Auburndale, Fla. -- Bottom half of the ninth inning. Two outs. Tying run on second, winning run on first. Aside from adding a full count to the mix, and another runner to load the bases, it's the situation every baseball player dreams of hitting in.
 
Grand Valley State's Connor Glick, a freshman catcher making the third start of his young career, was down to his final strike in that very scenario Monday (March 9) afternoon against Wayne State (Neb.). Cool and calm as ever, Glick dropped a blooper into center field for an RBI single, and a throwing error by the center fielder, who attempted to gun down junior first baseman Josh Griffith at third for the final out, brought the winning run across.
 
"I actually felt really comfortable at the plate in that last at bat," said Glick, noting he hit the ball hard all day, despite carrying a 1-for-4 line into his game-winning at bat. "The nerves didn't get to me. I knew it was a big situation, and I thought I was going to execute."
 
The pair of runs capped a streak of seven unanswered runs, and gave the No. 16 Lakers an 8-7 victory to close out their eight-day, 10-game Florida tour.
 
Although it took five innings to spring to life, GVSU's offensive firepower was on full display again. The Lakers recorded 10 hits, the sixth time it has done so this year.
 
Five of those knocks came from redshirt senior infielder Kevin Zak. The GLIAC North Division Player of the Week went 5-for-5, posting the first five-hit game by a Laker since he tallied a career-high six hits versus Bellarmine on May 18, 2013. He also finished with three RBIs and two runs.
 
Zak's leadoff double in the fourth, one of four leadoff hits GVSU had against the Wildcats, was the club's only extra-base hit of the day.
 
"Our lineup has been hitting it really well from top to bottom, and hitting is contagious," said Zak. "We're a good hitting team. If we can string together singles and doubles, we will be alright."
 
But the Lakers were not hitting early on.
 
A leadoff walk by Nadratowski, followed by a failed pickoff attempt that moved him all the way to third, set Zak up with an RBI chance in the opening frame. His first single of the day brought Nadratowski across, giving GVSU a 1-0 lead.
 
Over the next three innings, the Lakers managed just two hits. Wayne State took advantage of the lull, plating two runs in the fourth and five more in the fifth.
 
Trailing 7-1 heading to the bottom of the fifth, head coach Jamie Detillion's message was, according to Zak, very simple: find a way to get it done.
 
"I just didn't want our guys to give up," said Detillion. "It's not as easy as just saying, 'try harder,' or anything like that. That's not how baseball works. (The conversation) was more about the focus of having a quality at bat."
 
And the Lakers did exactly that.
 
Senior designated hitter Jesse Abel walked to start the rally. After a flyout to right center, Nadratowski fouled off six straight pitches to draw a walk. A single by senior Mitchell Kozlowski, starting in left field for a second consecutive day, loaded the bases for Zak.
 
On a 1-1 pitch, Zak lifted a single into center field, scoring Nadratowski and Abel. Griffith followed that up with a two-out, two-RBI single through the left side. Having advanced to second on a throw home, Griffith was able to score when the third baseman threw away a grounder by senior third baseman Aaron Overbeck in the subsequent at bat.
 
The five-spot brought GVSU within a run. It reamined that way unti ninth inning, with only two hits in the ensuing three frames. Even still, the Lakers were doubtless entering their last call.
 
"We had a lot of confidence going into those last few innings, and a sense we were going to win, somehow, someway," said Zak. "We all thought we could…and we got a couple of lucky breaks there that helped, but we put ourselves in position to get those breaks."
 
None other than Zak, who singled to lead off the inning, set up Glick's heroics. Potts moved him over with a sacrifice bunt, and Griffith was hit by a pitch to put two aboard. One out later, Glick plated Zak for his fourth RBI in the last three games, while Griffith scored his fourth run of the year.
 
Over the last four games, Glick is 5-for-9 (.556) with a double and a home run.
 
"(Detillion) wants the catchers to focus more on the defensive side than the hitting side," said Glick. "That's actually helped…I'm not thinking (at the plate)."
 
Sophomore reliever Matt Williams allowed just one hit and fanned three in two scoreless innings of work to pick up the win. The Geneva, Illinois native is now 2-1 on the year.
 
The Lakers end their trip to the Sunshine State with a 6-4 overall record, and a 4-1 mark against Midwest Region foes. Given the fact this may have been the toughest schedule GVSU has played during a spring circuit, Detillion will leave satisfied. The third-year coach also believes this win could serve as jump-start to a season with great potential.
 
"It puts us in the frame of mind that we are winners. We had a regionally competitive schedule (this week)…it was challenging," said Detillion. "It's important for us to learn from our mistakes, but it's just as important to look at the things we did well and continue to progress."
 
GVSU returns to action at Trevecca Nazarene at 7:30 p.m. ET on Friday (March 13).

Notes:
-GVSU improved to 4-4 in its meetings with Wayne State (Neb.)
-Kevin Zak's team-high batting average rose to .500 (21-for-42) with his five-hit outing; he still leads the Lakers in total bases (32), runs (14), extra-base hits (seven), doubles (five) and home runs (two), slugging percentage (.762) and on-base percentage (.500)
-Zak has recorded three or more hits in four games this season
-Mike Nadratowski scored a pair of runs, giving him three multi-run games this year
-Josh Griffith extended his hitting and on-base streaks to nine games with his two-RBI single in the fifth
-Seven of Griffith's 13 hits, along with eight of his 12 RBIs, have come in the last five games
-Jamie Potts was hit by a pitch in the fourth inning, lengthening his career-high on-base streak to 27 games; his 13-game hitting streak came to an end