DETROIT – The Saginaw Valley State University baseball team dropped a tightly contested 2-1 decision to No. 21 Wayne State on Friday, April 10. The Cardinals (17-14, 7-6 GLIAC) stole two bases to break the program's single-season record of 115 stolen bases on the year which was set back in 1987. SVSU has 116 swipes on 136 attempts.
The Warriors (24-7, 8-5 GLIAC) struck in the bottom of the first when Caleb Sanders hit a home run over the green monster in left for what was supposed to be a 2-0 lead, however, Sanders did not touch home plate and was ruled out after an appeal, taking a run off the board.
Saginaw Valley answered in the second inning. Buck Snabes (Rochester, Mich. / Rochester Adams HS) singled and stole second to move into scoring position, tying the aforementioned stolen base record. After two outs, Connor Cornwell (Sterling Heights, Mich. / Henry Ford II HS) delivered a single to right field to plate Snabes and even the score at 1-1.
From there, both pitching staffs settled in. Brady Young (Vicksburg, Mich. / Vicksburg HS) worked the first three innings for the Cardinals, allowing one run on one hit while striking out three. Jack Decker (L, 2-1) (Farmington Hills, Mich. / North Farmington HS) took over in the fourth and turned in a strong relief effort, tossing five innings and allowing just one run on three hits with five strikeouts.
Wayne State broke the tie in the seventh. After a walk and a sacrifice bunt, an RBI single through the left side scored the go-ahead run and give the Warriors a 2-1 edge.
The Cardinals had one final opportunity in the ninth. Ryan Jarvis (Macomb, Mich. / Dakota HS) singled up the middle and was replaced by pinch runner Ethan Scheib (Mattawan, Mich. / Mattawan HS). Snabes worked a walk and later stole second, breaking the team record. With two in scoring position and one out, a failed squeeze left Scheib in a rundown between third and home and was tagged out for the second out. A ground ball a few pitches later ended the game.
Philip Miller (W, 4-0) threw 2.1 innings of scoreless baseball and gave way to Rocco Cardinale (Sv, 5) who recorded the final two outs for the save.
Jarvis finished 2-for-4 at the plate with a double, while Cornwell accounted for the lone RBI. Snabes added a hit to extend his hitting streak to 20 games. SVSU and Wayne State each recorded four hits in the pitcher's duel. Lucas Mead (Gladwin, Mich. / Gladwin HS) worked a walk to extend his on-base streak to 28 games, reaching in every game he's played in.
Up Next: Saginaw Valley continues its weekend series at Wayne State on Saturday, April 11. First pitch of the doubleheader is scheduled for 1:00 PM at Harwell-Spicer Field.