The Tiffin University baseball team split their four game series with Wayne State, winning games one and four. The Dragons narrowly lost the other two games by a combined six runs.
The Dragons turned to their young right hander Luke Fraley for the the start in game three. Fraley spotted the Warriors a two run lead when he surrendered a two run blast to center field.
In the 4th, it looked as if the Dragons were headed to the bottom half of the inning still without a run, but a two out hit by Nick Calandra sparked a rally. With Calandra aboard, Alex Hartley trotted to first with a bases on balls. A bouncing ball hit by Jack Dennis that would have been the final out of the inning was misplayed by the Warriors to score Calandra. With two on, Seth Bryant then roped a ball down the left field line for a double, scoring Dennis and Hartley. Heads up base running allowed Bryant to move to third on the throw to the plate, and he then scampered home on a passed ball to give the Dragons a 4-2 lead.
Wayne State responded in the bottom of the inning with two down, pushing four runs of their own home on three hits and a Tiffin error to take a 6-4 lead. They added three more runs in the 6th with a solo homer and a two run shot to left center field to give them the 9-4 advantage and ultimately a 9-4 victory.
Luke Fraley hung around for 3 2/3 innings, giving up 6 hits, 6 runs, 5 earned, walked 3, and struck out 4. The combination of Brady Ward and Tim Benner respectively, finished the game in relief.
At the dish, Seth Bryant was 2 for 3 with 2 RBIs, and Nick Hueneburg collected another multi-hit game, going 2 for 3.
Tyler Nichols was sent to the hill in the final game to assure the Dragons a split, and right from the get go, his offense was there to help.
In inning number one, the Dragons put the first two men aboard with an Isaac Perry walk and a Nick Calandra single. Nick Hueneburg then reached on an infield single to load the bases. Cody Spires was retired on a slow roller to second, but Perry scored to give Tiffin a 1-0 lead.
The Dragons added one in the 2nd. Devon Fisk walked and Kyle Durham singled to left field to put a pair on, and lead off hitter Isaac Perry roped a single back up the box to score Fisk, making it 2-0. In the 3rd inning, the Dragons tacked on another run. A Hueneburg single and Spires double put runners at second and third, and Noah Heard put the bat on the ball and Wayne State booted that ball to score Hueneburg.
The Warriors put their first runs on the board in bottom of the inning. The two runs came at the hands of two Tiffin errors and three hits, but it was too little, too late for Wayne State.
Tiffin hammered home the final nails in the 4th, and never looked back. Durham and Perry both singled to left field, and Durham motored into third with no outs. Calandra reached on a fielder's choice to score Durham. Hueneburg then reached on a single through the left side of the infield enabling Calandra to cruise to third base. Cody Spires kept the line moving with a double down the left field line to score Calandra, and Noah Heard's single brought both Hueneburg and Spires home, giving Tiffin a 7-2 advantage.
Wayne State added a run in the bottom of the 4th with a pair of doubles to make it 7-3. Two more runs by the Warriors in the 5th pulled them within two runs, but the Dragon bats never cooled off.
Tiffin added five runs over the final four innings, while Dragon pitching held the Warriors at bay. In the 6th, Nick Calandra's double was followed by Cody Spire's two bagger to left center field, scoring Calandra. Two Warrior wild pitches allowed Spires to score, pushing the Tiffin lead to 9-5.
In the 9th the Dragons sought out some insurance runs, and found three of them. Nick Hueneburg doubled to score Isaac Perry, Cody Spires then singled to push Calandra home, and another wild pitch moved Hueneburg home to give the Dragons their 12-5 victory.
Tyler Nichols was masterful on the mound, throwing 7 2/3 innings, giving up 5 runs, but only 1 was earned. He did not walk a batter, and fanned 5. Garret Scot pitched the final 1 1/3, allowing two hits and a walk.
At the plate, the Dragons clubbed 19 hits and drew 7 walks. The charge was led by Nick Hueneburg and Cody Spires. Hueneburg was 4 for 6 with an RBI and scored 3 runs. Spires was also 4 for 6, but he knocked in 4 runs, and smacked 3 doubles. Nick Calandra and Isaac Perry aided the cause with 3 hits each.
The Dragons run their record to 13-20 overall and 7-9 in GLIAC play. They will be back home at the friendly confines of Heminger Field this Wednesday (April 15) and will play host to GLIAC South foe Ohio Dominican.
