CLEARWATER, Fla. - The Saginaw Valley State University baseball team squared-off against Oakland City University in a 6:00 pm night game on Monday (Mar. 3) in the Cardinals' fourth game of the Clearwater Invitational. In a game that featured 30 total runs scored and 37 hits, SVSU ended up on the wrong side of a 16-14 loss.
The Cardinals fell behind early in the contest, as the Mighty Oaks scored four runs in the top of the second to grab the lead.
In the bottom half of the inning, freshman Demetrius Dunlap recorded his first-career hit, an infield RBI single to put his team on the board.
The bottom of the third inning saw the Cards score three more runs to tie the score at 4-4. A fielder's choice and a throwing error scored Sohpomore Tyler Schwanz and junior Brad Schalk and sophomore Niko Gonzalez followed by ripping one of his school-record six singles to score Austin Nogiec.
SVSU's next chance came in the bottom of the fourth inning and the team would step-up and score six runs, grabbing a 10-4 lead in the game. Junior Chris Perkovich came to the plate with the bases loaded and one out. He put one off the top of the left field wall, clearing the bases with a triple. Gonzalez would score Perkovich with the fourth run of the inning. Dunlap would then hit a hard grounder that made it through the legs of the third baseman, scoring K.J. Neibauer and Gonzalez.
The Mighty Oaks would put up a five spot in the top of the sixth inning, trimming the deficit to 10-9.
An RBI single from Dunlap in the bottom of the frame would score redshirt freshman pinch runner Derek Darling, making the score 11-9 in SVSU's advantage.
The top of seven would see Oakland City push four more runs across the plate, giving it a two run lead at 13-11.
Gonzalez would come through once more for the Cards in their half of the seventh. He drove a single to right field to score Schalk and Darling, knotting the score at 13 runs-apiece.
The game would go into extra innings, as neither squad was able to score in the eighth and ninth innings.
In the top of 10, the Oaks scored three runs to make the cushion 16-13.
An RBI single from Schalk, scoring sophomore Dylin Eschenburg was all Saginaw Valley could muster, as it fell short by a final score of 16-14, falling to 1-3 overall on the 2014 season.
Gonzalez was the catalyst at the plate for SVSU, tying a school record with a 6-for-6 performance and four RBIs. The last time a Cardinal hitter had six hits in a game was April 3, 2010 when Kevin Dore and Mike VanAlst each posted six hits in a 30-19 victory over Tiffin University.
Schalk finished with four hits, three runs scored and an RBI while Dunlap recorded a pair of hits and RBIs in his first collegiate start.
Junior Mitchell Lumley took the loss on the hill for SVSU, as he gave up three runs in 2/3 innings pitched.
Saginaw Valley returns to action Tuesday morning (Mar. 4) for a 10:00 am contest with Felician. The matchup is slated for nine innings. The two teams split a doubleheader on Sunday, with the Golden Falcons winning the opener 6-4 before the Cards claimed a 6-1 win in the nightcap.
