Notables
-The Saints did not give up an extra base hit in the contest.
-CSS fell behind early 2-0 after one inning, but scored 16 unanswered runs on 13 hits.
-The Saints offense totaled 12 runs in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings.
-Sam Christofferson (Maple Grove, Minn./Osseo HS ) went 3-4 with two RBIs and Jake Kuschke was 3-4 with three RBIs.

MORRIS, Minn. (csssaints.com) – The St. Scholastica baseball team tamed the Cougars of Minnesota Morris 16-2 on Friday afternoon at Cougar Field to remain a perfect 5-0 in conference play.

While the game ended in a 16-2 rout in favor of the Saints, the Cougars got the scoring started early with two first inning runs to take an early 2-0 lead. After a walk and a hit-by-pitch gave the Cougars a pair of base-runners with two outs, Chandler Erickson singled in a pair to give UM-Morris the early advantage.

However, the Saints would respond with a pair of runs in the top of the second to even the game at 2-2. After a Steven Neutzling (St. Cloud, Minn./St. Cloud Cathedral ) walk and a Sam Christofferson (Maple Grove, Minn./Osseo HS ) single, Jordan Risse (Sioux Falls, S.D./Washington HS ) walked to load the bases with one out. Jake Kuschke (Mahtomedi, Minn./Mahtomedi HS ) then drove in Neutzling and Christofferson with a single, but CSS was unable to do any further damage, leveling the score at two runs apiece.

The game remained 2-2 until the top of the fourth, where CSS exploded for six runs. After a pair of singles from Christofferson and Kuschke, Ryan Burmeister (Eagan, Minn./Eagan HS (Augustana, S.D.) ) singled through the right side to score Christofferson and advance Kuschke to third. An Austin Colvard (Little Canada, Minn./Roseville HS) walk loaded the bases, and Al Marolt singled through the right side, scoring Burmeister and Kuschke and bumping Colvard to third. Colvard then scored on a sacrifice fly by Trevor Bernsdorf (Meadowlands, Minn./Floodwood HS (Doane) ) to give CSS a 5-2 lead with two outs. Following a Brian Minks (St. Cloud, Minn./St. Cloud Cathedral HS ) walk, an error by the Cougars' right fielder allowed Marolt and Minks to come home, capping off a six run outburst and giving the Saints an 8-2 lead.

The Saints added another six runs in the fifth and sixth innings as well to blow the game open. In the fifth, Kuschke reached first despite a strikeout thanks to a throwing error by the catcher. A pair of walks loaded the bases, and Marolt drove Kuschke home with a sacrifice fly to right to give CSS a 9-2 lead after five.

In the sixth, St. Scholastica quickly loaded the bases again as Minks was hit by a pitch and both Neutzling and Christofferson were walked. After a Risse fielder's choice, Kuschke smacked the first of three consecutive doubles to score Neutzling and Christofferson. Burmeister followed with a double of his own to drive in a run, and quickly circled the bases with Kuschke on an Austin Colvard (Little Canada, Minn./Roseville HS) double to left to give the Saints a commanding 14-2 lead through six.

CSS would also add a pair of runs in the seventh as a Christofferson single scored Seth Anderson (Robbinsdale, Minn./Robbinsdale Cooper HS ) and Neutzling, who had singled and doubled to push the final score to 16-2 in favor of St. Scholastica.

Mickie Keuning (Duluth, Minn./Duluth East HS (Angelo State)) picked up his second win of the season, throwing five innnings and allowing the two early runs in the first. Rjoe Gonrowski and Jesse Heaton (Heyworth, Ill./Bloomington Central Catholic HS ) both pitched scoreless innings in relief. For UM-Morris, Joey Hyde takes the loss, allowing 4 hits and 6 runs with a trio of walks in just two innings of relief. CSS (13-6) will look to defeat UM-Morris again tomorrow at noon on Cougar Field.