ST. LOUIS – Maryville University baseball lost its home opener to Saginaw Valley State University 7-2 on Friday afternoon.  Jacob Hager tied the game in the fourth with a home run, but the Cardinals used a five-run sixth inning to down the Saints.
 
Recap
Saginaw Valley opened the scoring in the top of the first with three singles to push home a run. Starter Tyler McLaren set the side down in order in the bottom half.
 
The game remained 1-0 until the bottom of the fourth inning when Jacob Hager led off with a home run to left field to tie the game. Zeb Roos followed up with a single, but Maryville was unable to push across the run.
 
The Cardinals loaded the bases in the top of the sixth inning and brought home a run with a walk to force Saints pitcher Jacob Kroeger out of the game. SVSU then used a trio of RBI singles to extend the lead to 6-1.
 
Still trailing by five in the bottom of the seventh, Elias Stevens hit a two-out double that nearly left the yard. Hager followed up with an RBI triple to center field to cut down the visiting lead to 6-2.
 
SVSU added one more in the top of the ninth and their bullpen closed out the game in the bottom half to give them a 7-2 victory in game one.
 
Winning Pitcher: Tyler McLaren (2-0)
Losing Pitcher: Jacob Kroeger (0-2)
  
Batting Leaders
Jacob Hager: 2-for-3, HR, 3B, 2 RBI
Elias Stevens: 2-for-5, 2B, R
Zeb Roos: 1-for-3, SB
 
Records:
Maryville: 0-4
Saginaw Valley: 2-2

What's Next?
The series continues at the Weber Baseball Field on Saturday, Feb. 25, at 1 p.m.