Baseball Splits Pair Versus No. 20 Grand Valley State

OVERVIEW – NO. 20 GRAND VALLEY STATE

SCORES: Northwood Timberwolves 2, No. 20 Grand Valley State Lakers 1/ Grand Valley State 4, Northwood  1

RECORDS: Northwood (16-12, 3-3 GLIAC), Grand Valley (17-9, 1-1 GLIAC)

LOCATION: Gerace Stadium – Midland, MI.

RECAP: Northwood splits a pair in their home opener Saturday (April 9) against No. 20 Grand Valley State, winning game one 2-1 before falling 4-1 in the nightcap.

GAME ONE HIGHLIGHTS (SEVEN INNINGS)

• Jacob Rybicki started the bottom of the first getting on base with a walk. He advanced to second on a groundout and was brought home with a Matt Magno double down the right field line to put Northwood up 1-0.
• Khale Showers followed it with another double to score Magno and put the Timberwolves up 2-0.
• Both teams were held scoreless until Grand Valley added one run in the top of the fourth to cut into the Northwood lead.
• Grand Valley loaded the bases in the top of the seventh. Derek Clark was able to close the door on the Lakers, throwing a complete game and earning his fourth win of the season as the Timberwolves won 2-1.

GAME ONE STATS

• Runs/Hits/Errors: Northwood 2/4/3, Grand Valley 1/5/0
• Runners left on base: Northwood 2, Grand Valley 8
• Winning Pitcher – Derek Clark (4-1): 7.0 IP, 5 H, R, BB, 8 K
• Losing Pitcher – Austin Brown (3-1): 6 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 5 K

TOP NU PERFORMERS

• Magno: 1-3, 2B, RBI, R
• Showers: 1-3, 2B, RBI
• Clark: Fifth complete game of the year (GLIAC leader). 3-0 with a 1.33 ERA in his last four starts

GAME TWO HIGHLIGHTS (NINE INNINGS)

• The Laker offense pushed across three unearned runs in the top of the first inning, taking advantage of two Timberwolf errors.
• Grand Valley added one more in the third to extend their lead to 4-0.
• Northwood got on the board in the bottom of the fifth inning. An RBI groundout by Jacob Rybicki scored Carson Longstreth to make the score 4-1.
• In the bottom of the eighth inning, the Timberwolves got two runners on base with no outs but were unable to take advantage.
• The Timberwolves had the tying run at the plate with zero outs. They were unable to convert as NU fell to GVSU 4-1.

GAME TWO STATS

• Runs/Hits/Errors: Northwood 1/9/4, Grand Valley 4/7/1
• Runners left on base: Northwood 9, Grand Valley 8
• Winning Pitcher – Nick Rutkowski (2-2): 8 IP, 7 H, R, 3 BB, 5 K
• Losing Pitcher – Jayden Dentler (3-2): 9 IP, 7 H, 4 R (1 ER), 1 BB, 5 K – first collegiate complete game
• Save -- Nick Shaw (5): 1 IP, 2 H, , 3 K

TOP NU PERFORMERS

• Rhett Evans:  2-4
• David Jeffers: 2-4
• Rybicki: RBI

UP NEXT

• Northwood and Grand Valley State will play another doubleheader Sunday (April 10). First pitch is set for Noon.