Notables
-First meetings between the two programs
-Duex becomes the fourth player in program history to three home runs in a game
-The seven home runs in game two are the second-most in program history
-The game one shutout was the first since April 2015
LAKELAND, Fla. (
csssaints.com) – After finishing the opener with only two hits in a loss, the St. Scholastica baseball team responded by hitting seven home runs and plating 20 runs in game two to earn a split against Spalding University (Ky.) on Friday to open its 2017 season at the Russmatt Invitational.
Game 1: Spalding 9, CSS 0
The Saints dropped their season opener 9-0, while Spalding won its ninth game in 11 contests.
The Golden Eagles scored six runs before the Saints recorded their fourth out of the game and led 8-0 after two innings of play.
CSS'
Grant Rindal (Superior, Wis./Superior HS ) limited the damage in relief, by allowing only two hits and one run in six innings as the Saints fell 9-0.
Joey Zwak (Duluth, Minn. /Duluth East HS ) and
Drew Colvard (Little Canada, Minn./Roseville HS ) had the lone hits for the Saints. Spalding pitcher Jimi Keating earned the complete game shutout and improves to 4-0 on the year.
Game 2: CSS 20, Spalding 2
The St. Scholastica bats woke up in game two with scoring innings of six in the second, four in the third and an eight-run sixth en route to a 20-2 victory. CSS hit seven home runs in the game two victory, including three by senior
Tyler Duex (Bloomer, Wis./Chippewa Falls HS (UW-Superior) ) and two by
Drew Colvard (Little Canada, Minn./Roseville HS ).
After a scoreless first inning,
Steven Neutzling (St. Cloud, Minn./St. Cloud Cathedral ) led off the second inning with a single and that was followed by a
Riley Bernsdorf (Meadowlands, Minn. /Floodwood HS) double.
Trevor Bernsdorf (Elmer, Minn./Floodwood HS ) drove in Neutzling on a groundout for the Saints' first run of the season. After R. Bernsdorf scored on a Golden Eagle error, the inning was prolonged to give a Duex an at-bat with the bases loaded. He proceeded to drill a grand slam home run to make it a 6-0 CSS lead.
Neutzling led off the third inning with a double. He later scored on a T. Bernsdorf RBI single.
Braydon Hanson (Monticello, Minn. /Monticello HS (UW-Whitewater) ) had one fall in to shallow center to bring in Bernsdorf and extend the lead to 8-0. Colvard followed with a two-run home run to make it 10-0 after three innings.
After Spalding added a run in the fourth inning, the Saints plated two runs in the fifth on another Colvard home run to make the score 12-1.
The sixth inning would see the Saints send the ball over the outfield wall four times. Duex led off the inning with a home run. Freshman
Aaron Weber (Sauk Rapids, Minn. /Pierz HS ) followed and in his first collegiate at-bat made it back-to-back homers. Later in the inning with the bases loaded,
Brian Minks (St. Cloud, Minn./St. Cloud Cathedral HS ) made it a 19-1 game with St. Scholastica's second grand slam homer of the contest. To wrap up the scoring it would be Duex again with another solo home run to make it 20-1.
Duex becomes the fourth player in program history to hit three home runs in a game and the first to do so since Brandon Peterson in 2011. He also joins his teammate, Minks, as the only known Saints to hit two home runs in the same inning.
The Golden Eagles tacked on a run late to make the final 20-1. While all of the offense was happening, freshman
Dan Hansen (Brooklyn Center, Minn./Park Center HS ) earned the win in his first collegiate start. Hansen scattered six hits and struck out three in six innings of action.
The Saints finished with 15 hits, nearly half were home runs. Duex finished with six RBIs and Colvard had five RBIs. The seven home runs are the second-most in a game in program history (8 vs. Presentation in 2004) and the most since 2011.
Up Next:
The Saints (1-1) are back in action tomorrow when they take on Cornell College (Iowa) at 9:30 a.m. (ET) at Lake Myrtle Park in Auburndale, Florida.
