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Box Scores: St. Scholastica 11, Northwestern 9 | St. Scholastica 6, Bethany Lutheran 1

DULUTH, Minn. –  After a Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) Postseason Tournament opening day that featured 54 runs and three games decided by a total of four runs, the St. Scholastica Saints earned a berth in the title game with a 6-1 comeback victory over second seed Bethany Lutheran College on Thursday evening at Wade Stadium.

Matt Lewis (Erie, Pa./Cathedral Prep) pitched a nine-inning complete game for CSS (34-5), allowing just one unearned run in the first inning. Lewis had four strikeouts in the first inning and finished with 10 for the game.

In his second appearance of the day, Aaron Siefken tossed 143 pitches in 7.1 innings for Bethany Lutheran (26-9), stranding six Saints base runners through the first seven before running into trouble in the eighth.

Joe Link (Woodbury, Minn./Woodbury HS) led the eighth off with a double and eventually came around to score on a sacrifice fly by Kyle Flagstad (Hinckley, Minn./Hinckley-Finlayson HS), who is now 17 for his last 24 at-bats, good for a .708 batting average since May 4.

Kyle Moody (Maple Grove, Minn./Osseo HS ) and Brandon Peterson (Burnsville, Minn./Apple Valley HS) each got hits to continue the Saints rally, and an intentional walk to Scott Greening (Antigo, Wis./Antigo HS (Mesabi CC)) loaded the bases for Kyle Jensen (Wyoming, Minn./Forest Lake HS), who drilled a double to deep centerfield to score two more runs, putting the Saints up 3-1.

A walk to Jake Casareto (International Falls, Minn./Falls HS) ended Siefken's evening, but Garrett Benson – also appearing for the second time on the day – continued to look shaky, with a passed ball scoring Greening before Brian Marshik (Arden Hills, Minn./Mounds View HS ) singled home the rest of the Saints' baserunners to put them up by the 6-1 final.

Bethany Lutheran earned the right to face the CSS Saints in the nightcap by defeating Presentation (16-18) in grand fashion – an eight-run comeback in the eighth inning, followed by a walk-off hit in the ninth to down the PC Saints 10-9.

In St. Scholastica's opening round game, the Saints battled through five walks and a pair of defensive errors as they held on to defeat Northwestern College (14-24) 11-9.

Despite four earned runs in 3.1 innings, David Vogelgesang (Hastings, Minn./Hastings HS) earned his ninth win of the year. David Barningham (Bayfield, Wis./Washburn HS) pitched the final 5.2 innings for CSS, earning his first save of the year with two strikeouts.

Four Saints had at least two runs driven in against the Eagles, including Flagstad and Moody. Brandon Peterson (Burnsville, Minn./Apple Valley HS) knocked in two on three hits while Chad Peterson (New Brighton, Minn./St. Anthony Village HS) had two hits and two RBIs in his four at-bats. Flagstad led the way with four hits in the game.

Northwestern went on to eliminate Presentation in the day's consolation game by a 5-4 final. Presentation stranded eight runners on base in the loss, ending their season with two heartbreaking losses. Northwestern will now face Bethany Lutheran for a chance at a rematch with CSS tomorrow afternoon. Their opening pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m at Wade Stadium.

St. Scholastica awaits the winner of the consolation bracket as it seeks another UMAC Postseason Tournament title and the league's first automatic bid into the NCAA tournament. The championship game is scheduled for 4 p.m. Friday at Wade Stadium.