Notables
-Risse struck out 10 for the third straight game
-First postseason meeting between the two programs
-CSS's highest seed at an 8-team regional (#4)
-Saints have now lost six straight NCAA postseason games
-Ninth straight NCAA Tournament game, the Saints have failed to record 10 hits

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LA CROSSE, Wis. (csssaints.com) – The St. Scholastica baseball team fell behind 2-0 in the top of the second and then Saint John's University scored a run each of the final five innings to defeat the Saints 7-2 Wednesday in the opening game of the NCAA Division III Midwest Regional, hosted by the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse.
 
Johnnies 2-Run Home Run
Saint John's got in the board in the top of the second. After a leadoff walk and a one out, Jack Wingerd hit a two-run home run over the right field wall and just out of the reach of the leaping Trevor Bernsdorf (Meadowlands, Minn./Floodwood HS ). It was Wingerd's first home run of the season.
 
Stranding Runners Early
The Saints put runners at the corners with one out in the bottom of the first, but an infield popup and a fly out left CSS scoreless. The Saints again had runners at the corners in the third, but a two-out fly out ended that threat.
 
SJU Extends the Lead
Saint John's got a two-out RBI single in the fifth, a sacrifice fly in the sixth and a solo home run on the seventh to make it 5-0 Johnnies lead.
 
CSS Leaves the Bases Loaded Twice
St. Scholastica finally broke though in the bottom of the seventh inning. With the bases loaded, Steven Neutzling (St. Cloud, Minn./St. Cloud Cathedral ) delivered a two-run single to bring in Jake Kuschke (Mahtomedi, Minn./Mahtomedi HS ) and Austin Colvard (Little Canada, Minn./Roseville HS) to make it 5-2. After a walk, the Saints loaded the bases again, but a strikeout ended the inning.
 
After a St. Scholastica error allowed a Saint John's run to score in the eighth to make it 6-2, the Saints loaded the bases again with two outs in the bottom frame. However, it would be another strikeout to end the inning.
 
The Johnnies tacked on a sacrifice fly in the ninth to make the final score 7-2.
 
Pitching
Jordan Risse (Sioux Falls, S.D./Washington HS ) recorded 10 strikeouts for the third straight start, but walked four and allowed seven hits to pick up his first loss of the season. Risse now has 88 strikeouts this season, which is the fourth-most in program history.
 
Alex Kendall scattered six hits over 6.2 innings to earn the victory for the Johnnies.
 
Offensive Performers
Neutzling had a pair of hits and drove in two runs. A. Colvard and Chris Olson (Duluth, Minn./Duluth East HS ) also had a pair of hits for the Saints. Logan Hershey was 3-for-5 with two RBIs and two runs scored to lead Saint John's.
 
Up Next:
The Saints (31-9) will play in an elimination game tomorrow at 10 a.m. against the loser of the UW-La Crosse/Beloit game. Listen to the action on Saints Sports Net.