The Tiffin University baseball team split their GLIAC opener on Friday afternoon, falling in game one 3-2, but knocking off Saginaw Valley State 6-3 in game two.
The Dragons sent Logan Sendelbach to the mound in game one, and the Cardinals countered with southpaw Scott Sency. Both hurlers kept the scoreboard filled with zeros until the bottom of the 3rd inning.
In the 3rd, Kyle Durham smacked a double deep into the right center field gap to set the stage. Following Durham, Nick Calandra singled to put runners on the corners with two outs. Nick Hueneburg then stepped to the plate and smoked a line drive single to give his squad a 1-0 lead.
Tiffin played add-on in the 4th. Cole McCurry dug in and belted a towering solo home run to left field to put the Dragons ahead 2-0. On the other side, Logan Sendelbach kept mowing down Cardinals, punching out 6 up to the 4th inning.
With Tiffin in front, Saginaw Valley went on the offensive in the 5th inning. After Sendelbach retired the first two batters of the inning, he surrendered back to back walks to move a man into scoring position. A wild pitch moved both runners up 90 feet, and a hit batsman loaded the bases. The next batter roped a single to left field to tie the score at 2-2.
The Dragons were kept off the board in the bottom of the 5th, and the Cardinals took off right where they left off. Saginaw Valley pushed the go ahead run home on two hits and a hit batter to give the Cardinals the 3-2 advantage.
The Dragons had their chances in the 6th and 7th innings. In the 6th, Cody Spires singled and then moved to second on an errant pick off attempt. Cole McCurry sacrificed Spires to third with only one out. Alex Hartley then drew a walk to put runners at first and third, but the Dragons came up empty as Noah Heard struck out and Isaac Perry bounced back to the pitcher to end the inning.
In the bottom of the 7th, trailing by a run, the Dragons threatened again. Alec McCurry came off the bench to draw a pinch hit walk. Tyler Craigo then replaced McCurry as the pinch runner, and tying run. Nick Calandra singled to move Craigo to third with only one down. But once again Saginaw bore down and struck out the next two hitters to seal a 3-2 victory.
Logan Sendelbach took the loss, but pitched quite a game, going 7 innings, allowing 3 runs, all earned, walked 4, and struck out 8 batters. The Dragon hitters collected 7 hits, including a 3 for 3 performance by Nick Calandra.
Kyle Montell took to the hill in the nightcap, and gathered plenty of run support. The two starters kept things quiet in the 1st inning, but the Dragons let their bats make some noise in the 2nd. With two down in the bottom of the 2nd, Alex Hartley dug in. Hartley let loose on a fast ball, hammering the pitch just left of the 380' sign in left center field to give Tiffin a 1-0 lead.
Montell continued to do his job, silencing the Cardinals in the top of the 3rd. The bottom half was a different story. The Dragons' Isaac Perry drew a one out walk, and then swiped second. The next batter, Garrett Vernau, was handed a free pass as well. Both runners advanced a base when Saginaw right hander Pete Baumgartner uncorked a wild pitch. Nick Calandra then hit a hot shot to short that was booted into center field to plate both runners, giving the Dragons a 3-0 lead.
Tiffin widened the gap in the 4th with three more runs. The inning opened with a Cole McCurry single. McCurry then motored into second with a stolen base, and was sent homeward with an Alex Hartley rocket into the gap for a stand-up double. The next two batters recorded outs, but Isaac Perry came up with a looper down the right field line to push Hartley home and give Tiffin a 5-0 lead. Perry then committed a theft of his own by stealing second. He was knocked in by Garret Vernau with a liner back through the box to put Tiffin in front 6-0.
Kyle Montell continued to thwart any Saginaw comeback attempt, allowing a run in the 6th before finishing the inning. He ran into a bit of trouble in the 8th. Kyle walked the first two batters of the inning, but fought back to strike out the next batter. He then was touched up for a double that scored a run, and his day was finished.
Justin Bailey jogged out of the left field pen to relieve Montell, and found himself entering a sticky situation. Bailey was handed the ball with a runner at second and third with one out. Justin hit the next two batters to force home a run to make it a 6-3 ballgame. Then, in the play that saved the game, Bailey induced a 1-2-3 double play to dance out of danger, and preserved a 6-3 lead.
In the 9th, Bailey retired the first batter, then surrendered a single before dispatching Saginaw Valley to collect the save and give the Dragons their first GLIAC victory of the season.
Kyle Montell earned the victory, pitching 7 1/3 innings, giving up 5 hits, 3 runs, walked 4, and struck out 6. Bailey threw the final 1 2/3 innings, giving up one hit and striking out one.
Tiffin pounded out 8 hits as a team, and Alex Hartley led the charge. Alex was 3 for 4 with a pair of RBIs, and needed a triple for the cycle. Garret Vernau collected 2 hits, an RBI, and a stolen base.
The split moves the Dragons to 6-10 overall, and 1-1 in conference play. Tiffin will take on Saginaw again tomorrow afternoon, with game one starting at 1 pm.
