UNIVERSITY CENTER – The SVSU baseball team hosted the University of Findlay Oilers on Saturday (Apr. 4) in a Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) doubleheader at the SVSU Baseball Complex. After the two teams split on Friday, the Cardinals were solid on day two and posted a split over the visitors. SVSU posted a shutout with a 9-0 victory in game one before notching a 9-2 advantage in the nightcap for the win.
With the sweep, SVSU evens its overall record at 10-10 with a 5-7 mark in the GLIAC. Findlay falls to 7-21 overall and 2-10 in league play.
Game One
Saginaw pushed the first run of the game across the plate in the bottom of the second inning when Connor Foley had an RBI fielder's choice that scored Luke Valutis, who led the inning off being hit by a pitch. That made the score 1-0.
A four-run third inning gave the Cardinals a 5-0 advantage, as Brendan Harrison knocked a two-RBI single to center field that scored Richard Guglielmi and Chad Carson. A Chris Perkovich double came later to score Foley and Kyle Kaufmann to finish the scoring for the inning.
The Cards added three more in the bottom of the fourth inning to push the lead out to 8-0. Carson walked and Valutis reached on an error to set up runners on first and second with two outs. Kaufmann dug-in next and laced a double to score Carson and Valutis. The relay throw from Findlay's shortstop sailed out of play into the SVSU dugout, allowing to Kaufmann to move up two bases and score the third run.
SVSU added their ninth and final run of the game when Guglielmi had an RBI single to center field to score Brad Schalk.
Michael Ellenbest held the shutout in-tact for the Cards, as he worked six scoreless innings, striking out nine batters and allowing just three hits. Clayton Spiker worked a scoreless seventh inning to seal the 9-0 victory.
Saginaw Valley had 12 hits in the opener, with five players recording multiple hits. Kaufmann had two hits with two RBIs and two runs while Perkovich and Harrison each added a pair of hits with two RBIs. Guglielmi was 2-for-4 with an RBI and Carson had two hits as well.
Game Two
The Cardinals plated a pair of runs in the bottom of the first inning, using a Valutis fielder's choice and an error that scored Schalk and Dylan Schultz for the 2-0 lead.
SVSU tacked-on another run in the bottom of the third when Carson laced an RBI double down the right field line to score Schalk, making the score 3-0.
In the top of the fourth, the Oilers got on the board for the first time of the day to make the score 3-1.
The bottom of the fifth inning saw the Cards add another three runs, extending their lead out to 6-1. Two bases-loaded walks allowed Schultz and Schalk to score and an Austin Plasterer sacrifice fly scored Carson for the third run of the frame.
Findlay scored its second and final run of the game in the top of the sixth to cut the deficit to 6-2.
The Cards added two more runs in the seventh and another in the eighth to end the game's scoring, sealing the 9-2 win.
Saginaw Valley notched 11 more hits in the second game against the Oilers. Schalk led the way with a 3-for-4 effort, scoring four runs in the game. Carson and Perkovich each added two hits, with Carson adding an RBI. Valutis, Guglielmi and Plasterer all had two RBIs for the Cardinals.
Jacob Hendricks got the start on the bump, tossing six innings while scattering six hits and allowing two runs. He had two strikeouts as well in his first-career victory in an SVSU uniform.
The Cardinals take back to the diamond on Wednesday (Apr. 8) at Wayne State University for a GLIAC doubleheader. First pitch is set for 2:00 pm in Detroit.