May 8
Baseball
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Cardinals Defeat Ashland, 10-8

ALLENDALE, Mich. – Saginaw Valley State dropped three of four games to Ashland last weekend, but pounded the Eagles for ten runs on eleven hits, en route to a 10-8 opening round GLIAC Tournament victory, Thursday (May 8) in Allendale, Mich.
    Right-handed pitcher Ryan Reid (Sarnia, Ontario) tossed eight strong innings and the Cardinals rallied for six-runs in the fifth inning for their second straight victory over Ashland. The Cardinals improved to 29-16, while the Eagles fell to 35-17-1.
    SVSU opened the scoring with a run in the top of the first inning. Designated hitter Dan Jones (Gladstone, Mich.) smacked an RBI double, scoring Sean Odamura
(Mississauga, Ontario) from second base.
    The game remained scoreless until the bottom half of the fourth frame, when Ashland tied the game 1-1, on a bases-loaded walk by first basemen Chris Skibinski. The next batter, Eric McDaniel hit a grand slam, lifting the Eagles to a 5-1 advantage.
    Trailing 5-1, the Cardinals scored six runs in the top of the fifth, chasing AU starter Ryan Hartzell and claiming the lead for good. Two hit batsmen and a single, loaded the bases for SVSU. Adam Piggott (Sarnia, Ontario) and Eric Caldwell (Cary Grove, Ill.) drove in two runs, while a single by Kurt Neveau (Bay City, Mich./Central HS) reloaded the bases. Back-to-back hits by Justin Hanning (Lake Orion, Mich.) and Kyle Weessies (Climax, Mich.) plated four more runs for the Cardinals (7-5).
    Piggott hit a two-run homer off of Ashland reliever Ryan Douglas in the eighth inning, pushing the Cardinals lead to 9-5. With the score 10-5, Reid found trouble in the ninth inning, but closer Joe Kramer (Linden, Mich.) came on to get the final three outs for SVSU. Kramer earned his ninth save of the season, as SVSU held off the Eagles for the 10-8 victory.
    Reid moved his record to 8-3 with the win. He surrendered eight runs on twelve hits, while striking out five and walking two. Hartzell took the loss, falling to 6-6 on the year. He gave up seven runs (three earned) on nine hits. The two teams combined for seven errors in the contest.
    The Cardinals will return to action Friday (May 9) with a 10:00 a.m. game in Allendale, Mich. SVSU will play Thursday’s (May 8) winner of the Grand Valley and Hillsdale contest.

Game Summary:     Box Score
SVSU  100 060 021     10 11 4
AU       000 500 003       8 13 3

WP- Ryan Reid (8-3) 8IP, 12H, 8R, 8 ER, 5K, 2BB
LP- Ryan Hartzell (6-6) 4.2IP, 9H, 7R, 3ER, 6K, 1BB

Contact: Daniel Tata (989) 964-4933

 

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