May 24, 2005

Grand Valley State will open up the 2005 NCAA Division II World Series on Sunday, May 29 at 2 pm ET against West Virginia State in Montgomery, Ala. The Lakers improved to 34-15 on the season with their 10-3 win against Wisconsin-Parkside in the North Central Regional Championship game. West Virginia State comes into the contest with a 43-14 record and ranked #10 in the latest Collegiate Baseball Poll. The Lakers returned to the poll this week at the #17 slot. Grand Valley fell to Delta State 12-8 in the National Championship game in the 2004 World Series and are returning to the World Series for the third consecutive year.

The Lakers' offense is led by sophomore C Nick Smith (Hazel Park, Mich.) who is hitting .410 on the year with 48 RBI and 16 extra-base hits. Senior 3B Scott Allen (Holt, Mich.) has broken the GVSU at bats (660), hits (231), RBIs (160), 2B (45), and TB (330) records during the year and leads the team in hits (66) and TB (93). Junior LHP Grant Payton (Barrington, Ill.) was named GLIAC Pitcher of the Year and has posted a 9-3 record with a 1.19 ERA on the year. Junior RHP's Jeremy Dow (Sunfield, Mich.) and Jeff Sinicki (Essexville, Mich.) each have earned 7-1 records for the Lakers, including a win apiece in the Regional Tournament.

For more information on the 2005 Division II World Series click the link below.

World Series Information