The biting cold wind didn't seem to bother the Saints very much on Thursday evening in Wade Stadium as they pounded out 12 hits in an 11-0 romp over visiting Martin Luther College in an Upper Midwest Athletic Conference match-up.

 

St. Scholastica (27-4, 15-1 UMAC) took a couple of innings to get rolling but once they heated up their bats the runs came pouring in.

 

A 0-0 score entering the bottom of the third became a 4-0 lead for the Saints and starting pitcher Steve Gerten (West St. Paul, Minn./Henry Sibley HS) as catcher Mike Lewis (Esko, Minn./Esko HS) rapped out the key hit in the inning, a two-run double that scored both Sean Claugherty (Oakdale, Minn./Tartan HS) and Darrin Carlson (Hermantown, Minn./Hermantown HS).

 

In the fifth the Saints pushed five more runs across the plate when they strung together five consecutive hits that included an RBI triple by Claugherty and a second RBI double by Lewis.

 

Meanwhile, Gerten (3-0) never seemed to be in trouble through his five innings of work though the Knights had base-runners in each. He earned the win allowing just four hits, one walk, and struck out five. Reliever Ben Sartori (Hibbing, Minn./Hibbing HS) came on in the sixth and maintained the shutout bid by surrendering three hits, no walks and recording a pair of strikeouts.

 

Steve Gurgel (0-1) took the loss for Martin Luther (13-11, 9-7) after giving up 11 runs on 12 hits while walking three and striking out four.

 

Claugherty finished his outing with a 4-for-4, 2-RBI performance that included a double and triple, and three runs scored. Lewis' day finished at 3-for-3 with three RBI.

 

Carlson also had a multi-hit game for the Saints who now look to capture their 12^th consecutive regular season conference title over the weekend by winning at least one of three in their home stand against visiting Bethany Lutheran College (19-10, 12-4 UMAC).