournament and Midwest Regional, but we have just really kept our focus on the games that are coming up and not looking too far ahead.”

Taking things one game at a time has been something GVSU has done all season. From Phillips walk-off homerun in the bottom of the 10th inning against Wayne State in the first game of the Midwest Regional to junior Ryan Garman’s no-hitter against Ashland University in the regular season, the Lakers have gone into every game – competitive or not – with a must-win mentality.

“I think it’s good to play those close games,” said Phillips, who hit three of his four homeruns this season during the Midwest Regional. “The last couple games we played were one-run games and I think that’ll help to prepare us well for tournament play.”

Going into the DII College World Series next week, the Lakers will be prepared to plan in an array of situations – situations they’ve been able to experience throughout their winning-streak.

“If we get behind, I don‘t think we panic, which is a key to playing baseball and if we get ahead, we have had the ability to add on runs, so I think that experience is invaluable,” said coach Lyons, the 2011 GLIAC Coach of the Year. “We’ve won in almost every imaginable way, so we have confidence that we can win any game we play in.”

With confidence brimming and expectations high, the team will look to advance quickly in the double-elimination tournament. They face West Regional winner Sonoma State University in their first game.

“I think we just need to not press and try to do too much,” said junior outfielder Steve Anderson, the team’s leader in homeruns this season with eight. “If we play the way we’ve been playing all season and I think we’ll be fine, but if we get drawn into thinking, ‘Oh, this is the World Series’ that might hurt us.”

All of the Lakers’ games can be seen on the web at www.gvsulakers.com.

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