UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. - The Saginaw Valley State University baseball team prevailed 3-2 in 11 innings against Wayne State University today (April 28) in a much-needed victory after dropping three straight and six of seven.
Saginaw Valley (12-20, 10-12 GLIAC) took the early 2-0 lead wasting no time in the top of the first inning. Tyler Schwanz (Novi, Mich.) put the Cardinals on the board when he came home on a wild pitch from the Warrior hurler.
Senior Kyle O'Boyle (Midland, Mich. / Bullock Creek) followed a few batters later by lacing an RBI single to the opposite field gap scoring Chet LaFave (Charlotte, Mich.) to put SVSU up two runs.
Wayne State (29-13, 19-7 GLIAC) battled back in the top of the fifth with a pair of runs to tie it up after a two out RBI single and a wild pitch.
Both starting pitchers had impressive showings on the mound Sunday afternoon blanking their opponents from the sixth through tenth innings.
In the bottom of the 11th, the Cardinals started another one of their patented two-out rallies when Joe Galanty (Canton, Mich.) singled up the middle for his first knock of the year. The next batter was freshman Jason Hanson (Harbor Beach, Mich.) who was hit by the pitch to put two Cardinals aboard with two outs.
The stage was then set for pinch hitter Brendon Hayes (Livonia, Mich. / Stevenson) who drove the first pitch through the left side of the infield scoring pinch runner Justin Drzewicki (Bay City, Mich. / Bay City Central) for the game-winning run.
Dylan Wisniewski (Southgate, Mich. / Riverview Community) threw nine innings of five-hit baseball on the mound for SVSU and recorded three strikeouts allowing two earned runs. Wisniewski threw 125 pitches (75 strikes) on the afternoon.
Relief pitcher Aaron Woods (Menominee, Mich.) picked up his first win of the year after battling the Warrior offense in extra innings. Woods hurled two scoreless innings to move to 1-1 on the year.
The Saginaw Valley offense was led by Brad Schalk (Sterling Heights, Mich. / Bishop Foley) and Niko Gonzalez (Rochester, Mich. / Stoney Creek) who each accumulated two hits each.
SVSU Baseball will continue their charge towards a berth in the GLIAC Tournament when they travel to Hillsdale College on Wednesday (May 1) for a doubleheader.