The Malone University baseball team left Saginaw Valley State University with a four-game series split after dropping a pair of contests on Sunday. The Pioneers took two from the Cardinals on Saturday but had the tables turned on them as Saginaw Valley captured a 10-1 victory in Sunday's opener and an 8-5 win in the nightcap. With the losses, Malone fell to 18-15 on the season and 10-6 in the GLIAC.
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Game One Recap:
The hosts took advantage of six Pioneer errors in the bottom of the first inning, tallying six runs on just three hits. The Cardinals went on to score three runs in the bottom the third and reached double-digits with a run in the fifth.
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Malone posted their only run of the game in the top of third.
Joe Crank reached base with a single up the middle and later came around to score on a two-out double from
Keanan Locke. Those two hits accounted for all of Malone's offense for the game.
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Saginaw Valley starter Clayton Spiker (4-2) held Malone to just those two hits and a lone walk while striking out six in a complete game victory.
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Game Two Recap:
Malone went ahead early with three runs in the first two innings. An RBI double from
Matt Davis and a sacrifice fly from
Brenden Wells put the Pioneers up 2-0 in the first. Malone increased its lead to 3-0 on a RBI double from
Richie Mast in the second.
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Saginaw Valley took its first lead of the game in the bottom of the fourth. The Cardinals used a big five-run inning to go up 5-3 before surrendering that lead in the top of the sixth.
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An RBI double from
Joe Crank and an RBI single from
Keanan Locke tied it up at 5-all. The Cardinals, however, wasted not time in regaining the lead, plating two runs in bottom half of the sixth.
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Saginaw would add an insurance run in the bottom of the seventh and held on for the Sunday sweep and the series split with the 8-5 triumph.
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Keanan Locke and
Matt Davis delivered two hits for the Pioneers while
Jon Crank added a double.
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Up Next:
Malone will look to avenge a pair of losses to Walsh University on Wednesday, April 20th, when the Pioneers make the short trip to North Canton for a crucial doubleheader starting at 1:00 pm.