May 6
Baseball
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Chips Crumble, Cards Win
MT. PLEASANT, Mich. - A meeting
of two Mid-Michigan powers took place on Monday at the new Theunissen
Field in Mt. Pleasant, with the visiting Saginaw Valley State
Cardinals taking home bragging rights in an 8-6 win. The Division
I Chippewas (21-20) commited four costly errors, allowing SVSU
to score three unearned runs in the contest.
The Cards jumped-out to a 6-1 lead
in the fifth inning, thanks to several key errors that prolonged
innings and helped the Cards score in four of the first five innings.
An RBI double in the fourth by Chris Ebright (Ithaca)
put the Cards up 3-1. SVSU would tack-on two more in that
inning with help from a double steal followed by an RBI bounce-out
by Sean Odamura (Mississauga, Ont.). Ryan Wilkinson
(Dearborn) scored the sixth Saginaw Valley run in the
next inning on an error by CMU shortstop Tim Groves.
Central would fight back, hitting
a 3-run homer off the bat of Danny Gibbons to close the gap to
7-6 in the eighth inning. Mike Condon (Utica) provided
the insurance for the Cardinals, smashing his first homer of the
season and giving the Cards the 8-6 tally going into the bottom
of the ninth. Cards' closer Adam Ruffner (Gibraltar/Carlson)
continued his stellar pitching, closing-out the game and earning
his third save of the season. Ruffner has not allowed a run in
11.1 straight innings. He now has 10 saves in his career, tying
Mickey Kimsel for second-best all-time. Cardinal starter Mark
Debo (Bay City/John Glenn) got his second win of the
season (2-0), tossing six innings while giving-up three runs.
The Cardinals will finish-out the
remainder of their GLIAC schedule with a nighttime double-dip
at Northwood on Wednesday. The Cards will then play Division I
Eastern Michigan in Ypsilanti on Friday before returning to University
Center for a home doubleheader with Rochester College on Saturday.
Contact: Mitchell Wigness (989) 964-4933
#
#
# #
