Kirksville, Mo. — The Truman State baseball team went 1-2 in a home weekend that included a pair of games against Saginaw Valley State and one against Missouri Southern State, picking up a 3-2 win on Sunday's finale after dropping Friday's opener 25-9 and Saturday's game 12-6.
Game 1 — Saginaw Valley 25, Truman 9 (Friday, April 25)
Saginaw Valley scored eight runs in the second inning to blow the game open and never looked back, eventually hanging 25 runs on the Bulldogs in a game that was an offensive display for both sides. Truman scored first, as Nick Steurer came around on an Evan Davis sacrifice fly in the bottom of the first to make it 1-0, but that lead was short-lived.
The Cardinals put up eight runs in the second, highlighted by a Ryan Jarvis grand slam, to go ahead 8-1. Saginaw Valley added four more in the third, including a Zane Wilson three-run home run, and piled on five in the fourth to push the score to 17-1.
Truman mounted its most significant response in the fifth, when Joey Fentress scored on an Oliver Degenhardt RBI single and Tyler Tieman followed with a three-run home run to left to make it 19-5. The Bulldogs added three more in the sixth on a Nick Steurer two-run triple and a Degenhardt RBI single, and scored their final run in the seventh on an error. Saginaw Valley answered each Truman rally with more offense of its own, capping the scoring with a Chase Miller two-run home run in the seventh. Steurer finished 2-for-5 with a double, triple and two RBI, and Tieman went 3-for-4 with three RBI on the blast to left field. Isaac Epp took the loss.
Game 2 — Missouri Southern 12, Truman 6 (Saturday, April 26)
Truman held its own through six innings before Missouri Southern put up seven runs in the eighth inning to pull away. The Bulldogs trailed 3-1 after two but rallied with home runs from Gavin Schieffer, Joey Fentress, and Evan Davis to take a 6-3 lead through six innings.
Missouri Southern scored three in the second, as a Cy Darnell sacrifice bunt scored Andrew Young, an Aiden Hinkle RBI double plated Jake Johnson, and Hinkle scored on a wild pitch to make it 3-0. Schieffer answered with a solo home run in the bottom of the second to cut it to 3-1. Fentress then crushed a two-run shot to left center in the fourth to tie it at 3-3, and Davis put Truman ahead with a two-run homer to left center in the fifth to make it 5-3. Schieffer was hit by a pitch in the sixth with the bases loaded to score Tyler Towe and push the lead to 6-3.
Blake Jones cut it to 6-4 with a solo home run in the seventh, then the Lions erupted in the eighth. Jones doubled home two, Jason Lazo singled home two more, and Ethan Clark added a two-run double as Missouri Southern sent the Bulldogs to a 12-6 loss. Hayden Holman took the loss in relief. Nick Phillips started and allowed three runs over five innings.
Game 3 — Truman 3, Saginaw Valley 2 (Sunday, April 27)
Jack Pearson delivered one of his best outings of the season and Nick Steurer provided the decisive blow as Truman closed the weekend with a 3-2 win over Saginaw Valley. Pearson went six innings, allowing just one run while striking out four, and Ian Junkin earned his first save by navigating a bases-loaded jam in the ninth.
Saginaw Valley took a 1-0 lead in the second when Mitchell Walters singled to left to score Jacob Pitt. The Bulldogs responded in the sixth with three runs. Ian Thornton singled and was replaced on the bases by Jax Markham, who moved to second on a Tyler Towe sacrifice bunt. Steurer then launched a two-run home run to right field, and Oliver Degenhardt followed with a single and scored on a Tyler Tieman RBI single to center to make it 3-1.
Saginaw Valley scored once in the ninth on a sacrifice fly by Chase Miller to trim the deficit to 3-2, but Junkin got the final out to secure the win. Steurer finished 2-for-4 with two RBI and Tieman went 2-for-3 with one RBI.
Up Next:
Truman stands at 11-32 overall and 5-24 in GLVC play. The Bulldogs will host Upper Iowa to conclude the season on senior weekend. The Bulldogs will host their senior day ceremony before Saturday's game, starting at noon. Truman has a chance to raise their win total over a season ago with at least a 2-2 series split with the Peacocks.
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