The Tiffin University baseball team split with Walsh on Monday afternoon, wrapping up their four game set, with TU winning games one and four, and Walsh winning games two and three. TU fell in the opener 7-2 before coming back in the 9th inning to win the nightcap 11-10.
Tiffin handed the ball to freshman right-hander Luke Fraley for the start in game three. Fraley ran into trouble right out of the gate, surrendering two runs, both of which were unearned. A couple errors and a Cavalier hit aided Walsh.
In the 3rd inning, Walsh struck again. A double and a fly ball to right field allowed the Cavs to put a man at third with one out. The next batter slapped a single through the right side of the infield to make it 3-0.
In the 4th, Tiffin placed their first run on the board with a big fly. Nick Hueneburg took a 2-0, letter high, fastball and deposited it on the football practice field beyond the right field wall to pull the Dragons within two, at 3-1.
Unfortunately Walsh returned the favor in the top of the 5th. The Cavaliers put two on with two outs for their right-handed hitting center fielder, and that two out threat quickly translated into a three run home run to deep left field to make it 6-1.
An Isaac Perry double in the bottom half of the inning pushed Seth Bryant home to make the score 6-2, but the Cavaliers added another insurance run in the top of the 7th, and cruised to a 7-2 victory.
Luke Fraley took the loss on the hill, going 5 innings, giving up 10 hits, 6 runs, 4 earned, and fanned 8. At the plate, Tiffin was led by Isaac Perry with a 3 for 3 performance, including an RBI double. Cody Spires was the only other Dragon with multiple hits, going 2 for 3.
Tyler Nichols took the ball in game four, trying to prevent Walsh from taking the season series. In the early goings of the nine inning affair, it looked mighty bleak. Walsh put seven runs on the board in the first three innings, including four unearned runs.
In innings 1, 2, and 3, the Cavs' collected seven runs on seven hits, and three Dragon errors didn't help the cause. But in the bottom of the 3rd, Tiffin began its march back. Hayden Spellbring doubled to lead off the inning, and Elijah Sanabria reached on a fielder's choice, allowing Spellbring to just barely slide into third base. Sanabria then advanced 90 feet on a wild pitch. Nick Calandra sliced a single to right to score Spellbring, and Nick Hueneburg pushed Sanabria home with a deep sacrifice fly to center field. Tiffin still trailed 7-2.
Mark Deitsch made his first appearance on the mound this season and kept the Cavs' silent in the 4th, and let his team make some more noise at the plate. Tiffin's Seth Bryant lined a double down the left field line, and advanced to third on a wild pitch. Isaac Perry then lined a single to right center field to make it a 7-3 game. Jack Dennis, getting the nod at first base, ripped a double over the center fielder's head to put runners at second and third with no outs.
The inning continued when Hayden Spellbring reached first on an infield single to load the bases, and Nick Calandra's fielder's choice pushed Perry home to cut the lead to 7-4. With two down and runners still in scoring position, Nick Hueneburg lined a single back up the box to score Jack Dennis, making it a 7-5 game.
Deitsch did his job in the 5th, and gave the Dragons' offense another whack at Walsh. With two outs, Tiffin was sparked by back to back Cavalier errors. Perry reached on a throwing error, scampering all the way to second. The next batter, Jack Dennis, used mother nature to get aboard. Dennis hit a high fly ball that jumped on the 30 mile per hour wind that was blowing to right field, falling in to score Perry. Dennis was then chased home on another Walsh error, the third of the inning. This run tied the score at 7-7.
Both teams were held off the board in the 6th, but Walsh took advantage of Tiffin's lone mistake in the 7th. With the bases loaded, Tim Benner's apparent strike out took a turn for the worse as the ball bounced away from Seth Bryant, allowing all runners to move up, including the go ahead run to the plate.
Walsh added another run in the 8th to make it a 9-7 deficit for Tiffin. The Dragons still had some life left in those bats, and made their charge in the bottom of the 8th. A couple errors and a wild pitch allowed Nick Hueneburg to motor to third base with one out. Cody Spires then drew a walk to put two on. Alex Hartley then laced a double that soared over the center fielder's head to score both Hueneburg and Spires to tie the game at 9-9.
With the score tied, and Hartley at second, Nick Raifsnider was called upon to pinch run. The very next pitch was a wild one, and Raifsnider moved to third, and with two down Isaac Perry came through again, sending a hot shot back up the middle to give Tiffin its first lead at 10-9.
Garret Scott was called upon in the inning prior, and now was in line for the win, if he could finish off the 9th inning. Scott punched out the first batter he faced, and then walked the next. A ball that squirted away from Bryant sent the Cavalier runner darting for second. Bryant, thinking he had a chance to gun down the runner, sent a one hopper to second that got underneath the glove of Isaac Perry and sent the tying run to third.
That runner trotted home on a bouncing ball to right field to tie the game at 10-10. Tiffin needed a single run to win it in the 9th. With two outs, Calandra was plunked on the arm, and represented the winning run. He was then pinch run for by the fleet of foot Devon Fisk. A Hueneburg single pushed Fisk 90 feet closer to home, and gave Cody Spires the spotlight for late inning heroics. The first pitch from the new Cavalier pitcher was lined into left field, and Fisk motored home to give Tiffin a come from behind 11-10 win.
Scott took the win on the mound, throwing an inning and two thirds and striking out 3. At the dish, Hayden Spellbring was 4 for 5 with a run scored. Hueneburg, Perry, and Hartley each collected a pair of hits.
The split moves the Dragons to 10-14 overall, and 5-3 in conference play. The Dragons will be back in action this Wednesday as they travel to Cedarville, Ohio to take on the Yellow Jackets in a 9 inning contest.
