Baseball advances to GLIAC title game

Baseball advances to GLIAC title game: The Wayne State baseball team (33-18 overall) failed to secure its place in the 2012 GLIAC tournament championship game with a 6-4 loss to the Grand Valley Lakers (40-13 overall), but had another chance to advance to the title game later that day, and did, with a 13-6 victory over the Saginaw Valley Cardinals (26-26 overall) on May 11.

*Grand Valley*

Trailing 1-0 in the second inning, Kasey Koster tied the game for the Warriors with a solo homer to right.

WSU took a one run lead in the fourth when Chris Gebara drove-in Kyle Vesey – who singled to lead off the inning. But the Lakers tied it in the bottom of the inning.

The Warriors regained the lead in the fifth as Kyle Zimmerman’s RBI single gave them a 3-2 lead. Brad Guenther added a run in the sixth, plating Koster on a fielder’s choice.

The Lakers cut the deficit to one in the sixth. Sending nine batters to the plate in the eighth, GVSU rallied for three runs to take a 6-4 lead.

The Warriors couldn’t respond, and were one game away from elimination with the loss.

*Saginaw Valley*

With their backs against the wall, the WSU bats got going early against the Cardinals, scoring three runs in the first. But SVSU responded, scoring two runs in the bottom half.

SVSU tied it in the second and took a 5-3 lead in the third.

Koster’s three-RBI double gave the Warriors a 6-5 lead in the fifth. WSU erupted in the sixth, scoring six runs in the inning to take a 12-5 lead. Andrew Ciennik and Kenny Davis each had two-RBI singles in the inning to pace the WSU offense.

Each team scored a run in the late innings.

The Warriors will meet the ninth-ranked Lakers again on May 12, this time having to beat them twice to claim the GLIAC tournament title.