Westfield, Ind. -- The Lewis University baseball team opened the 2026 regular season on Friday (Feb. 13) splitting a doubleheader against Cedarville and Saginaw Valley State University at the Grand Park Sports Complex.
The Flyers ended the day with a 1-1 record after facing Saginaw Valley State University for the first game and Cedarville University for the second game.
GAME ONE RECAP
The Flyers opened up game 1 versus the Cardinals by getting on the board first in the top of the second inning as senior Tylor Phommachanhom (Plainfield, Ill/Parkland CC) reached on a fielder's choice and advanced into scoring position at second base. Freshman Jimmy Spellman (Chicago, Ill./Notre Dame College of Prep) knocked Phommachanhom in with an RBI triple to put the Flyers up 1-0.
An RBI groundout by Jacob Pitt evened the score for the Cardinals in the bottom half of the third inning to tie it at 1-1.
Lewis jumped back out ahead 2-1 in the top of the fourth after Spellman hit a double and came around to score off the RBI single to right field by sophomore Chris Daughtery.
The Lewis lead wouldn't last though as Saginaw Valley State worked a hit by pitch to lead off the bottom of the fourth, followed by a passed ball and a walk which led to a Lewis pitching change to bring in junior Seth Nanna (Carmel, Ind/Westfield). The Cardinals went on to score seven runs on three hits and worked three more walks to go up a sizable 8-2 lead.
Saginaw Valley State added insurance in the bottom of fifth inning with an RBI double from Ethan Scheib to increase the lead to 9-2.
The Flyers began their climb back late in the game in the top of the seventh when senior John Henry Russell (Glenview, Ill./Glenbrook South) produced a leadoff walk and was brought in by junior Alex Chaltlin to decrease the deficit to 9-3. Phommachanhom got the Flyers going again in the top of the eighth as well with a leadoff single to center, and later scored on an RBI double from junior Kyle Peterson (Orland Park, Ill/Carl Sandburg) to make the game 9-4. A two RBI single from senior Jayden Gonzalez (Chicago, Ill.) lessened the gap even more at 9-6 which led to a Cardinals pitching change.
Lewis couldn't get anything going in the ninth to finish the game as Saginaw Valley State went on to take the season opener 9-6 while being out-hit 10-8 by the Flyers. Pitcher Nathan Masar picked up the win for the Cardinals giving up only two earned runs through five innings of work on five strikeouts.
GAME TWO RECAP
The Flyers got to work after a quiet first inning by having Phommachanhom lead them off in the top of the second inning with a walk and a steal of second base. After tagging up to third, Daughtery brought him in with an infield single to put Lewis up 1-0.
Lewis picked up three more runs on four hits in the top of the third inning after junior Jackson Hunley (Sun Prairie, Wis./Sun Prairie) led off with a triple to right field and then scored on a balk. With the bases loaded for the Flyers, Peterson came up big again knocking in two more with a single to center to establish a 4-0 Lewis lead.
The Yellowjackets entered the scoring column towards the second half of the game in the bottom of the sixth inning where Grayson Weikel hit an RBI single to make the score 4-1.
Cedarville tried to battle back in the bottom of the ninth as Da'Vonn Stevens grounded out bringing in the final run of the game to make the final score 4-2.
Lewis pitching and defense quieted Cedarville with pitcher Tanner Johnson (Sulpher Springs, TX/Triton CC) picking up the win going five and two thirds innings, and allowing just three hits and striking out four on 111 pitches.
UP NEXT
The Flyers will repeat their day today by rematching Saginaw Valley State at 11:00 AM CST and Cedarville at 6:00PM CST tomorrow Saturday (Feb. 14) at the Grand Park Sports Complex.
