Wayne State pulls away late to beat Tiffin 6-1
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | E | H | R | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WAY | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 6 | 6 |
| TIF | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 1 |
Wayne State broke open a tight game with a two-run eighth inning and a three-run ninth, pulling away for a 6-1 baseball win over Tiffin on Feb. 15 at UC Baseball Stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio. After carrying a one-run lead into the late innings, the Warriors got the decisive swing from Caleb Sanders, whose two-run single up the middle in the eighth turned a 1-1 game into a 3-1 advantage.
The Warriors scored first in the second inning when Rhett Roeser reached on a fielder's choice that brought home Drew Hill for a 1-0 lead. That margin held deep into the afternoon behind strong pitching, particularly from starter Gabe Nazelli, who worked five scoreless innings. Nazelli allowed three hits, did not issue a walk and struck out five, helping Wayne State control the game early even as the offense left chances on base.
Tiffin finally evened the score in the seventh when Weston Thomp doubled to left-center to drive in Adam Deitsch. Wayne State answered quickly in the next frame. Garza and Roeser both scored on Sanders' single, restoring momentum to the Warriors and putting Philip Miller in line for the win. Miller, pitching in relief, covered two innings and allowed one run on two hits with one walk and four strikeouts to improve to 1-0. Patrick Dinnen took the loss for Tiffin and fell to 0-1.
Wayne State added separation in the ninth. Roeser singled to center to score Whitted for a 4-1 lead, and Ty Garza followed with a two-run double down the left-field line that brought home Roeser and Velazquez to make it 6-1. Roeser finished 2-for-4 with two runs and two RBIs, while Sanders went 2-for-3 with two RBIs. Garza added two RBIs on his late double.
The Warriors finished with eight hits, 10 walks and no errors, while Tiffin had six hits, three walks and one error. Wayne State struck out seven times at the plate but stayed patient enough to build traffic throughout the game, leaving 12 runners on base before cashing in late. Tiffin struck out 13 times against Wayne State pitching and could not answer after the Warriors' eighth-inning surge.
