UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. – The Saginaw Valley State University baseball program hosted the University of Indianapolis for game one of the NCAA Division II Midwest Super Regional Friday afternoon. The Cardinals (41-17) fell with a final score of 12-11 in a rollercoaster of a game against the Greyhounds (40-19). SVSU trailed by six before taking multiple one-run leads and left the bases loaded in the final two innings in the loss.
Hayden Jatczak proved why he has earned Player of the Year and All-America honors with a 4-for-5 performance including a three-run home run and a triple. Connor McClennen went 3-for-5 on the day while Colin Cornwell, Reed Raymond, Jaccar Watkins, and Jeff Reseigh all tallied two hits.
Tyler McLaren started on the mound for the Cardinals and went 3.2 innings allowing seven runs on eight hits and two walks while striking out two. UIndy started hot with six runs in the first before McLaren settled in and allowed one through the next three innings. Steven Hecht pitched a scoreless 1.1 innings out of the pen before Jackson Decker (L, 6-1) took over. Decker went 3.1 innings and got roughed up in the eighth with four of his five runs against scoring in the inning. Brandon Scheurer recorded the final two outs of the ninth in his appearance.
After the six spot in the first for the Greyhounds, Saginaw Valley worked their way back. Reseigh singled home a run in the second and then Cornwell and Cicerone reached on errors that scored Scheurer and Jatczak in the third to make it 6-3.
UIndy tallied one in the fourth to make it a four-run game before SVSU put up five in the bottom half of the frame. A three-run bomb by Jatczak, his 16th of the season, followed by a Raymond RBI single and a Cicerone RBI sacrifice fly gave the Cardinals an 8-7 lead.
The Greyhounds tied it in the sixth before Cornwell singled home Scheurer in the seventh for the 9-8 lead. Payton Plym (W, 7-0) gave up the go ahead run, his only one allowed in 3.2 innings of work, but UIndy took the lead in the eighth. The third three-run home run by both teams followed by an RBI double gave the Greyhounds a 12-9 lead late in the game.
E.J. White (Sv, 13) pitched two innings allowing two runs as Reseigh singled home Raymond in the eighth and Schweiger drove in Jatczak with a sacrifice fly in the ninth. White lived dangerously allowing five hits and three walks and stranded the bases loaded in both innings of work.
With the loss, Saginaw Valley must win two games on Saturday, May 25 to advance to the NCAA Division II World Series. The best-of-three series continues with an 11:00 AM first pitch tomorrow with an if necessary game three following.
