CLEARWATER, Fla. - The Saginaw Valley State University baseball team claimed a pair of victories in the opening day at the Winning Innings Invitational in Clearwater, Florida. The Cardinals opened play with a 12-3 victory over the University of the Sciences before claiming a 7-3 decision over Cedarville in the second game of the day.
Game One | USciences
After the Devils took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning, the Cardinals knotted the score at 1-1 in the top of 3rd after Chris Perkovich had an RBI single to score Demetrius Dunlap. The Cards then grabbed a 2-1 advantage in the top of the 4th when a Kyle Kaufmann single pushed Chad Carson across the plate.
SVSU added a pair of runs in the 5th to make the score 4-1, using an RBI triple from Dunlap to score Brendan Harrison and a Perkovich sac fly that scored Dunlap himself.
The Cards exploded for a six-spot in their half of the 7th inning, extending the lead out to 10-1. The big blow was a Luke Valutis two-RBI double to score Perkovich and Dunlap.
RBI singles from Valutis and Perkovich in the 8th and 9th innings, respectively, gave SV the 12-1 lead.
USciences scored two runs in the bottom of the 9th inning, but that's all it would score and the Cardinals closed-out for the 12-3 victory.
Perkovich and Valutis each had three hits with three RBIs whie Dunlap and Carson each had a pair of hits. Dunlap added three runs scored.
Scott Sency got the win on the bump, working 5.0 innings while allowing just three hits, one unearned run and striking-out three batters.
Game Two | Cedarville
Saginaw Valley picked up right where it left off in the nightcap. The Cardinals scored two runs in the bottom of the first inning on a Connor Foley RBI single to score Perkovich and a sac fly from Brad Schalk that pushed Foley across the plate.
Single runs in the 2nd and 3rd innings made the score 4-0 when Harrison scored off a Yellowjacket error in the 2nd. Harrison then stroked an RBI double that scored Schalk in the 3rd.
The Jackets got on the board with a run in the top of the 5th and two in the 6th to cut the lead to 4-3.
The Cards responded in the bottom of the 6th, making the score 7-3 when Dunlap scored on an error and Carson had a two-RBI double that plated Foley and Perkovich.
That's what the final score would be, with the Cardinals finishing-off the four-run victory.
Carson and Perkovich each had two hits, with Carson adding the two RBIs. Dunlap had a hit and walked twice while Foley and Perkovich each scored twice.
Michael Ellenbest notched his first-career victory on the mound. The redshirt freshman tossed 6.0 innings scattering six hits and posting four strikeouts.
Saginaw Valley returns to the diamond Monday (Mar. 2) with another contest against the Devils with first pitch set for 2:00 pm. It will be a single, nine-inning contest.