XENIA, Ohio - After securing the #5 seed in the 2014 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Tournament this past weekend, the Saginaw Valley State University baseball team is set to square-off with the #2 seeded Wayne State University Warriors in the tournament's opening game.
It marks the second-straight year that the two teams have faced each other to open play for the tournament, as both teams had the identical seeds in 2013. The Warriors defeated the Cards by a score of 9-7 in the opener last year.
For the Cardinals, earning a spot in the tournament was something that seemed nearly impossible following a 3-11 record to open GLIAC play for the 2014 season.
A turning point came for the Cardinals, however, in a weekend series with Malone University that began on April 12th. SVSU swept the series and would claim victory in 13 out of its final 18 conference games to finish with an even 16-16 GLIAC record. The team rattled-off seven wins in a row as well before falling in the season finale by a single run to Ashland, 3-2. During the impressive stretch, SVSU had five walk-off victories.
Saginaw Valley finished fourth in the GLIAC in hitting with a .287 batting average. Starting pitcher Andrew Geese was second in the league with 9.12 strikeouts-per-game and fifth with 52 total strikeouts. Brad Schalk's .360 batting average placed him 11th in the league and his four triples ranked him second.
The 2014 GLIAC Baseball Tournament is being hosted at the Athletes in Action Complex in Xenia, Ohio. The games are all being played on Grady's Field. For complete tournament information and to follow the action live, please follow the tournament webpage link below.