University Center, Mich. - The Saginaw Valley State University baseball team swept the Tiffin University Dragons today (5/7) in a Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) doubleheader. The Cardinals claimed a 5-2 victory in the opener before blanking the Dragons by a 2-0 score in the second game.
With the sweep, the Cardinals move to 21-22 overall and 16-15 in the GLIAC while the Dragons fall to 13-33 overall and 10-22 in league play.
In the opener, Tiffin held a 2-0 lead after the top of the second inning. SVSU would respond and put up a three-spot in the bottom of the second to grab the 3-2 lead as a Mike VanAlst (Clio, Mich.) single and Kyle Parks (Flushing, Mich.) sacrifice fly brought in the runs, VanAlst's being a two-RBI knock.
Parks would score a run in the bottom of five to extend the lead to 4-2 and a squeeze bunt by Matt Hunt (Howell, Mich./Concordia University) in the bottom of the seventh scored Dustin Mayner (Gaines, Mich./Linden HS), making the count 5-2.
That's where the score would stand, as SVSU starter Eric Hummel (Menominee, Mich./Minnesota-Duluth) pushed his record to 3-2 on the season, tossing a complete game while scattering eight Dragon hits and striking-out five batters.
Mayner and Chet LaFave (Charlotte, Mich./Olney Cental College) were each 2-for-3 in the game while VanAlst, Parks and Ryan Ermers (Sterling Heights, Mich./Henry Ford II HS) each added a hit.
The nightcap remained scoreless until the fifth inning, as the Cardinals took a 1-0 lead in their half. Parks beat-out an infield single and was moved to second on a Hunt groundout. Two batters later, Drew Woock (Saginaw, Mich./Heritage HS) laced a single past the first baseman to score Parks.
SVSU tacked-on another run in the bottom of the sixth, as Parks drove-in Brandon Schwanz (Novi, Mich./Henry Ford CC) with a sacrifice fly, making the score 2-0. The score would remain there, as the Dragons went down in order in their half of the seventh.
Colin Coulter (Clio, Mich./Powers Catholic HS) got the start on the mound, firing a three-hitter while picking up his first victory of the season.
Woock and LaFave each posted a pair of hits, with Woock having the game's go-ahead RBI. Parks had a hit and an RBI and Hunt also added a base hit.
The two squads meet again tomorrow for another GLIAC doubleheader, with first pitch set for noon at the SVSU Baseball Complex.
