Following a weekend that saw the No. 20 Grand Valley State University baseball team commit eight errors and drop three
of four home games to Lake Erie College, Saturday’s game against Ashland University couldn’t have come sooner.

“We just wanted to get back out there, and start playing how we’re capable of playing,” said freshman shortstop Kevin Zak, who finished 3-for-4 at the plate on Sunday. “We’re going to keep getting better as the season goes on. We’re not pressing, because we know we have the talent and we know we’re capable of hitting well.”

The Lakers (14-8, 4-4 GLIAC) returned to the win column on Saturday, taking both games against the Eagles (133-11, 5-5 GLIAC), 1-0 and 4-2.

Game one saw GVSU not only break out of their miniature slump, but also saw senior pitcher Kyle Schepel win his 27th game at GVSU, moving him into the No. 1 slot on the all-time list.

Schepel finished his record-breaking day strong, going six innings while striking out six in a shutout victory. Fellow junior Brad Zambron pitched a scoreless seventh inning, picking up the first of two saves on the day.

“We didn’t play real well the first game, we’re just going to have to wait for our bats to warm up,” Schepel said. “We’ve got a lot of games in a few days, so we’ve really got to use momentum as an energy source.”

Despite the strong pitching from both Schepel and Zambron, it was a solo home run by Zak in the fifth inning that pushed the lone run in for either team.

“I think we’re still experimenting, to some degree (with the lineup),” said GVSU head coach Steve Lyon. “I don’t know that we’ve got it figured out yet in terms of a standard, set starting lineup, but we’ve got some guys contributing and that’s always a positive.”

In a game that Lyon said was the best his team has played since they took on Saint Joseph’s College of Indiana in Florida, the Lakers put a commanding stamp on their weekend series with a 9-2 win against the Eagles.

After struggling last weekend, junior pitcher Anthony Campanella bounced back to the tune of six innings of two-run ball, improving his record to 2-1 on the season. The GVSU bats also awoke, led by centerfielder Mike Nadratowski’s two RBI.

“We hit the ball up and down the lineup … and that’s always a good thing when your whole lineup is productive,” Lyon said. “Even though we won both games yesterday, I didn’t think we played extremely well. We just pitched really well, so today’s second game, I hope, is a breakthrough-type of game that will carry over to the next 7 or 10 games when we have a bunch of games coming up.”

Not only were this weekend’s games important for the Lakers’ play now, but as the season progresses and the schedule changes from one, weekend series a week to a weekend series with a mid-week doubleheader, the team will have something to work toward.

“This weekend’s wins were really crucial for GLIAC play and all that,” Zak said. “But it’s good to take three of four and we’ll definitely have something to build on from here.”

The Lakers will return to action on Tuesday when they travel to Hillsdale University to take on the Chargers in a twinbill starting at 2 p.m.

[email protected]