AUBURNDALE, Fla. - The Saginaw Valley State University baseball team got back on the winning track Tuesday (Mar. 9) with a victory over the University of Concordia, St. Paul. The Cardinals improved to 3-5 overall for the 2010 season while defeating the Golden Bears (6-8) by a score of 13-2.
The Cardinals jumped-out in front right away, scoring three runs in the top of the first inning, and would give the Cardinal pitching staff all the support they would need. A Ryan Webber (Clio, Mich./Powers Catholic HS) single would score Ryan Ermers (Sterling Heights, Mich./Henry Ford II HS). A Charlie Thomas (Northville, Mich.) single would score Webber and Kyle O'Boyle (Midland, Mich./Bullock Creek HS) to give Saginaw the 3-0 lead.
Saginaw Valley would put up another three spot in the second inning, as Dan Norton (Grand Rapids, Mich./Catholic Central HS) scored on a squeeze by Ermers, which was immediately followed by a two-run shot over the center field fence by O'Boyle, which also scored Kevin Dore (Kawkawlin, Mich./Muskegon CC), and gave the Cards a 6-0 advantage.
The third inning would see Saginaw score four more runs to take a 10-0 lead. A Thomas double scored Josh Peterson (Midland, Mich./Bullock Creek HS) from first base, while a sacrifice fly by Norton scored Thomas, who was moved to third via a single by Chase Coulter (Clio, Mich./Powers Catholic HS). Ermers would single to score Coulter, and an O'Boyle single would plate Dore.
Dustin Mayner (Linden, Mich.) would single in the fourth inning to score Peterson, while a Webber base-knock in the fifth inning would help Ermers across the plate. The Cardinals would get on the board one more time in the game, as a Dore double down the right field line would score Norton from first.
The Cardinals totaled 20 hits in the ballgame while holding the Golden Bears to only seven. Dore and Ermers each had three hits in the contest, including a pair of doubles and RBI's for Ermers and one double and RBI for Dore. O'Boyle had two hits in the game, including a home run and three RBI's. Thomas also had two hits with a double and three RBI's. Webber, Mayner and Norton each had a pair of hits and an RBI apiece, with Mayner adding a double. Peterson added a single while Eric Burt (Saginaw, Mich./Heritage HS) recorded his first collegiate hit on a single in the ninth inning.
Jon Tibaudo (Harper Woods, Mich./Grosse Pointe North HS) picked-up the win on the mound, working seven innings while scattering five hits, striking-out five and allowing only one un-earned run. Justin Drzewicki (Bay City, Mich./Central HS) worked the final two innings, striking-out three Golden Bear hitters and allowing one un-earned run.
SVSU will follow an off-day on Wednesday with a double-header against the University of Charleston (W.Va.) at 9:00 am on Thursday (Mar. 11).