The Tiffin University baseball team relied on their offense on Wednesday afternoon, defeating the University of Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs 7-6.
The offense awoke in the top of the 2nd inning, starting with a Jack Dennis double down the right field line. A Bulldogs error enabled Kyle Vance to reach first base and allowed Dennis to trot to third. Deylen Miley reached on a fielders choice, allowing Dennis to scurry home to give Tiffin a 1-0 lead. John Heckman then rifled a triple to right field to push Miley home to push the Dragons ahead 2-0.
Tiffin added on in the 3rd, with Brayden Callihan leading off with an infield single. After an out was recorded, Kyle Lento singled to right field to put two on with one out. Dennis then slapped a single through the left side of the infield to score Callihan and give the Dragons a 3-0 advantage.
Tiffin flexed their muscle in the top of the 4th, as Noah Heard blasted a lead off homer to push Tiffin's lead to 4-0. The Bulldogs got a run back in their half of the 4th, doing so on two hits and a wild pitch.
The Dragons pushed their lead back to four in the 7th inning, using a pair of hits to do so. Callihan singled to start the frame, and moved to second on a unassisted ground out to first base. Callihan then scored on Kyle Lento's stinging single to center field to make it a 5-1 game.
The Bulldogs got a pair of runs back in the 8th, using a home run and double to account for the runs.
With Tiffin's lead cut to two, the Dragons went in search of insurance in the top of the 9th. With one out, Callihan provided the power, clobbering a solo home run to right field to make it 6-3. Following the home run were back-to-back walks to McCurry and Lento. Jack Dennis then bounced a single through the right side of the infield to push McCurry home and make it 7-3.
The bottom of the 9th was a high wire act for Tiffin. The Bulldogs kept inching closer, pulling to within a run with two outs and runners on the corners. Jon Laird closed the door on the Bulldogs, rolling a ground ball to second base to secure Tiffin's 7-6 win.
On the hill, Michael Boswell was masterful. The sophomore tossed five innings, allowing one run while striking out five. Jon Laird earned the save in relief, his first of the season. Offensively it was a smorgasbord for the Dragons, hammering out 13 hits. Brayden Callihan finished 3 for 5 with a home run and three runs scored. Jack Dennis also collected three hits, and collected two runs batted in. John Heckman and Kyle Lento each finished with two hits and a run batted in.
The Dragons move to 2-4 overall and will take on the University of Mary tomorrow in a doubleheader.