Mariners 5, Clippers 3

The Grand Lake Mariners broke open a tight pitchers' duel with a four-run seventh inning and held on to beat the Muskegon Clippers 5–3 on Saturday night at Marsh Field.

For six innings, runs were hard to find. Grand Lake starter Joseph Lafkas (2–0) dominated early, allowing just one hit over 6.0 scoreless innings while striking out 11 on 86 pitches. Muskegon's Zander Wills matched him for much of the night, working 5.0 shutout innings with seven strikeouts and only two hits allowed.

Grand Lake finally cracked the scoreboard in the sixth. Maalik Perkins reached and later scored when Luke Wildes ripped a double down the left-field line to make it 1–0. The Mariners then turned the game decisively in the seventh against Muskegon reliever Chase Schwierking. Landon Tiesing's RBI single plated Forrest Day, and two batters later Matthew Aldridge launched a three-run homer to right, pushing the lead to 5–0. Aldridge finished with three RBIs on the night, accounting for more than half of Grand Lake's scoring.

Muskegon mounted its comeback in the eighth after Lafkas exited. The Clippers collected five hits in the inning off Elias Alvarado, starting with Sam Briggs' RBI single to score Ryan Louch. Caden Thelen followed with a two-run triple to center, cutting the deficit to 5–3 and bringing the tying run into the on-deck circle.

But Grand Lake closer Alex Dues steadied things, retiring the final four outs to earn his second save. Dues struck out two and allowed just one hit over 1.1 scoreless innings.

Despite being out-hit 7–6, the Mariners made their hits count—Wildes' RBI double, Tiesing's RBI single, and Aldridge's three-run homer provided all five runs. Perkins also reached base three times (1-for-2 with two walks) and scored the game's first run, while the Mariners played error-free defense.

The game lasted 2:19 and was played in front of 500 fans at Marsh Field. Grand Lake improved to 7-1, while Muskegon fell to 4-4.