UNIVERSITY CENTER - Playing in the final home game of the 2015 season, the SVSU baseball team posted an 11-2 non-conference victory over the Cleary Cougars on Tuesday (Apr. 28).
The Cardinals pulled out to a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning of the single, nine-inning contest. Brad Schalk drove one over the left field fence for his second home run of the season.
Four more for SVSU in the bottom of the fifth extended the lead out to 5-0. Saginaw Valley got sacrifice flies from Dylan Schultz to score Luke Valutis to get it rolling. Connor Foley then ripped an RBI single to plate D.J. Arnold for the second run. Schalk later added a two-RBI double that scored both Foley and Chris Perkovich.
SV wasn't done, however, as the Cards tacked-on another five runs in the bottom half of the sixth frame to make the score 10-0. Foley had a two-RBI double that scored Pete Baumgartner and Valutis and a Schalk sacrifice fly would push Foley across the plate. Wild pitches in the inning allowed Joe Galanty and Arnold to score.
The Cardinals' 11th and final run came in the bottom of the eighth inning, as Austin Plasterer took the first pitch of the half inning and put it over the left field fence for his first-career home run. That made the score 11-0.
Cleary was able to score a pair of runs in the top of the ninth inning, with just one of those being earned. The 11-2 score would prove to be the final.
Schalk finished the game 2-for-4 with a home run, double and four RBIs and a run scored while Foley was 2-for-3 with three RBIs, a walk and two runs. Arnold had a triple for the Cards and Plasterer had the long ball while Valutis had a double as well.
Jeff Mizwa (1-0) worked 2.0 innings of scoreless relief to earn his first-career victory on the mound. Mizwa allowed a single hit and posted three strikeouts in the effort. He came on in relief of Brian Feinauer, who tossed 4.0 innings of shutout ball, allowing just one hit while striking-out seven batters.
The victory improves SVSU to 18-18-1 overall on the season and the Cardinals will carry a 12-15-1 GLIAC mark into a road weekend series at Walsh University, fighting for one of two GLIAC Tournament berths still available. Saturday's doubleheader is set to begin at 1:00 p.m.
