UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. – The Saginaw Valley State University baseball team secured the series finale against Wayne State on Sunday afternoon, winning the series 3-1. The Cardinals (22-12, 7-5 GLIAC) claimed a 10-3 victory over the Warriors (18-18, 7-4 GLIAC), tallying five extra-base hits among their nine total, after recording just one extra-base hit over the first three games.
Lucas Mead and Aaron Bess each notched two-hit performances. Mead led the team with two triples, bringing his season total to five. Bess added a pair of singles and drove in three runs. Ryan Jarvis went 1-for-2 with two runs scored and three walks. The Cardinals used big innings to take control of the game, scoring multiple runs in four of their eight offensive frames.
Brady Baalaer started on the mound and pitched 4.1 innings, allowing one run on four hits and four walks while striking out three. Jacob Bardwell recorded the final two outs of the fifth inning, striking out one.
Wayne State took an early lead with an RBI groundout in the first inning. It took the Cardinals four innings to break through against the Warriors' starter. Jarvis and Austin Cicerone led off the fourth with walks. After two outs, a throwing error extended the inning and allowed Jarvis to score, tying the game at 1-1. Chase Raymond stole second to get into scoring position, and Bess followed with a two-run single to bring home Raymond and Cicerone, giving SVSU a 3-1 lead.
Nathan Masar (W, 2-2) took over in the sixth inning and pitched two frames. He allowed two runs in his first inning of work, which tied the game at 3-3, but the Cardinal offense quickly responded, scoring in each of their remaining at-bats—two runs in the sixth, two in the seventh, and three in the eighth.
Raymond regained the lead for SVSU with an RBI double in the sixth, and Bess followed with his third RBI of the game on a single to make it 5-3. In the seventh, Mead's second triple of the day drove in Cicerone and Jarvis to extend the lead to 7-3. The Cardinals added three more in the eighth: a fielding error brought home Ryan McCartan, Ethan Scheib hit an RBI double, and Scheib later scored on the third wild pitch of the inning to cap the scoring at 10-3.
Jake Shelagowski closed out the final two innings, striking out four while allowing just one hit and one walk.
Up Next: Saginaw Valley baseball travels to face Ohio Dominican on Tuesday, April 15. First pitch is set for 3:00 PM EDT at Mercy Field in Toledo, Ohio.
