Box Score Box score
A 'productive' outing by the top three batters in the Saints' line-up might be putting it mildly when talking about their 18-6 UMAC win over host Northland College in Ashland, Wis., on Tuesday afternoon.
Blake Eller (Brainerd, Minn./Brainerd HS), Steve Kraushaar (Cottage Grove, Minn./Park HS), and Sean Claugherty (Oakdale, Minn./Tartan HS) combined for a 10-for-15 day including three home runs, scored 10 runs, and collected 11 RBI in the win that pushed St. Scholastica's current win streak to seven games.
Eller and Kraushaar led the game off with walks and scored the first two runs of the game, one of them coming on a Claugherty RBI-single down the right line.
Three more St. Scholastica runs crossed the plate in the second inning, keyed by a 2-RBI double to left center field by Claugherty, that gave the Saints a 5-0 lead.
Starting pitcher Jake Wendland (Garfield, Minn./Jefferson HS) got into trouble in the bottom of the inning, though, as he surrendered a three run home run to center by Northland's Bryce Szymanski following an unearned run that pulled the LumberJacks to within one run. Josh Hawkins (Woodbury, Minn./Woodbury HS) came on in relief following the homer and put out the fire.
Kraushaar hit the first of his two home runs in the top of the third that put the Saints ahead 8-4, then followed an Eller home run to right in the fifth with his second of the day in a five-run inning that put the game away for the Saints.
Hawkins (3-1) threw four and two-thirds inning in relief allowing just a run in each of the fourth and sixth innings to earn the win for the Saints. He allowed five hits, walked none, and struck out four.
St. Scholastica improves to 26-4 overall and 14-1 within the conference with Tuesday's victory while the 'Jacks fall to 4-12 and 2-5.
