GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Saginaw Valley State University baseball program had more late inning offense in both games of a doubleheader against Davenport University on Friday afternoon. The Cardinals (17-7, 6-1 GLIAC) won 3-2 and 10-7 against the Panthers (6-19, 2-4 GLIAC) with the winning runs scoring in the last two innings of each game.
Brandon Scheurer went 5-for-9 with four runs scored over both games while SVSU got a big performance from Hayden Jatczak pitching a complete game in game one and going 3-for-5 with two runs and two RBI in game two. Reed Raymond had a perfect game two at the plate going 4-for-4 with one run and two RBI.
Jatczak (W, 4-0) nearly had another complete game shutout in the seven-inning 3-2 win to start the day. He pitched all seven innings allowing two runs on four hits and five walks while striking out four. Both runs came in the seventh inning.
Saginaw Valley got on the board in the third when Jatczak walked and advanced to second on a Colin Cornwell walk. During Raymond's at-bat, a failed pick off attempt allowed Jatczak to score and Cornwell reached third to make it 1-0. Three more scoreless innings followed as Davenport's starter Carson Fischer (L, 1-5) pitched well. He went six innings allowing three runs, two earned, on five hits and five walks.
In the top of the seventh, Jatczak helped himself after Scheurer was hit by a pitch, he blasted his sixth home run of the year to make it 3-0. An RBI ground out and RBI single for Davenport made it 3-2 in the bottom half of the inning before a pop out in foul territory won it for SVSU.
Game two started slow again as the Cardinals broke open the scoring in the third. Scheurer tripled home Connor McClennen and scored on a Jatczak double to make it 2-0. Cornwell singled home Jatczak before scoring on a Brady Carpenter RBI single to double the lead. DU answered with four runs of their own in the third off Cardinal starter Tyler McLaren (W, 3-1). McLaren pitched five innings allowing six runs on 11 hits and three walks while striking out five.
SVSU snagged the lead again in the fifth with a Raymond RBI double and another Carpenter RBI single to make it 6-4. DU answered to tie it again with two runs in the bottom of the fifth to make it 6-6. Cornwell drove home Scheurer with a sacrifice fly in the sixth for the third SVSU lead of the day making it 7-6. Davenport pitcher Jared Schwartz (L, 0-3) pitched three innings giving up three runs, including the sacrifice fly to give up the lead, in his long relief appearance.
Nick Bastian took over and pitched three innings of scoreless baseball allowing two hits and punching out three Panthers. SVSU scored three more in the eighth to extend their lead. Jatczak singled home Scheurer, Austin Schweiger tripled home Jatczak, and then scored on a Raymond sacrifice fly to make it 10-6. Scheurer pitched the ninth allowing one run on two hits and two strikeouts securing the third straight victory for the Cardinals.
SVSU baseball gets set for another GLIAC doubleheader as they host Purdue Northwest on Saturday. First pitch is scheduled for 1:00 PM.
