AUBURNDALE, Fla. (March 7) – The California (PA) baseball team suffered an 8-3 loss against Grand Valley State (Mich.) in non-conference action on Monday afternoon while at the RussMatt Baseball Invitational.

With the loss, the Vulcans fall to 5-3 overall after droppings their opening two games while in Florida. Meanwhile, the Lakers improve to 1-3 this season after they were selected to place third in the preseason Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) poll.

Sophomore second baseman Santino Marra (Uniontown, Pa./Laurel Highlands) went 3-for-5 with an RBI double, while sophomore shortstop Nathan Meeks (New Castle, Pa./Union) notched a pair of doubles and scored two runs. Junior third baseman Brett Bobin (Wampum, Pa./Mohawk) finishing with one single, one walk and one RBI in the contest.

GVSU took a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first on a bases-loaded walk and a two-run single through the left side, both with two outs. Cal answered with pair of runs in the second on an RBI ground-out and sacrifice fly after the inning started with a single by junior designated hitter Jayden Taitano (Lancaster, Pa./Conestoga Valley) and a double by Meeks. The Lakers responded with a two-out RBI single in the third before leaving a pair of runners in scoring position, 4-2.

The Vulcans left runners on first and second in both the sixth and seventh innings before the Lakers capitalized on an error in the bottom of the seventh to stretch the lead to 7-2. GVSU later added to its lead in the eighth with an RBI double. In the top of the ninth, Meeks started the inning with a double down the left-field line and advanced to third on an infield single with two outs. Marra followed with an RBI double to cut the deficit to 8-3 and loaded the bases following a walk before a strikeout ended the game.

Sophomore starting pitcher Roman Gill (Aliquippa, Pa./Hopewell) suffered the loss after yielding four runs (all earned) on eight hits and two walks in 4.0 innings (86 pitches). Senior pitcher Joshua Bogdan (Bel Air, Md./Fallston) tossed 2.0 innings of scoreless relief without allowing a hit. GVSU starter Nick Rutkowski earned the win after allowing two runs (both earned) on five hits with three strikeouts over 6.0 innings (85 pitches).

The Vulcans return to action tomorrow, Tuesday, March 7, with a pair of games in Auburndale, Florida, against Barry (Fla.) and Minnesota State, starting at 1 p.m.