Thursday March 12, 2009
Wayne State 11 West Liberty State (W.Va.) 3
Junior right hander John Snyder struck out eight batters in five innings of work to lead Wayne State College in an 11-3 win over West Liberty State of West Virginia Thursday morning at the Savannah Spring Break Invitational Baseball Tournament in Georgia. It was the second win in as many days for the Wildcats over the Hilltoppers as WSC improved to 6-5 on the season while dropping West Liberty to 1-10.
Snyder, now 2-0 on the season, allowed five hits and two runs (one earned) with eight strikeouts and two walks to lead the Wildcats in the victory. Offensively, WSC took control of the game with a seven-run second inning. The Wildcats used three walks, two West Liberty errors and three hits to score the seven runs. Big hits in the inning included a two-run double by Justin Hemauer and an RBI single by Josh Yost.
WSC had 11 hits in the game to seven for West Liberty. Yost finished 2 for 3 with two runs scored to lead a balanced attack at the plate. Brandon Polk was 2 for 4 with a double and backup catcher Taylor Welk was 2 for 2 with a double.
Three Wildcat relievers also saw action on the mound following starter John Snyder. Sam Rathbun worked two innings, allowing one run on two hits. John Bothwell and Tyler Gutierrez each worked one inning without allow a hit. Gutierrez had one strikeout.
Wayne State will close out play at the Savannah Spring Break Invite on Friday with a 10:00 a.m. game against Concord University of West Virginia.