Notables
-The Saints have won 20 consecutive UMAC regular season championships
-CSS had a season-high 23 hits in game two and matched a season-high with six doubles
-Marolt has reached base safely in 24 consecutive games
DULUTH, Minn. (csssaints.com) – The St. Scholastica baseball team entered Saturday having to win only one game and clinch the No. 1 seed for next week's Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) Tournament. The Saints would not only go on to win both ends of a doubleheader over Crown College, but scored 28 unanswered runs between the two games to sweep the Storm and clinch the UMAC regular season title outright.
Game 1: CSS 9, Crown 3
CSS fell behind 3-2 after 4.5 innings, but scored four runs in the bottom of the fifth, two in the sixth and one more in the seventh to win 9-3.
CSS took the lead early when
Sam Christofferson (Maple Grove, Minn./Osseo HS ) hit in
Steven Neutzling (St. Cloud, Minn./St. Cloud Cathedral ) for the first run of the game. The Saints would fall behind in the top of the fourth, however, as Crown would tally two runs in the inning to take a 3-2 lead.
CSS would respond with a four-run fifth inning to take a 6-3 lead highlighted by a 2-RBI single by Christofferson.
Martin Alcoverde (Tucson, Ariz. /Sahuarita HS (Mesabi Range CC)) pitched the final four innings of scoreless relief to earn his first collegiate save as a pair of RBIs by
Al Marolt (Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial HS) extended the Saints margin, which eventually led to a 9-3 victory
The Saints had five hitters tally two hits on the day.
Austin Colvard (Little Canada, Minn./Roseville HS), Marolt, Neutzling, Cristofferson, and
Conor Wollenzien (North Mankato, Minn. /Mankato West HS) each finished with two hits. Marolt and Christofferson each had three RBIs.
Daniel Wood (Canyon, Minn./South Ridge HS ) picked up the win, going five innings and striking out six.
Game 2: CSS 21, Crown 1 (F/7)
The Saints wasted no time with the Storm in game two, plating a run in every inning, including nine runs in the first en route to a 21-1 victory.
A nine-run first inning was highlighted by a
Brian Minks (St. Cloud, Minn./St. Cloud Cathedral HS ) 2-RBI double.
Chris Olson (Duluth, Minn./Duluth East HS ) and
Austin Colvard (Little Canada, Minn./Roseville HS) also had a pair of RBIs in the inning.
CSS would add three in the second, one in the third, five in the fourth, two in the fifth, and one in the sixth to run away with a 21-1 win.
The only run the Saints gave up was on a fielder's choice in the top of the seventh inning.
The Saints had 11 players record RBIs in the game. Marolt accounted for four RBIs going 3-for-4. Marolt, along with
Haydn Lanoue (Rosemount, Minn. /Rosemount HS ) also homered in the game.
Jordan Risse (Sioux Falls, S.D./Washington HS ) pitched five innings and struck out 10 to earn the victory.
Up Next
CSS (26-9, 15-1 UMAC) will host No. 15 University of St. Thomas at Wade Stadium tomorrow with game one set to begin at 1 p.m. for the regular season finale.