UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. – The Saginaw Valley State University baseball team stepped out of league play to host Alma College for a single 9-inning game Wednesday at the SVSU Baseball Complex.

The Cardinals took control early and rolled to an 18-2 win to improve to 14-10 overall this season.

After SVSU took a 1-0 lead on a sacrifice fly by Martin Money in the first, Austin Koin extended the Cardinal advantage with a two-run single in the second. SVSU piled on six runs in the fourth, including a two-run home run from Colin Cornwell. Tucker Roe and Connor McClennen followed later in the inning, each hitting a two-run single.

The Cardinals scored four more in the sixth, including a two-run double from Mitch Morley. The exclamation point on the win came on a grand slam from Dylan Golden in the eighth, the first home run of his career.

McClennen led the offense with three hits, three RBIs, two runs, and a walk. Cornwell, Money, and Roe each added two hits for the Cardinals, who totaled 16 hits in the win.

Eight pitchers hit the mound for SVSU, with the win going to Tyler McLaren (1-0)

The Cardinals return to Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play with a four-game home series against Purdue University Northwest starting at 3:05 pm Saturday.