UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. - The Saginaw Valley State University baseball team was swept at home by the Ashland University Eagles in a Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) doubleheader today (4/15). The Cardinals fell by a score of 2-1 in eight innings in the opener before falling 5-0 in the nightcap. With the losses, the Cardinals slide to 13-17 overall on the year and 8-10 in the GLIAC while Ashland improves to 20-11 overall and 9-7 in league play.
Runs would come at a premium in the opener, as both teams faced heavy winds blowing straight in and the opposing team's ace pitcher.
Ashland would score first, notching a run in the top of the third inning to take a 1-0 advantage.
SVSU knotted the score at 1-1 in the bottom of the sixth, as Matt Hunt (Howell, Mich./Concordia University) scored on a fielder's choice by Kyle O'Boyle (Midland, Mich./Bullock Creek HS).
The Eagles would use a Ryan Avery single in the top of eighth to take a 2-1 lead and would shut-down the Cardinals in the bottom half of the inning.
Carson Beauchaine (Fraser, Mich.) took the loss despite working eight innings of five-hit ball and striking-out nine batters.
Hunt was 3-for-4 in the opener with a run scored while O'Boyle had the only RBI.
In the second contest, the Cardinals could get nothing going offensively, as they managed only three hits off Ashland starter Aaron Hilt, two coming off the bat of O'Boyle.
Colin Coulter (Clio, Mich./Powers Catholic HS) was the tough-luck loser on the mound, tossing six innings while scattering seven hits and allowing only one earned run while being plagued by five Cardinal errors.
The two teams will resume the weekend series on Sunday (4/17) in anticipation of Saturday's rainy forecast. First pitch is set for noon at the SVSU Baseball Complex.
