Cardinals Cruise By Dragons For Day Two Sweep

Jack Dennis finished the Saginaw Valley State series with a .375 batting average with 8 runs batted in.
Jack Dennis finished the Saginaw Valley State series with a .375 batting average with 8 runs batted in.

After a lightning delay, the marathon series between the Saginaw Valley State Cardinals and the Dragons began. The first order of business was to finish game two from the day before which was called due to darkness. The Cardinals took that game 15-12. Saginaw Valley then ripped off two dominant wins, dispatching the Dragons 12-6 in game three and 11-1 in the finale.

Game Three

Tiffin's offense didn't lose any of their spunk from the day before, jumping out to a 2-0 lead in the 1st inning. Jay Smith collected a run batted in with a sacrifice fly to right field, and Devon Fisk added the final run of the inning with an opposite field single to left field to give the Dragons the two run advantage.

The Cardinals put one run on the board in the bottom half of the inning, but Tiffin played add on in the next frame. A wild pitch granted Tiffin their third run of the game, and Jay Smith kept his bat hot with a ringing double to right field that scored Kyle Lento and Brayden Callihan making it 5-1.

Saginaw Valley plated two runs in the 4th to trim Tiffin's lead to 5-3. The Dragons put themselves in a good spot in the top of the 5th, placing Devon Fisk at third base with only one out. That was as far as Fisk would make it, as the next two hitters were retired on infield ground balls.

The game swung decisively Saginaw's way in the bottom of the 5th, as the Cardinals scored six runs on five hits to lead 9-5. A trio of Cardinals crossed the plate an inning later, making it a 12-5 ball game. The Dragons mustered a single run in the top of the 7th, using Isaac Perry's RBI ground out to do so.

On the mound, Kevin Borst took the loss in relief, hurling 1 1/3 innings. At the dish, Tiffin was paced by Jay Smith with three runs batted in.

Game Four

The series finale started off different than the previous three games, with neither team denting the scoreboard in the first two innings of play. That streak came to a halt in the bottom of the 3rd.

The Cardinals struck first, plating two runs with three hits. A home run in the bottom of the 4th pushed the Cardinals a run further away from Tiffin, holding a 3-0 lead. The 7th inning was the fatal blow for Tiffin. Saginaw Valley crossed the plate seven times, including a grand slam to plate the final four runs of the frame.

A Jack Dennis run scoring single to center field was the lone time the Dragons pushed a run home. 

Starting pitcher, Marc Deitsch, took the loss in 5 1/3 innings pitched, allowing five hits and seven runs.  Devon Fisk was the lone Dragon with multiple hits, finishing 2 for 3 with a run scored.

Tiffin falls a game under .500 at 16-17 overall and are now even in GLIAC play at 8-8.