CHILLICOTHE, Ohio - The Saginaw Valley State University baseball team was eliminated from the 2011 GLIAC Baseball Tournament after posting a split on day two at V.A. Memorial Stadium in Chillicothe, Ohio. The Cardinals claimed a 14-7 victory in game one to knock-out Ashland University before dropping an 11-3 decision to Wayne State University.
Against Ashland, SVSU scored two in the top of the second and four in the top of the third to hold a 6-1 lead after three full innings. In the third, Mike VanAlst (Clio, Mich.) belted his first home run of the season, a three-run shot to right field that scored Ryan Ermers (Sterling Heights, Mich./Henry Ford II HS) and Drew Woock (Saginaw, Mich./Heritage HS).
Ashland responded with three runs in the bottom of the fifth to cut the deficit to 6-4.
SVSU responded in the next half inning, as Ermers stroked a two-RBI double to extend the lead to 8-4. A Kyle O'Boyle (Midland, Mich./Bullock Creek HS) three-run home run in the eighth inning made the score 11-5 after the Eagles plated a run in the seventh. The Cardinals added three more runs in the ninth to make the count 14-5. Ashland would score two more in the bottom of nine, which would not be enough, as SVSU went on to the 14-7 victory.
Mike Saunders (Mt. Morris, Mich./EA Johnson HS) got the victory on the mound, working 6.1 innings, scattering six hits and striking-out four. Justin Drzewicki (Bay City, Mich./Central HS) picked-up his sixth save of the season, pitching the final 2.2 innings.
The Cardinals out-hit the Eagles 20-11, with O'Boyle and Ermers both having three hits and four RBI's. Chet LaFave (Charlotte, Mich./Olney Central College) and Woock each had three hits as well, with LaFave adding two RBI's. VanAlst had two base-knocks, including a three-run homerun.
The second game saw different fortunes for SVSU, as Wayne State starter Tyler Loehr kept the Cardinal hitters in check all night. The Cardinals were out-hit by a 15-3 margin in the contest with the Warriors.
Saginaw Valley struck first with a pair of runs in the top of the first inning, using an O'Boyle double to score Eric Burt (Saginaw, Mich./Heritage HS) and Matt Hunt (Howell, Mich./Concordia University).
The Warriors quickly responded with three runs in the bottom half of the inning, grabbing a 3-2 lead.
The Cardinals knotted things up at three in the top of the third inning. VanAlst doubled-in Cam Wiechmann (Birch Run, Mich./Muskegon CC) to make the score 3-3.
Wayne State took a 4-3 lead in the bottom of the third, and would score two runs and five runs in the seventh and eighth, respectively, to close-out with the 11-3 victory.
Derek Kilmer (Birmingham, Mich./Brother Rice HS) took the loss in relief, working 3.2 innings while only giving up one run on five hits.
VanAlst, O'Boyle and Burt accounted for all three of SVSU's hits in the game.
The Cardinals season comes to an end with a 25-24 overall record after participating in the GLIAC Tournament for the second-straight year.