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WINTER HAVEN, Fla. – Lewis baseball scored three combined runs in their doubleheader with Saginaw Valley State on Friday (March 9) morning. It was enough to win the opener 1-0 but drop the second contest 3-2 in eight innings.
 
Following a 12-run outing on Thursday, Lewis won with the slimmest of offensive productions in game one. Lewis' only run came on a solo home run by senior Andrew Brauer (Bolingbrook, Ill./Montini) (Bolingbrook, Ill./Montini/College of DuPage) to left field with one out in the top of the sixth inning.
 
“Sometimes you need just one big swing and that's what we got from Brauer,” Lewis head coach Tim McDonough said. “It ended up being the difference.”

It was Lewis' first win by a 1-0 score since defeating Missouri-St. Louis on March 25, 2007.

Junior Michael Schroeder (Crown Point, Ind./North Newton) (Crown Point, Ind./North Newton/Triton) picked up the victory on the mound. He threw 6.1 shutout innings, allowing six hits and no walks with five strikeouts.
 
Schroeder ran into trouble in the seventh. SVSU's leadoff hitter singled to start the frame. He stole second and advanced to third on a throwing error on the steal attempt. Schroeder struck out the batter at the plate and then walked the next Cardinal. Senior Drew Hicks (Pekin, Ill./Pekin) (Pekin, Ill./Pekin) came in to relieve Schroeder. Hicks induced a pop up and a groundout to third to end the game and earn his second save of the season.
 
Carson Beauchaine (0-2) took the loss for SVSU. He allowed four hits and one run in seven innings.
 
It looked like the Flyers were going to earn the sweep over the Cardinals when they entered the seventh inning with a two-run lead. However the Cardinals opened the inning with a double and a single to make the score 2-1 and force Tom Helwich (New Lenox, Ill./Lincoln Way Central) (New Lenox, Ill./Lincoln Way Central) from the game. Hicks came in to try to earn his second save of the day. A one out single put the tying run on third. The next SVSU batter hit a sac fly to tie the game at two. Hicks was able to get out of the inning with the score tied at two. Lewis went 1-2-3 in their half of the seventh to send it to extras.
 
The Cardinals scored a single run in the eighth off junior Kegan Banks (Dripping Springs, Texas/Dripping Springs) (Dripping Springs, Texas/Dripping Springs/Blinn) to take the lead 3-2. A two-out error gave Brauer a chance with a runner on first in the bottom of the eighth. However he grounded out to end the game
 
Banks falls to 0-1 with the loss. Mike Saunders earned the complete game win for SVSU. Helwich earned a no decision. He allowed two runs on nine hits with no walks and four strikeouts in 6.0 innings.
 
Lewis scored a run in the third and a run in the fifth on RBI singles by senior Mike Bolling (Chicago, Ill./Guerin Prep) (Chicago, Ill./Guerin Prep/Triton). Senior Mike Wido (Downers Grove, Ill./Downers Grove South) scored both runs.
 
The Flyers picked up the split despite being out-hit 18-8 by SVSU in the twinbill.

“You can't expect a sweep when you score just three runs,” McDonough said. “Obviously we had the opportunity to do so but only because Schroeder and Helwich were outstanding.”
 
SVSU is 2-7 while Lewis is now 5-2. The Flyers close the Florida trip with a single game against Notre Dame (Ohio) on Saturday at 9 a.m. ET.