The Tiffin University baseball team fell to Upper Iowa University 10-6 despite banging out 13 hits. Tiffin struggled to find the clutch hit, stranding eight runners.
Both teams brought their bats in the 1st inning, combining for 10 runs. Tiffin was up first, and started the game with a Garrett Vernau single, followed by a Nick Calandra walk. With one out, Cody Spires reached on an infield single to load the bases, and Alex Hartley laced a single to right field to push Vernau and Calandra home, giving the Dragons a 2-0 lead.
The scoring continued when Noah Heard walked to load the bases, and then Seth Bryant was plunked by a pitch, earning the RBI the hard way. Isaac Perry stepped to the plate with the bases loaded and smashed a double down the right field line to score two more, making it 5-0.
Kyle Pluta was handed the ball to start the game and was greeted rudely by the Peacocks, recording one out before being pulled. Two walks and a passed ball put a pair of Peacocks in scoring position. A double to deep center field pushed both of those runners home making it a 5-2 contest. Another single followed that action, and behind the single came a walk to load the bases. Pluta then walked in a run, and his day was done.
Luke Fraley was called to stop the Upper Iowa rally. After striking out the first batter he faced, a combination of a hit batter and another walk allowed Upper Iowa to tie the game at 5-5.
Neither team scored in the 2nd, 3rd, or 4th innings, but the Peacocks took the lead in the bottom of the 5th. The inning began with a leadoff single and an error by the Dragons to allow the runner to scamper to second. The next two batters flew out and grounded out respectively to place the runner at third base with two outs. A two out run scoring single by Upper Iowa gave them the lead, and they never relinquished it.
The Peacocks scored 3 more runs in the 7th, and 1 more in the 8th for good measure. This put the Dragons down 10-5 headed to the 9th. In the top of the 9th, the Dragons did score a run, courtesy of an Alec McCurry blast that cleared the left field fence, and placed the score at 10-6, where it would stay.
The Dragons used four pitchers on the afternoon, with Wyatt Myers taking the loss in relief. Myers meandered along for 4 2/3 innings, giving up 5 hits, 4 runs, 3 earned, walked 2, and struck out 4. The Dragon hitters smacked 13 hits, but only two were for extra bases. Tiffin had five players with two hits, as Alex Hartley continued his hot start, going 2 for 4 with a couple RBIs. Isaac Perry was 1 for 3, with a pair of runs batted in on his 1st inning double.
The Dragons will look to get back on track, as they will open GLIAC play next weekend. Tiffin will play host to Saginaw Valley State for a four game series.
