PAINESVILLE, Mich. - The Saginaw Valley State University baseball team swept Lake Erie College today (April 7) on a windy day in Ohio by a final tally of 16-6 to extend their winning streak to four games. The three-game road sweep marks the first such occurrence since the 2010 season at Findlay.
The Cardinals (9-13, 7-5 GLIAC) came out slugging and hit five home runs in the first two innings to take a 9-0 lead over the Storm. Chet LaFave (Charlotte, Mich.) pounded a 2-1 offering over the fence in left field for a 3-run home run to get things rolling in the first.
Andy Orr (Utica, Mich.) made it back-to-back homers for SVSU with a solo shot, extending his current hit streak to 13 games with his first homer of the season and third career blast.
Kyle O'Boyle (Midland, Mich. / Bullock Creek) followed suit two batters later with a solo home run of his own. O'Boyle went deep again in the second inning for his third long ball of the year and 17th of his career. Sophomore Chris Perkovich (Canton, Mich.) also added a 2-run shot in the second inning.
Chet LaFave stretched the SVSU lead to 13-0 in the fifth inning with his second 3-run blast of the contest to left field, his third homer of the year and fourth career. LaFave finished the contest with 6 RBIs, which is the most by a Cardinal in two years (Ryan Webber - 11 RBIs).
Chris Perkovich crushed his fourth homer of the year and fifth career in the eighth inning to give SVSU a 14-3 lead. Perkovich made it a trio of Cardinals to post two home runs as SVSU finished with seven total round trippers. This marks the most since the Cardinals hit six home runs back on May 13, 2000 vs. Gannon University.
Saginaw Valley actually had to fight off a late Storm (15-15, 9-6 GLIAC) surge, but escaped unscathed with minimal damage in the eighth and tacked on a pair of runs in the ninth to claim the 16-6 victory.
Starting pitcher Carson Beauchaine (Fraser, Mich.) had a very efficient performance on the mound as he picked up his second victory in the past week. Beauchaine allowed just five hits over six innings on 79 pitches, while striking out four batters with no walks.
Brad Schalk (Sterling Heights, Mich. / Bishop Foley) went 3-for-4 at the plate for SVSU with four runs scored and a walk, while Andy Orr also scored three times. Overall, six Cardinals registered multiple hits in the road victory.
Today's contest featured 22 runs, 10 hit batters, eight home runs, four errors, three wild pitches and three passed balls.
The Cardinals will be back in action this Wednesday (April 10) for a home doubleheader with Grand Valley State starting at 2 p.m.