The Tiffin University baseball team split a pair of games on Sunday afternoon, beating Walsh University 6-5 in game one, but falling to the Cavaliers 12-7 in game two.
Logan Sendelbach took the mound in game one, and was under fire from the start. Sendelbach gave up four runs on three hits and an error by the Dragons, but Logan was able to strand the bases loaded to avoid the monster inning.
Walsh added another run in the 2nd on a couple of hits and an error. This run was charged to new Dragon pitcher Michael Cooperider who relieved Sendelbach after an inning of work. The Cavs now led 5-0.
That run in the 2nd was the last for Walsh. Cooperider came after Walsh and dominated, finishing the game for the Dragons. On the other side, the Tiffin offense started coming to life in the 3rd. The Dragons put two on with no outs via the walk. Elijah Sanabria then stole 3rd, and was knocked home by Nick Hueneburg with a single. Nick Calandra, standing at second base, advanced to third on a wild pitch, and was chased home with a Cody Spires RBI groundout to the shortstop.
The final run of the inning was supplied by Isaac Perry. With two down, Alex Hartley and Seth Bryant walked. Isaac Perry then ripped a single to score Hartley to make it a 5-3 game.
Tiffin added three more runs in the next inning, starting with a single and a walk. An error by Walsh allowed Cole McCurry to scamper home. Elijah Sanabria crossed home on a Cody Spires sac fly to tie the game. Tiffin took the lead for good when Walsh uncorked a wild pitch to allow Nick Calandra to score.
Michael Cooperider picked up the win in relief, throwing 6 innings, giving up 6 hits, an earned run, and punched out 8 Cavaliers. At the plate, the Dragons only collected four hits, but showed great patience by collecting 9 free passes. Cody Spires collected two RBIs with two sac flies.
Game two turned into a slugfest, with both teams combining for 19 runs, 26 hits, and 7 walks. The scoring began in the very first inning, as Walsh notched three runs on two hits, and two Tiffin errors.
The Dragons answered in the bottom half with two runs of their own. Tiffin loaded the bases and pushed home a run with a Cole McCurry fielder's choice ground out. Alex Hartley smacked a single to plate the other Tiffin run, making it a 3-2 game.
Walsh used mother nature to push home three runs in the 2nd. With winds at Heminger Field gusting between 25-30 miles per hour, a towering fly ball jumped on the jet stream and rode over the fence for a three run homer.
The Cavaliers made it 7-2 with a run in the 6th, but the Dragons got back in the swing of things in the bottom of the 6th with four runs of their own. It started with back to back doubles by Cody Spires and Hayden Spellbring, scoring Spires to make it 7-4. Tiffin then loaded the bases, and Isaac Perry slapped a single to make it 7-5. Alec McCurry pinch hit for Tiffin, and knocked home another run with a sac fly. The final run came on a Nick Calandra single to make it a 7-6 game.
Walsh tacked on five more runs, scoring in the 7th, two in the 8th, and two in the 9th. The Dragons plated their final run in the 9th, making it a 12-7 final.
Kyle Montell started for the Dragons, and took the loss. He pitched 7 innings,surrendering 11 hits, 9 runs, 7 earned, 2 walks, and struck out 4. At the plate, Cody Spires was 3 for 4 with two runs scored. Isaac Perry was also 3 for 4 with two runs batted in.
The split pushes the Dragons overall record to 9-13 and 4-2 in GLIAC play. The Dragons will finish their four game set with Walsh tomorrow, with game one starting at 12 pm.
