ALLENDALE, Mich. - The Saginaw Valley State University baseball program continued the weekend series against No. 23 Grand Valley with a doubleheader Saturday afternoon. The Cardinals (19-9, 4-3 GLIAC) split the two games against the Lakers (22-9, 6-5 GLIAC) winning game one 4-0 and dropping the second 7-2.
Jack Decker (W, 7-0) was stellar, pitching a complete game in the first contest. He allowed three hits and three walks over seven innings while striking out four in the shutout. Jordan Lewis and Brady Carpenter had multi-hit games, and Lucas Mead reached base in both games to extend his on-base streak to 26. JJ Arbini (L, 5-1) pitched six innings in Game 2, allowing three runs (one earned) on four hits and three walks while punching out seven.
GAME ONE: SVSU 4, GVSU 0
SVSU broke open the scoring immediately as Mead singled home Ryan Jarvis in the first inning. Decker was locked in from the start, retiring the first nine batters in order. A walk to lead off the fourth inning was followed by three straight outs, leaving the runner at first. GVSU threatened in the fifth with two hits and a Cardinal error, but Connor Cornwell caught his 12th runner stealing of the season, helping Saginaw Valley escape the inning with the lead.
The Cardinals added insurance runs in the sixth. Aaron Bess led off with a solo home run, his third long ball of the season. Lewis followed with a double and scored on a Cornwell single to make it 3-0. Cornwell later scored on a sacrifice fly by Ethan Scheib, adding another insurance run. Decker set down six of the next seven batters he faced to close out the game.
GAME TWO: SVSU 2, GVSU 7
Saginaw Valley could only muster two hits in the second game, as Grand Valley starter Colin Bradley retired 16 batters in a row after giving up the lead in the first. SVSU scored two more runs before GVSU came to the plate, with Mead scoring on a wild pitch and Austin Cicerone crossing the plate on a sacrifice fly in the first.
The Lakers cut the lead in half with an RBI groundout in the bottom of the inning before taking their first lead of the day in the third. An RBI single and a fielder's choice plated two unearned runs, putting Grand Valley ahead 3-2. Ryan Adams took over in the seventh for Arbini and allowed four runs (three earned) on four hits and a walk through his one inning of work. A passed ball with the bases loaded scored the first run, and a single drove in the runners that were still on base before another RBI single later in the inning made it 7-2.
The Cardinals had an opportunity to battle back in the eighth as they loaded the bases with no outs but couldn't scratch a run across. Steve Getts took over in the bottom of the eighth and retired all three batters he faced. SVSU was unable to get another runner on base in the ninth and fell, splitting the day.
Up Next: Saginaw Valley baseball wraps up the series against Grand Valley Sunday, April 6. The Cardinals and Lakers are set for a 12:00 PM EDT first pitch from the GVSU Baseball Complex in Allendale, Michigan.