Notables- With the first win of the day, pitcher Daniel Wood (Canyon, Minn./South Ridge HS ) moves to 7-0 on the season- The Saints, after sweeping Northwestern this afternoon, are now 17-1 in UMAC play- The Saints are undefeated at Wade Stadium (8-0)- The win gives the Saints their 19th consecutive regular season conference championship
DULUTH, Minn. (csssaints.com) – The St. Scholastica baseball team completed a weekend sweep Saturday afternoon of the University of Northwestern at Wade Stadium by scores of 10-6 and 12-5 and, in doing so, clinched its 19th straight Upper Midwest Athletic Conference regular season title.
Game 1: CSS 10, Northwestern 6The first game, after the first two innings, seemed like it was going to be a game of scoring. The Eagles piled up three runs in the top half of the first inning off of the Saints' ace
Daniel Wood (Canyon, Minn./South Ridge HS ). The Saints weren't ready to surrender Wood's perfect season (7-0) just then and there.
Tyler Duex (Bloomer, Wis./Chippewa Falls HS (UW-Superior) ) and
Jake Kuschke (Mahtomedi, Minn./Mahtomedi HS ) knocked in two runs each with singles to right field to make it 4-3 after the first.
The second inning followed suit with the first, as the Eagles scored two more runs to regain the lead after a double down the left field line. St. Scholastica would yet again outscore the Saints, putting up three runs in the bottom half highlighted by
Tyler Duex (Bloomer, Wis./Chippewa Falls HS (UW-Superior) )'s triple to deep left center field to make it 7-5 after just two innings of play.
Wood started to shine after a rough start, shutting out Northwester in the third inning while the Saints put up two more runs, another coming off of a triple, this time by
Brian Minks (St. Cloud, Minn./St. Cloud Cathedral HS ).
Wood would only give up on more run, which would happen in the fifth inning, on his way to his seventh win of the season. The Saints would also only score one more run off of a
Sam Christofferson (Maple Grove, Minn./Osseo HS )'s single in the sixth. Wood moves to 7-0 on the season, while Eagles' pitcher Troy Nelson drops to 4-4.
Game 2: CSS 12, Northwestern 5After a very fast start to game 1, the Saints defense seemed to settle down a bit as
Padraic Getchell (Stillwater, Minn./Stillwater HS (North Dakota) ) took over the mound. Getchell went through the first line of Northwestern batters quickly and St. Scholastica was in position to take an early lead in the bottom half of the first.
An early lead is just what they got, as
Al Marolt (Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial HS) scored on a wild pitch and
Tyler Duex (Bloomer, Wis./Chippewa Falls HS (UW-Superior) ) singled up the middle to score
Trevor Bernsdorf (Meadowlands, Minn./Floodwood HS (Doane) ).
Getchell mowed down the Eagles in the second inning as well, and St. Scholastica tacked on two more runs in the bottom of the second after a Trevor Bersdorf single that scored two.
Northwestern started to find its rhythm in the third when they got a big double from Braxton Lindow and an RBI fly-out by Tyler Osbron. Coming within two runs would be the closest the Eagles would get the rest of the game. The bottom of the third was yet another two run affair for the Saints, this time with
Chris Olson (Duluth, Minn./Duluth East HS ) and
Jordan Risse (Sioux Falls, S.D./Washington HS ) providing runs.
Getchell would go all the way through the sixth without giving up another run, and the Saints also scored two more during that time frame to make it an 8-2 game. With the bases loaded in the top of the seventh, the Saints walked in a run, followed by another walk for a second run. With the bases still loaded, the Saints got a double play to only score one more run and stop the damage. The Saints would score one in the bottom half of the seventh off of a
Jordan Risse (Sioux Falls, S.D./Washington HS ) single to make it 9-5.
The rest of the game would remain quiet on the Eagles' end, but the Saints scored three runs in the bottom of the eight thanks to RBIs from
Tyler Duex (Bloomer, Wis./Chippewa Falls HS (UW-Superior) ),
Steven Neutzling (St. Cloud, Minn./St. Cloud Cathedral ), and
Jake Kuschke (Mahtomedi, Minn./Mahtomedi HS ).
The win marks the fourth on the year for
Padraic Getchell (Stillwater, Minn./Stillwater HS (North Dakota) ), who is now 4-2 on the season. The loss was handed to Connor Olson, who is now 1-6 on the year.
The Saints will play a big game tomorrow in Stevens Point, Wisconsin against nationally ranked No. 11 UW-Stevens Point. It will be a doubleheader, with the first game starting at 1 p.m.
