UNIVERSITY CENTER - The SVSU baseball team hosted Hillsdale College in a Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) doubleheader on Sunday (Apr. 19).  After defeating the Chargers twice on Saturday, the Cardinals fell twice by scores of 5-4 and 1-0 at the SVSU Baseball Complex.

Game One

The Chargers grabbed an early lead in the opener, going for two runs in the top of the first and another in the third inning ot make the score 3-0.  

The Cardinals responded promptly, however, answering right back with a trio of runs to tie the score at 3-3.  Brendan Harrison and Luke Valutis were each hit by a pitch and in-between those a Richard Guglielmi single gave the home team bases-loaded with no outs.  Kyle Kaufmann was due next and he was walked to score Harrison for the first run.  Austin Plasterer then had an RBI groundout to shortstop to plate Guglielmi for the second run.  A two-out Chris Perkovich infield single would score Valutis for the tying run.

Chad Carson ripped a triple down the right field line in the bottom of the fourth and he would score on a wild pitch to give the Cardinals a 4-3 advantage.

Neither team scored for the rest of the way until the top of the seventh inning.  Reliever Andrew Tidwell got two quick outs for SVSU before the Chargers got a double from Connor Bartlett to put a guy in scoring position.  Chris McDonald followed with an RBI single to right, scoring Bartlett.  A throwing error on the attempt to throw Bartlett out at the plate allowed McDonald to move up in scoring position to second base.  Hillsdale's Eric Shankin singled to right field next, giving Cardinal right fielder Luke Valutis another chance to throw a guy out at the plate.  He threw a seed into the catcher and had the runner beat, but the throw was dropped and Hillsdale took the lead 5-4 with the run.

SVSU got a runner in scoring position after a Valutis single and Kaufmann sacrifice bunt in the bottom of the seventh but nothing materialized for the home team and the Chargers came away with the one-run victory.

Tidwell (2-2) took the loss on the mound, allowing two runs (1 earned) on three hits.  

The Cards had 10 hits in the game, with Perkovich and Valutis each accounting for three of those.  Perkovich added an RBI and Valutis a run scored.  Carson went 2-for-4 in the game, scoring a run as well.  Kaufmann and Plasterer had RBIs for SV as well.

Game Two

Hillsdale scored a single run in the top of the first inning, taking a 1-0 lead in the nightcap.

That would be the only scoring for the entire ball game.  Saginaw Valley got runners up to second and third base in the first inning and had a runner on second base in the fifth and seventh innings as well.  Nothing came of the scoring opportunities, however, and the Chargers closed-out for the one-run victory.

SVSU had six hits in the game, with Carson going 2-for-4 to lead the way offensively.

The Cards fall to 15-16-1 overall on the season with a 10-13-1 mark in the GLIAC.  The Chargers move to 15-25 with a 10-14 league record after the two wins.

Saginaw Valley returns home for a single, nine-inning game against Marygrove College on Wednesday (Apr. 22).  First pitch is set for 3:00 pm at the SVSU Baseball Complex.