Box Score XENIA, Ohio – The Wayne State University baseball team (35-15) fell to Saginaw Valley (21-24) on Saturday night, 8-5, in an elimination game in the 2014 GLIAC Tournament. The game was originally scheduled for 2 PM but rainy conditions pushed the start time back to 6:30 PM.
The Warriors loaded the bases in the bottom of the eighth inning and put two runners on in the bottom of the ninth inning but were unable to push across any runs as SVSU advanced to Saturday's nightcap to determine who faces Grand Valley State on Sunday for the title.
The Cardinals scored two runs on one hit in the top of the first inning to jump out to a 2-0 lead.
David Frederick (Rockford, Mich. / Northview) was unable to make it past the second inning.
Zach Johnson (Grandville, Mich.) continued his power surge with a three-run home run in the bottom of the fourth inning to put WSU on top, 3-2.
SVSU answered with five runs on five hits in the top of the fifth inning to take a 7-3 lead.
Eric Cunningham (LaSalle, Ont. / St. Thomas of Villanova) doubled to lead off the bottom of the sixth inning and eventually scored on a SVSU throwing error to pull the Warriors within three, 7-4.
The fifth-seeded Cardinals posted a run in the top of the seventh to regain their four run cushion, 8-4.
The Warriors responded with a run in the bottom of the seventh inning as
A.J. Matos (Southgate, Mich. / Detroit Western) drove home
Jimmy Jackson (Battle Creek, Mich. / Pennfield) to trim SVSU's lead to 8-5. That would be as close as WSU would come and the Warriors GLIAC Tournament run would come to an end.
The Green & Gold left nine runners on base while SVSU left 11.
Brandyn Hall (Sylvania, Ohio / Northview) (3-3) tossed 3 2/3 innings, allowing five earned runs while
Chris Horvath (Windsor, Ont. / St. Anne Catholic) and
Jeff Sorenson (Livonia, Mich. / Stevenson) combined for 4 1/3 innings, allowing one run.
WSU will wait and see if their resume is strong enough for the NCAA Tournament. The selection show is on Sunday night at 10 PM.
