Box Score Game One
Box Score Game Two
WINTER HAVEN, Fla. – The University of Charleston grabbed its first win of the 2011 season as the team split a doubleheader series against Saginaw Valley. The Golden Eagles rallied late for a 4-2 victory in game one before dropping the second game 3-1.
In the first game, Charleston (1-3) got the scoring started early as Sage Iacovone (Liberty Township, Ohio / Moeller) drew one-out walk in the second inning. Iacovone advanced to third on a John Schraer (Cincinnati, Ohio / Anderson) double to left field. The Golden Eagles tallied the first run as Anthony Pagano (Plantation, Fla. / Coral Springs Christian) would provide a sacrifice fly to left field allowing Iacovone to tag-up and score.
UC starter Mike Morency (Parkland, Fla. / Coral Springs Christian) would shutdown Saginaw Valley (1-1) over his five innings of action allowing no runs and just one hit, while striking out seven.
SVSU would eventually get on the scoreboard with a run off each of Charleston’s relievers, yet three un-earned runs in the final two innings would be enough to secure the Golden Eagle victory.
Christian Turnipseed (Powder Springs, Ga. / Harrison) booked three strikeouts as he earned his first career save.
The second contest saw the Cardinal jump on Charleston starter Josh Weinberg (Margate, Fla. / Coral Springs Christian) with an RBI double in the first inning for a quick 1-0 advantage. UC would knot the game up with an Andy Stichter (Inglis, Fla. / Dunnellon) solo homerun to lead off the second inning.
The teams would battle to a deadlock over the next four innings with little ground made as each team scattered five hits in the first five frames. Saginaw Valley found the decisive runs in the sixth as they tagged Weinberg for a two-run homerun to start the inning for a 3-1 lead.
Charleston would threaten in the seventh with back-to-back singles by Stichter and Iacovone, but SVSU starter Mike Saunders would retire the next three batters in order to seal his complete game effort for the 3-1 victory.
Stichter provided three of Charleston’s five hits in the second game with a 3-for-3 perfromance, while accounting for one RBI and one run scored.
UC returns to the diamond on Sunday, March 6 to face Mansfield (Pa.) at 12:30 pm. Live stats for all Golden Eagle games in the Central Florida Invitational are available at www.ucgoldeneagles.com.
