TARBORO, N.C. – The Saginaw Valley State University baseball program battled Walsh in the final game at Tarboro Stadium in Tarboro, North Carolina for their spring trip. The Cardinals (9-4) defeated the Cavaliers (2-8) with a score of 6-5.
Five batters all had two-hit games including Lucas Mead, Austin Cicerone, Buck Snabes, Ethan Scheib, and Brady Carpenter. Mead also had a pair of walks while scoring twice and tallying two RBI. Grant Richardson had two RBI as well with his one hit in five at-bats. Cicerone tied Mead with two runs scored.
JJ Arbini (W, 3-0) recorded a quality start with six innings of work, allowing three runs on five hits and a walk while striking out six. Ryan Adams and Jordan Lewis both threw a scoreless inning with Adams allowing one hit and both facing the minimum. Jakee Shelagowski (Sv, 3) gave up two runs in his inning of work but stranded the bases loaded with back-to-back punch outs.
The two teams traded leads in the early innings as Walsh scored on a sacrifice fly in the second to take the 1-0 edge. Mead flipped the score with his first home run of the season, driving in Cicerone as well to make it 2-1 SVSU in the third. In the bottom half of the inning, a two-run double for WU retook the one-run lead.
Fast forward to the top of the sixth, Mead and Aaron Bess walked to lead off the inning. Chad Harper (L, 0-1) had gone five innings and left in line for the win but had put the go-ahead run on base. Beau Alazaus got a fly out and a sacrifice bunt to be one out away from keeping the lead when Richardson doubled to left center to score both Mead and Bess for the 4-3 Saginaw Valley advantage. The Cardinals added one more in the seventh with an RBI groundout by Bess to score Scheib. Snabes added more insurance in the top of the ninth with a single to right to score Cicerone to make it 6-3.
The insurance runs played a major role as Walsh rallied in the home half of the ninth. Four straight singles scored two runs and left two on with no outs. A sacrifice bunt put the winning run in scoring position before the next batter was intentionally walked to load the bases. Shelagowski battled and struck out the next two to close out the game.
Up Next: Saginaw Valley baseball heads back on the road after the spring trip as they travel to Findlay, Ohio on Tuesday, March 11. SVSU plays a doubleheader against Findlay as make-up games from the first weekend of the season. The Cardinals and Oilers are set for a 1:00 PM EST first pitch start from Fifth Third Field.