UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. – The Saginaw Valley State University baseball team played its 15th straight and final home game of the 2021 season, closing a four-game series with Purdue University Northwest Monday at the SVSU Baseball Complex.
The Cardinals scored eight times in the second inning and held off a rally late in the game by the Pride to earn a 12-9 win and a split in the series. The victory moves SVSU to 16-12 overall and 11-9 in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.
With the score tied at 1-1 in the bottom of the second, SVSU's offense erupted for its biggest inning of the series. Austin Koin got it going with an RBI triple and scored on a sacrifice fly from Connor McClennen. Martin Money tripled home two runs, while Todd Paperd and Brandon Scheurer each added an RBI single. The frame was capped off by a two-run single from Thomas Loftus.
SVSU added three runs in the third on RBI doubles from Paperd and Tucker Roe, while Scheurer added an RBI single. The Pride chipped away at the Cardinal lead the rest of the way, scoring two in the eighth and two in the ninth, but SVSU held on for the win.
Christopher Schmees (1-2) got the win on the mound, tossing six innings, allowing four runs, three earned, on seven hits, walking one, and striking out two.
The Cardinals close the regular season with a four-game series at Ashland University starting at 3 pm Friday in Ashland, Ohio.