Auburndale, Fla. – The Saginaw Valley State University baseball team had a great game against the University of Minnesota Crookston on Thursday after their off day in Florida. A 6-2 win that showcased good pitching, hitting, and defensive plays got the Cardinals back in the win column.
SVSU (5-8) got the best of the Golden Eagles (6-7) and started early. Jaccar Watkins walked to start the game, and after stealing second and moving to third on a ground out, Colin Cornwell drove him in with an RBI double.
The 1-0 lead held all the way to the fifth inning as the Cardinal's starter Hunter Merillat (W, 2-0) threw seven scoreless innings. Merillat gave up a base runner on an error in the second who was doubled off on the next at-bat. Merillat struck out eight batters and gave up four hits and faced the minimum through four innings.
In the top of the fifth, SVSU got to the Golden Eagles starter, Josh Dykhoff (L, 1-1), again. Connor McClennen singled, Tucker Roe singled, and then Cornwell came up clutch with a two-out RBI single. During the next at-bat, Cornwell attempted to steal second and got himself into a rundown allowing Roe to steal home making it 3-0.
Cardinals added on in the sixth with two more runs. Martin Money led off with a double, and after advancing on a wild pitch, Austin Schweiger singled him home. Brandon Scheurer was hit by a pitch and the two moved up on a ground ball to put two in scoring position with two outs. McClennen dropped a bunt down the third base line and beat out the throw scoring Schweiger and giving SVSU a 5-0 lead.
Another two out run came in the seventh for the Cardinals. It was Schweiger again with an RBI single scoring Cornwell. With a 6-0 lead, Drew Cooper relieved Merillat in the eighth and cracked the scoreboard. A walk and a single came around to score on a two-RBI double, but that was all the Golden Eagles would get.
After two base runners reached against Thomas Shipley in the ninth, Chase Gruno (Sv, 1) took over and shut the door. Three up, three down, and the game was over.
UP NEXT
Two more Minnesota teams on the schedule to wrap up the spring break trip. University of Minnesota Duluth will face SVSU Friday at 12:30 p.m. before a 9:45 a.m. first pitch on Saturday against Winona State University.
