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WINTER HAVEN, Fla. – Things didn't start well for Lewis baseball on Thursday (March 8) morning. Falling behind 3-0 to No. 6 Grand Valley State after just two innings was not part of the plan. However a 10-run inning can erase just about any slow start and that is what the Flyers put together in the sixth. The double-digit frame lifted Lewis to a 12-6 non-conference victory.
 
The Lakers scored a run in the first and two in the second. It stayed 3-0 until senior Mike Bolling (Chicago, Ill./Guerin Prep) (Chicago, Ill./Guerin Prep/Triton) singled to score sophomore Kyle Thomas (Homer Glen, Ill./Providence Catholic) (Homer Glen, Ill./Providence Catholic) from third base in the third inning. Thomas doubled to lead off the frame.
 
“We spotted a team another early lead but nobody panicked,” Lewis head coach Tim McDonough said. “I thought Mike's RBI in the third was big. It gave us our first run and got us on the board.”
 
Bolling had a two-out RBI single in the fifth to make the score 4-2 in favor of the Lakers. It was only a precursor to the 10 runs Lewis would score in the sixth.
 
Senior Andrew Brauer (Bolingbrook, Ill./Montini) (Bolingbrook, Ill./Montini/College of DuPage) was hit by a pitch to lead off the sixth. He was on second with sophomore Ben Albano (West Dundee, Ill./Jacobs) (West Dundee, Ill./Jacobs) on first when junior Michael Schroeder (Crown Point, Ind./North Newton) (Crown Point, Ind./North Newton/Triton) bunted. The Lakers tried to get Brauer at third however the throw was late to load the bases. Two batters later senior Michael Wido (Downers Grove, Ill./Downers Grove South) (Downers Grove, Ill./Downers Grove South) singled to be the first of eight consecutive Lewis batters to reach base.  Lewis had six hits in the frame and took advantage of back-to-back Laker errors following Wido's single.
 
“We put together some good at bats, took advantage of some of their mistakes but that is what you have to do,” McDonough said of the 10-run sixth. “You have one or two of those a year and we were fortunate to have one today.”
 
The first eight batters in Lewis' lineup all recorded an RBI in the game. Wido totaled three hits and two runs scored. Albano added two RBI, two hits and two runs scored.
 
“I told the team after the game it was a total team win,” McDonough said. “We ran the bases well, got bunts down and had timely hits.”
 
Senior Pat Lahey (Downers Grove, Ill./Downers Grove South) (Downers Grove, Ill./Downers Grove South) started for the Flyers but labored through 5.2 innings, allowing four runs (three earned) on 10 hits. Senior Drew Hicks (Pekin, Ill./Pekin) (Pekin, Ill./Pekin) finished the top of the sixth. Thanks to Lewis' monster bottom half of the frame, Hicks picked up the win. He pitched 2.1 innings, allowing two runs on four hits. Junior Don Cizek (Willow Springs, Ill./Lyons) (Willow Springs, Ill./Lyons) pitched a scoreless ninth.
 
“Pat got dehydrated but we brought Drew in early knowing that we were still in the game at that point,” McDonough said. “Drew did a good job of finishing the sixth and giving us a chance to put up that inning.”
 
The win is Lewis' first over Grand Valley State since a 14-2 decision in Romeoville on March 2, 2002. It also the first for the Flyers over a top 10 team during the McDonough era (2008-12).
 
Anthony Campanella took the loss for the Lakers. Grand Valley falls to 5-3. Lewis improves to 4-1.
 
The Flyers play another Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference team on Friday in a doubleheader. Start time against the Cardinals is 9:00 a.m. ET.