2017 GLIAC Baseball Tournament Central | Day 2| Day 1 | Preview
BAY CITY, Mich. -- The top-seeded Northwood Timberwolves and No. 3 Tiffin Dragons clinched spots in the 2017 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Baseball Tournament Championship on Sunday (May 14) at the Athletes in Action Sports Complex in Xenia, Ohio. Northwood will face Tiffin in Sunday's title round beginning at 11 AM. The Dragons must defeat the Timberwolves twice to win the title, while NU needs one victory to hoist the trophy.
GAME 7: No. 1 Northwood def. No. 3 Tiffin, 16-0 | BOX SCORE
Recap: Northwood wasted no time at all getting its offense going in the first inning when Ryan McClelland ripped a 2-run home run over the wall in right field to score David Vinsky and give NU a 2-0 edge. The Timberwolves blew the game wide open in the second with ten runs on seven hits, which included a Travis Janes bases-loaded double to plate all three runners with Vinsky and Javier Martinez also recording 2-RBI hits in the explosive inning. In the fifth, Robert Spencer and Janes extended the Northwood advantage with RBI singles before Connor Foley drove home the final two runs to cap the Northwood scoring at 16. NU starter Matt Pearsall threw 7.0 inning allowing five hits while striking out two.
GAME 8: No. 5 Grand Valley State def. No. 6 Hillsdale, 8-6 | BOX SCORE
Recap: Grand Valley State got to work early in their elimination game with Hillsdale as the Lakers scrapped together two runs in the first inning on an Austin LaDoux sacrifice fly followed by a fielder's choice RBI from Matt Williams. Hillsdale answered back immediately in the second when a Colin Hites triple evaded the center fielder and flew over his head to plate two runs and make it a tie game. The Chargers used that momentum to take a 4-2 lead in the third with a pair of ground out RBIs off the bats of Dylan Lottinville and Michael Mitchell. GVSU stormed back in the third with a LaDoux single to plate Alex Young before a Johnny Nate 2-run shot down the left field line in the bottom of the fourth put the Lakers ahead 5-4. Hillsdale tied it back up in the seventh as Colin Boerst scored on a Mitchell RBI before Anthony Villar doubled down the right field line to score Williams to put GVSU back in front. The next batter was Keith Browning who proceeded to hit a 2-run home run to left to give the Lakers insurance. Hillsdale's Steven Ring hit a monster home run to right to cut the deficit to two runs before GVSU closer Matt Williams became the all-time saves leader in NCAA Division II and kept the Lakers alive.
GAME 9: No. 3 Tiffin def. No. 5 Grand Valley State, 7-5 | BOX SCORE
Recap: Quick scoring was a theme on Saturday and continued in the nightcap when Tiffin raced out to a 5-0 lead after three innings. Grand Valley State struck in the fourth inning with five runs of their own to tie the contest. The Lakers capitalized on an awkward passed ball that struck the umpire as play continued. GVSU then recorded 2-RBI doubles from both Brody Andrews and Alex Young to tie it up. The Dragons responded to take the lead in the sixth and seventh innings when Kyle Durham and Jack Dennis notched RBI singles to give TU a 7-5 advantage.
Follow all the action on the 2017 GLIAC Baseball Tournament Central page for links to live stats, audio and video.
