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March 3, 2003
Joplin, Mo. - Grand Valley rolled over Missouri Southern State 8-5 in the Lakers' second game on Monday in Joplin, Mo. The Lakers scored eight times in the first two innings and held on for the win. All nine starters reached base and for the third consecutive game the Lakers had eight different players record a hit. C Elijah Beckwith led the GVSU hitting attack with three hits and two RBI. Junior LHP Nathan Barden (1-0) picked up the victory on the mound giving up only two hits and two earned runs in 4.1 innings of work. The Lakers improve to 3-1 on the year while Missouri Southern falls to 5-6.
GVSU exploded out of the gate as they batted around in both of the first two innings. The first six batters of the game reached base on three singles and three walks, but the Lakers left the bases loaded as they put three runs on the board. They kept the pressure on in the second scoring five runs on five hits, including back-to-back doubles by Nick Sandy and Joe Mertes.
Pitching took over until the bottom of the fifth when Missouri Southern pushed across three runs. The Lions posted two hits but were aided by three walks. Joe Finnerty pitched the final two-thirds of the inning to get the Lakers out of the jam. David Olsen came in to finish the game but loaded the bases without giving up a hit. After getting the next two batters, a single knocked in two runs. However, Olsen struck out the final batter to close the game.
Tony Phennig, Scott Allen, and Sandy all pounded out two hits, while Mike McCallister reached base four times. GVSU stole eight bases and benefited from three MSSC errors. The three Laker pitchers combined for nine strikeouts and allowed only four hits.
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