DETROIT – The Saginaw Valley State University baseball team split its Saturday doubleheader with No. 21 Wayne State at Harwell Field, falling 7-2 in the opener before bouncing back for a 9-3 victory in game two. The Cardinals (18-15, 8-7 GLIAC) move within a game of the Warriors (25-8, 9-6 GLIAC) in GLIAC play with one more meeting in the series.
The day also belonged to Ethan Scheib (Mattawan, Mich. / Mattawan HS), who stole two bases in the nightcap to give him 30 on the season, breaking the program's single-season record of 29 previously set in 1988 and again in 2001. He swiped second and home, stealing the game-tying run in the seventh inning.
Game One – Cardinals 2, Warriors 7 (7-innings)
Wayne State jumped out quickly in the first inning, plating three runs on a bases-loaded walk, a sacrifice fly, and a wild pitch to take early control. The Warriors added single runs in the second and third, including a solo home run by Owen Tuccinardi, and stretched the lead to 7-0 through four innings.
Saginaw Valley broke through in the sixth. Ryan Jarvis (Macomb, Mich. / Dakota HS) doubled down the left field line and later scored when Jacob Pitt (Grand Rapids, Mich. / Catholic Central HS) lifted a sacrifice fly to left to make it 7-1. In the seventh, Austin Cicerone (Troy, Mich. / Troy HS) singled and came around to score on a base hit through the left side by Lucas Mead (Gladwin, Mich. / Gladwin HS), trimming the deficit to 7-2.
Aaron Bess (Boyne City, Mich. / Boyne City HS) and Jarvis each collected two hits in the loss, while Pitt and Mead drove in the Cardinal runs. Henry Stempky (Cheboygan, Mich. / Cheboygan HS) provided a bright spot on the mound, tossing two scoreless innings with five strikeouts in relief.
Ryan Walters (L, 1-2) (South Lyon, Mich. / South Lyon HS) took the loss in the start. Will Lowery (W, 6-1) went the distance for the Warriors with two runs allowed over seven innings of work.
Game Two – Cardinals 9, Warriors 3
The Cardinals answered in the nightcap, striking first with two runs in the opening frame. Bess came around to score on an RBI single by Mead before Pitt grounded out to bring home the second run for a 2-0 advantage.
Wayne State chipped away and took a 3-2 lead after five innings, but the momentum swung in the seventh. Scheib ignited the rally with a single, then stole third before swiping home to tie the game. Moments later, Buck Snabes reached on a Warrior error that allowed Mead to score, putting SVSU back in front 4-3.
The Cardinals broke it open in the ninth with a five-run outburst. Snabes delivered a two-run single up the middle, Cicerone followed with a two-run double down the left field line, and Chase Miller (Walkerton, Ind. / John Glenn HS) capped the inning with an RBI single through the left side to extend the lead to 9-3.
Snabes finished with two RBI and three stolen bases, while Mead scored three times and drove in a run. Scheib added a hit and his record-breaking two stolen bases as part of the Cardinals' aggressive effort on the basepaths.
On the mound, Sam Briggs (Linwood, Mich. / Standish HS) worked five innings, allowing three runs, before Dan Wilcome (W, 2-2) (Cheboygan, Mich. / Cheboygan Area HS) delivered three shutout innings in relief to earn the win. Chase Raymond (Standish, Mich. / Standish Sterling Central HS) closed out the final frame to secure the split. Joel Mator (L, 0-1) took the loss for Wayne State allowing the tying and go-ahead runs in the seventh.
With hits in both games, Snabes extends his hitting streak to 22 games and Mead extends his on-base streak to 30, reaching in every game he's played in.
Up Next: Saginaw Valley wraps up its weekend series with Wayne State on Sunday down in Detroit. The Cardinals and Warriors are set for a first pitch at 12:00 PM at Harwell Field.