LANSING, MICH. – The Saginaw Valley State University baseball team cruised to an 18-4 win over Purdue Northwest in the opening game of the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Tournament.
Tyler McLaren (W, 7-3) got the start and went 8.0 innings to earn the win. He had an efficient outing as he allowed five hits and two runs, and struck out five batters on the afternoon. Jake Shelagowski pitched the final inning of the game to seal the win.
The Pride took a 1-0 lead in the top of the third inning with a single through the left side that scored the runner at third. The advantage didn't last long, as the Cardinals scored on a PNW throwing error in the bottom half of the inning for a 1-1, tie.
A sacrifice fly to right field gave the Pride their second lead, 2-1, in the top half of the fifth. Again, the lead was short-lived, except this time SVSU added three runs to gain a 4-2 lead after five innings. Hayden Jatczak walked to get on base before a PNW error put Colin Cornwell on first and Jatczak in scoring position on second. Reed Raymond brought Jatczak home with a single to right field. Cornwell scored on a ground out on the next play before Jeff Reseigh was walked to load the bases. Another walk, Lucas Mead, scored Austin Schweiger for the third run of the inning.
Cornwell doubled to left field to bring Jatczak and Brandon Scheurer home in the sixth inning. Reseigh doubled to right field to score Schweiger and Cornwell before scoring on a third error by PNW and the lead was 9-2 with three innings left to play.
The Cardinal bats exploded in the eighth inning as nine runs came across the plate to widen the gap to 18-2. Singles by Jatczak and Cornwell scored three runs, and Schweiger hit a double to right center for another run. A passed ball scored a fifth run in the frame. A sacrifice fly by Austin Cicerone scored a sixth run before a single and a walk ended the scoring for SVSU.
Purdue Northwest grabbed two more runs in the top of the ninth, but the Cardinals collected the third, and final out to end the game with the 18-4 win.
Jatczak and Connor McClennen finished the game 4-for-5 at the plate. Jatczak scored three runs and had three RBI in the win; McClennen scored a run and walked once. Scheurer, Cornwell, Schweiger, Raymond, and Reseigh had two hits in the game. Cornwell and Mead tied with Jatczak for the team lead with three RBI. Cornwell had a team-high four runs scored.
UP NEXT
SVSU will play the second game on day two of the GLIAC Tournament. The Cardinals will face the loser of game three between Wayne State and Davenport tomorrow at 3 PM EST.