The Tiffin University softball team fell in a hotly contested game one 2-1 to Saginaw Valley, but in extra innings, it was Tiffin with the last laugh, posting a 6-1 victory.
In game one, Kelsey Yaratch took the mound. Kelsey surrendered two 1st inning runs on one hit and two Tiffin errors. Those two runs were the only two that Yaratch gave up as she caged the Cardinals for the rest of the contest, throwing 7 innings, scattering 3 hits, surrendering 2 runs, one earned, walked one, and fanned 5.
Yaratch's offense struggled, as Tiffin collected only three hits. The lone Tiffin run came in the bottom of the 2nd inning. Payton Denman walloped a fastball that cleared the left center field fence to pull the Dragons within a run at 2-1. That score would hold up for the remaining innings, giving SVSU a 2-1 game one victory.
In game two, Kimmy Reynolds stepped to the rubber. After a shaky 2nd inning, in which the Cardinals plated a run on two hits, Reynolds settled down and hung around for 4 innings, giving up 4 hits, a run, walked 2, and punched out 2.
Sarah Brown came on in relief, and pitched out of danger countless times. In the 5th, she came in for Kimmy Reynolds with the bases loaded and nobody out. Brown fanned the side to dance out of danger.
Tiffin tied the game in the 4th. With two down Madison Yanek singled to right field, and advanced to second. Yanek cruised home on a Payton Denman single to center field to tie the game at 1-1.
The Cardinals and Dragons couldn't decide the victor in 7 innings, so free softball was needed. In the Dragons half of the 8th, a base hit and two hit batsmen loaded the bases with one out. Then Michelle Poe got out the rye bread and spicy mustard, and cooked herself up a grand salami. Poe's shot to left center field came on the 8th pitch of the at bat, and was a fastball that was grooved right down the can.
Tiffin, in the 8th, scored 5 runs on 4 hits, and then turned it over to Brown to finish the job. Sarah walked a batter, but after that she was solid gold, finishing off the Cardinals for the series split.
Brown earns the victory in relief, throwing four shutout innings. At the plate, Tiffin smacked 7 hits as a team. Madison Yanek was the only Dragon with multiple hits, going 2 for 4 with a run scored. But the hero of the evening was Michelle Poe. Her pinch hit grand slam in the 8th gave Tiffin the lead for good.
The split moves Tiffin to 23-19 overall and 14-10 in GLIAC play. Tiffin will be in action tomorrow at high noon to take on the conference leading Wayne State Warriors at home.
