LIBERTY, Mo. – The Saginaw Valley State University baseball program opened a three-game series against William Jewell on Friday evening. The SVSU Cardinals (16-6) defeated the WJU Cardinals (13-13) with a final score of 14-8. Saginaw Valley hit three home runs in a game for the first time this season, as Ethan Scheib, Jordan Lewis, and Zane Wilson all hit their first career long balls.
Ryan Jarvis and Lucas Mead both went 4-for-6 on the day. Jarvis hit two doubles, scored two runs, and drove in two, while Mead tied with Lewis for the team lead with three RBIs. Every batter in the lineup reached base with either a hit or a walk, with Scheib and Austin Cicerone each walking three times. Chase Raymond (W, 3-1) recorded a quality start, allowing three runs over six innings of work while striking out seven. Nathan Masar took over in the seventh and allowed three runs while striking out one batter. Ryan Adams got an out in the eighth but was hit around, allowing two runs on four hits. Jake Shelagowski (Sv, 6) entered with two on and one out in a 12-8 game and earned the save, leaving both inherited runners stranded. He struck out three in 1.2 innings of work.
SVSU got on the board first with Scheib's solo blast in the top of the first. Two solo shots from William Jewell put them ahead 2-1 in the bottom half of the inning. Connor Cornwell tied it up in the top of the third with a sacrifice fly to score Cicerone. The Cardinals jumped back out in front with a two-run single in the fourth from Mead, followed by another Cornwell sac fly to plate a third run in the inning, making it 5-2.
WJU got a run back in their half of the fourth before SVSU broke it open in the seventh. An RBI single from Jarvis, followed by an RBI single from Mead, and a sacrifice fly from Buck Snabes scored three to give the Cardinals a five-run lead. Lewis then doubled the scoring with a three-run home run, making it 11-3.
William Jewell answered with three of their own in the seventh, trimming the lead back to five runs. Jarvis doubled home Wilson in the eighth before two more runs were scored by WJU to cut it to 12-8. Wilson added insurance in the ninth with his home run to right center, scoring himself and Snabes.
Up Next: Saginaw Valley baseball will play game two of the series against William Jewell on Saturday, March 29. First pitch is scheduled for 4:00 PM EDT at Talley Stadium in Liberty, Missouri.