HAMMOND, Ind. – The Saginaw Valley State University baseball team split a GLIAC-opening doubleheader at Purdue Northwest on Saturday afternoon, falling 13-12 in game one before bouncing back for a 15-5 win in the nightcap. The Cardinals (11-9, 2-12 GLIAC) scored 27 runs on 26 hits on the day with four home runs on the day.
Game One: Cardinals 12, Pride 13
Saginaw Valley came out swinging in the opener. Aaron Bess (Boyne City, Mich. / Boyne City HS) doubled and later scored on an RBI groundout by Ryan Jarvis (Macomb, Mich. / Dakota HS) to open the scoring. Buck Snabes (Rochester, Mich. / Rochester Adams HS) followed with a walk and stolen base before Jacob Pitt (Grand Rapids, Mich. / Catholic Central HS) lined an RBI single to left. A wild pitch later in the inning brought home another run to give the Cardinals a 3-0 lead after one.
In the second, Ethan Scheib (Mattawan, Mich. / Mattawan HS) singled and moved into scoring position before Bess lifted a sacrifice fly to right, stretching the lead to 4-0.
The third inning provided more fireworks. After an error allowed a run to score, Jack Sequin (Bay City, Mich. / Bay City Western HS) crushed a two-run home run to left, his second of the year, pushing the advantage to 7-0. SVSU added another in the fourth on an RBI single from Snabes, capping an eight-run start through four innings.
Purdue Northwest began chipping away in the middle frames, capitalizing on walks and timely extra-base hits. Lucas Mead (Gladwin, Mich. / Gladwin HS) answered in the sixth with a solo home run, his second of the season, and the Cardinals executed small ball later in the inning with a sacrifice fly from Pitt and a squeeze-style RBI bunt by Connor Cornwell (Sterling Heights, Mich. / Henry Ford II) to briefly extend the lead to 11-7.
The Pride answered to take the lead in the bottom of the sixth with a solo home run, a bases loaded walk, and a two-run single to go ahead 12-11
Down to their final out, Bess brought life back to the Cardinals with his fourth home run of the year, a solo shot on the first pitch of his at-bat in the seventh to tie the game. However, PNW took advantage of three walks and a hit batter to win the first game.
Bess finished 3-for-4 with a homer, double, two RBI, and two runs scored. Snabes scored three times, while Sequin and Mead each homered as part of a 12-hit effort.
On the mound, Jack Decker (Farmington Hills, Mich. / North Farmington HS) struck out seven over 4.2 innings in his start before Purdue Northwest mounted its comeback. Will Juday (Kalamazoo, Mich. / Portage Central HS) worked 1.1 innings in relief, and Dan Wilcome (L, 0-2) (Cheboygan, Mich. / Cheboygan Area HS) was tagged with the loss in the decisive seventh inning.
Game Two: Cardinals 15, Pride 5
The Cardinals wasted little time responding in game two. In the first inning, Bess reached and came around to score on an RBI single by Jarvis to give SVSU an early 1-0 edge.
After Purdue Northwest briefly took a 2-1 lead with two solo home runs, the Cardinals evened the score in the fifth. Brady Carpenter (Oxford, Mich. / Oxford HS) tripled to center, and Mead brought him home with an RBI groundout. Snabes followed with a run-scoring single to reclaim the 3-2 lead.
The game broke open in the sixth. With two aboard, Bess delivered an RBI single to right center. Mead followed with another run-scoring knock, and Jarvis added a sacrifice fly. Then Cicerone launched a towering three-run home run to left for his first long ball of the year, punctuating a six-run inning that turned a one-run game into a 9-2 advantage.
SVSU kept the pressure on late. Mead doubled home a run in the eighth, and the Cardinals erupted for five runs in the ninth, aided by aggressive baserunning, a balk, and a two-run single from Snabes to cap the scoring at 15-5.
Mead led the offense, going 3-for-5 with three RBI and two runs scored. Snabes tallied three hits and three RBI, while Cicerone drove in three with his home run. Bess scored five runs and swiped four bases as SVSU piled up 14 hits.
On the mound, Sam Briggs (W, 1-0) (Linwood, Mich. / Standish HS) earned the win, allowing just one run over three innings of work. Brady Young (Vicksburg, Mich. / Vicksburg HS) provided four innings in relief, and Brayden Simmon (Auburn, Mich. / Bay City Western HS) closed the door over the final two frames as the Cardinals limited the Pride to five runs despite 10 walks issued.
Up Next: Saginaw Valley baseball wraps up the four-game series in Hammond, Indiana on Sunday, March 22. The Cardinals and Pride have first pitch set for 12:00 PM at Dowling Park.