The Grand Valley State baseball team claimed the 2026 GLIAC Tournament title with a 12-3 victory over Davenport in the title game Sunday at UWM Field in Utica, Michigan.
Grand Valley State was selected as the NCAA DII Midwest Region No. 1 seed and will host one of two regionals beginning Thursday, May 14. GVSU, the GLIAC regular season and tournament champion with a 45-8 record, will face GMAC Tournament Champion and No. 8 seeded Kentucky Wesleyan (30-22) Thursday.
Missouri S&T (34-18) is seeded No. 4 and will face No. 5 seeded Davenport (29-26) Thursday.
The Lakers won the GLIAC Tournament in comeback fashion.
Davenport built a 2-0 lead with runs in first and third innings, but the Lakers uncorked the offense in the bottom of the fourth with 10 runs on seven hits.
First baseman Jovan Gill opened the inning with a single, followed by back-to-back walks to third baseman Caleb Estrada and right fielder Josh Fleming. Centerfielder Jake Skaggs singled to right to drive in the first run for the Lakers and DH Will Bowen followed with a grand slam to right to give the Lakers a 5-2 lead.
Catcher Nick Krstich and left fielder Caden Thelen singled then shortstop Evan Morrison walked to load the bases. Second baseman Ayden VanEnkevort, who made a sensational defensive play in the top of the fourth, singled to right center to score Krstich and Thelen.
Estrada walked and Fleming was hit by a pitch to score Morrison. Bowen hit a sacrifice fly to right field to plate Estrada to give GVSU a 10-run inning and build a 10-2 lead. Bowen tallied five RBIs in the fourth inning with the grand slam and sacrifice fly.
GVSU added two runs in the bottom of the fourth. Thelen singled, moved to second on a Morrison groundout and went to third on a wild pitch. VanEnkevort scored Thelen on a groundout to shortstop and Gill then hit a solo shot to right to give GVSU a 12-2 lead.
Zach Warren got the start on the mound, yielding two runs on four hits in three innings of work. Duncan McLaughlin picked up the win (4-0), yielding one run on four hits with two strikeouts.
Every Laker that played a position scored a run. Bowen was 1-for-3 with a grand slam and five RBIs, while VanEnkevort was 1-for-5 with three RBIs. Skaggs was 2-for-3 with two RBIs and Thelen was 3-for-4 with two runs scored. Gill was 2-for-5 with a solo home run Fleming drew three walks.
Men’s golf wins NCAA Super regional
For the second time in program history, the Grand Valley State men’s golf team took home the Midwest/Central Super regional title. The Lakers will advance to the NCAA National Championships for the seventh time ever.
GVSU maintained their spot atop the leaderboard for the second straight day, ending the tournament at +3, five shots up on the next team. UMSL shot a final round of -4 to rise to second at +8. In third was Central Missouri, who finished with a score of +9, while Washburn claimed the final guaranteed spot to Nationals, defeating Arkansas Tech and Ferris State by one stroke.
Manuel Cue Vargas finished in a tie for fourth following a final round score of 75 (+3), making two birdies and an eagle, to end at one under. Ryan Gallagher shot a team-low round of 69 (-3) with five birdies to climb 21spots into a tie for 10th at one over par. In a tie for 17th was Bryce Wheeler, who made three birdies in his round of 74 (+2), with a score of +2. Following his three birdies across a round of 77 (+5), Andrew Gwilliams ended in a tie for 28th, scoring +5. Ending at +7 was Charlie Cooley, who carded a final round of 76 (+4) with three birdies.
Contact sports editor Dan D’Addona at Dan.D’Addona@hollandsentinel.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter @DanDAddona or Facebook @HollandSentinelSports.
This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: GVSU baseball wins GLIAC Tournament title to qualify for NCAA tournament
Reporting by Dan D’Addona, Holland Sentinel / The Holland Sentinel
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