Box Score Jackson, MI-- A mere 3 days after GRCC's men's basketball team defeated Jackson to advance to the NJCAA National Tournament, the GRCC baseball squad has demolished another Jackson team. The Raiders defeated Jackson CC on Tuesday evening by a score of 16-5, ending a 2 game winning streak for the Jets.

The first pair of innings marked some sound defensive play for both squads, with GRCC scoring one run in the top of the first. The Raiders added another pair of runs in the third, the first coming off of a Carlos Berroa double and the second when David Balgaard scored on a fielders choice.

Jackson got on the board with 3 runs in the fourth, but a powerful Raiders batting lineup took charge for the rest of the game.

The Raiders strongest run came at the top of the sixth when the team scored 5 times. Balgaard and Ryan Manning both doubled to collect an RBI apiece, and 4 other Raiders got on base during the inning.

Aaron Jensen saw the bulk of the action in the victory, and pitched 7 innings along the way. Jensen hurled 6 strikeouts and allowed only 3 hits during the game. Bryce Baker pitched an inning before Brandon Seekell stepped in to close out the afternoon.

David Balgaard led the Raiders with 4 RBI's, followed by second baseman Drew Dunbar, who added another 3. Four other Raiders had at least 2 RBI's. Tyler Duke had 9 putouts and Brian Portelli had an additional 7 for GRCC.

The Raiders are now 3-13 on the season, following a trip down south that saw GRCC face some extremely tough competition. The game was the first in conference play for the squad, and much more strong play will be expected of them. The team found themselves in the #17 slot in the NJCAA DII's preliminary rankings.

Next up for the Raiders is a trip to Toledo, Ohio on Saturday, where they will take on the Express of Owens Community COllege, a squad that will be looking for their first victory of the season. Stay tuned to GRCCRaiders.com for further coverage.