UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. - The Saginaw Valley State University baseball team split with the Ashland University Eagles today (4/17) in a Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) doubleheader. The Cardinals lost the first game by a score of 9-6 before posting an 8-7 comeback victory in the nightcap.
SVSU held a 3-2 advantage in the opener after the first inning compliments of a Kyle O'Boyle (Midland, Mich./Bullock Creek HS) three-run home run to right field, which scored Drew Woock (Saginaw, Mich./Heritage HS) and Brandon Schwanz (Novi, Mich./Henry Ford CC).
Ashland would hold a 7-6 lead after five full innings despite the Cardinals plating single runs in the third, fourth and fifth innings, respectively, and the Eagles would add runs in the sixth and seventh to push the lead to 9-6. That is where the score would stand, as the Cardinals couldn't add any more scoring and fell by three runs.
Mike Saunders (Mt. Morris, Mich./EA Johnson HS) took the loss on the hill after working 4.1 innings, giving up seven runs and striking-out seven batters.
O'Boyle was 2-for-3 with a home run and a double and three RBI's while Woock, Ryan Ermers (Sterling Heights, Mich./Henry Ford II HS) and Mike VanAlst (Clio, Mich.) all had a pair of hits as well.
The second game was a back-and-forth affair, with Ashland holding a 6-4 lead after three innings. SVSU knotted the score at six with a run in the fourth and two in the fifth when VanAlst ripped a two RBI double that scored Ermers and O'Boyle.
The Eagles took a late lead when they scored in the top of the sixth, holding a 7-6 advantage.
That score would remain heading into the bottom of the seventh, when Cam Wiechmann (Birch Run, Mich./Muskegon CC) stepped to the plate with one out and two guys on base.
The junior catcher, getting his seventh start of the season, launched a shot off the center field fence to score Mitch Vrooman (Comstock, Mich./Kellogg CC) with the tying run and Dustin Mayner (Gaines, Mich./Linden HS) with the game-winning score.
Eric Burt (Saginaw, Mich./Heritage HS) went 3-for-4 with a double, triple and two runs scored and an RBI in the game. Wiechmann and Mayner each posted two hits, with Wiechmann's both being doubles. VanAlst had three RBI's in the game.
Andrew Tidwell (Canton, Mich.) got the win in relief, working two innings of two-hit ball, giving up one run while striking-out two batters.
The Cardinals now sit at 14-18 overall on the season and 9-11 in GLIAC play. SVSU will be in action again this weekend, when it visits Ohio Dominican on April 21 and 23 for a GLIAC series.