TIFFIN, Ohio - Sophomore Garrett Vernau had three hits as the Tiffin University baseball team (9-22, 8-6 GLIAC) split with Ashland (16-12, 6-7 GLIAC), Wednesday afternoon at Heminger Field. TU won the first game 8-4 and lost the nightcap 10-5.
In the opener, Tiffin struck in the first inning. Vernau singled and junior Nick Calandra was hit by a pitch. Freshman Kyle Lento singled through the right side to score Vernau.
In the second inning, junior Cody Spires walked and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt. He would score on a single up the middle from Vernau. Ashland would score a run in the third to make it 2-1.
In the fourth inning, freshman Isaac Perry led off with a single and went to second on a sacrifice bunt. Following an intentional walk to Vernau, Calandra singled to score Perry and put Vernau at third. Sophomore Alex Hartley singled to score Vernau.
The Eagles kept the game close scoring a run in the sixth. In the bottom half of the inning, the Dragons used two hits, an error, a walk and a hit by pitch to score four runs to seal the game.
For Tiffin, Hartley had two hits and drove in three runs while Vernau had two hits and scored three runs. Freshman Dan Sexton (2-2) gave up seven hits, four runs, three earned, walked one and struck out five in six innings.
For Ashland, Wade Kaido had two hits and drove in three runs and Alex Sortwell had two hits and scored two runs. Alex Smith (3-4) gave up seven hits, eight runs, four earned, walked four and struck out one in 5.7 innings.
In the night cap, AU scored four runs in the first two innings. TU would score a run in the second before giving up a run in the third. That made it 5-1, Ashland.
In the bottom of the third, Hartley reached on an error and sophomore Kirk Olesick singled. A fielder's choice put Hartley at third and sophomore Jordan Widman at first. Spires singled through the right side to score Hartley and move Widman to third.
Lento ripped a single past the third baseman to score Widman. Following a walk to freshman Kyle Durham, Perry grounded out to score Spires. The Eagles scored four in the fifth to seal the game.
For Tiffin, Spires scored two runs. Freshman Patrick Bellinger (0-3) gave up two hits, three runs, two earned, walked one and struck out one in one inning.
For Ashland, Kaido had four hits, scored three runs and drove in two runs. Vince Frate (6-2) gave up two hits, walked two and struck out five in 3.7 innings.
Tiffin is on the road, Saturday, April 12, taking on Lake Erie. The doubleheader is scheduled to start at 1:00 p.m. Live stats are available at http://livestats.prestosports.com/lakeerie/
-TIFFIN UNIVERSITY-
