UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. - The Saginaw Valley State University baseball team split with Ohio Dominican University today (Apr. 22) by scores of 7-0 and 4-3. The split improves the Cardinals record to 18-18 on the season and 14-10 in the GLIAC, while the Panthers fall to 19-19 on the season and 11-13 in the conference.
Game 1
The Cardinal offense struggled in game one as Ohio Dominican pitcher Nick Venditti threw a complete game four hit shutout in the 7-0 victory for the Panthers.
The Panthers jumped on the scoreboard in each of the first three innings of action before adding three runs in the seventh.
SVSU starting pitcher Andrew Doyle (Grand Blanc, Mich./Powers Catholic HS) picked up the loss as he threw 4 2/3 innings allowing four runs, two earned. Mike Schaaf (Saginaw, Mich./Arthur Hill HS) came on in relief in game one as he went 2 1/3 innings giving up three runs, one earned.
Brandon Schwanz (Novi, Mich./Henry Ford CC), Mike VanAlst (Clio, Mich.), Andy Orr (Utica, Mich.) and Chet LaFave (Charlotte, Mich./Olney Central College) all recorded one hit a piece in game one.
Game 2
The Cardinals got on the scoreboard first in the bottom of the first inning with a Cam Wiechmann (Birch Run, Mich./Muskegon CC) RBI single through the left side of the innfield which plated Matt Hunt (Howell, Mich./Concordia University) to give SVSU the early 1-0 edge.
Saginaw Valley would take the 1-0 advantage into the top of the seventh inning when Ohio Dominican scored three runs to take a 3-1 lead.
In the bottom of the seventh inning, the Cardinals grabbed the momentum with a leadoff single from Brad Schalk (Sterling Heights, Mich./Bishop Foley HS). Hunt followed suit with a single through the left side as the Cardinals had two runners on with no outs. In an attempt to sacrifice and move the runners over, Ryan Ermers (Sterling Heights, Mich./Henry Ford II HS) reached on a throwing error and plated Schalk to cut the deficit to 3-2.
The Cardinal rally continued as Orr roped an RBI single up the middle to bring home Hunt to tie up the contest at 3-3. Ohio Dominican then decided to intentionally walk Wiechmann and load up the bases with no outs. Kyle O'Boyle (Midland, Mich./Bullock Creek HS) picked up the game-winning RBI as be earned a base on balls to score Ermers and give the Cardinals a 4-3 come-from-behind victory.
Hunt led the SVSU offense in game two going 2-for-2 with two runs scored.
Colin Coulter (Clio, Mich./Powers Catholic HS) got the start on the mound for the Cardinals throwing six strong innings while giving up three runs all in the seventh inning. Coulter gave up just five hits and struck out three Panthers.
Closer Justin Drzewicki (Bay City, Mich./Bay City Central HS) picked up the win for the Cardinals coming in for Coulter after he got himself into a jam in the seventh. Drzewicki picked up two strikeouts in one inning of relief and goes to 2-1 on the season.
The SVSU baseball squad will return to action Tuesday with a doubleheader against Northwood University at Dow Diamond starting with game one starting at 4:00 pm. The contest will also be broadcast live on ESPN 100.9 FM.