Notables
-First meeting against Cornell since 2002
-CSS strands 11 runners on base
AUBURNDALE, Fla. (
csssaints.com) – Cornell College (Iowa) jumped out to a three-run lead and held off the St. Scholastica baseball team's ninth-inning rally to win 8-6 Saturday morning at the Russmatt Invitational.
The Action
The Rams led off the bottom of the first with a double and coupled with a CSS error put a runner on third with no outs. Two batters later, Cornell singled in that runner to make it 1-0 after one.
The Saints loaded the bases with one out in the top of the second, but a strikeout and fielder's choice resulted in no runs. In the bottom frame, the Rams put runners on the corners with two outs and got one run on a double steal attempt and then added another on a RBI single to extend the margin to 3-0.
St. Scholastica put a run across in the top of the third on a
Steven Neutzling (St. Cloud, Minn./St. Cloud Cathedral ) RBI single to bring in
Tyler Duex (Bloomer, Wis./Chippewa Falls HS (UW-Superior) ). However, once again the Saints stranded the bases loaded. CSS cut it to 3-2 in the fourth on a
Conor Wollenzien (North Mankato, Minn. /Mankato West HS) two-out RBI double. Cornell responded in the bottom of the fourth with a leadoff home run to make the margin two runs again.
The Rams broke the game open in the sixth. With the bases loaded and one out, they got back-to-back two-RBI hits to plate four runs and make the score 8-2.
The score remained 8-2 until the top of the ninth when the Saints put their rally caps on.
Brian Minks (St. Cloud, Minn./St. Cloud Cathedral HS ) led off the inning with a home run to cut it to 8-3. CSS then had runners at the corners with two outs when
Trevor Bernsdorf (Elmer, Minn./Floodwood HS ) brought in Duex with a RBI single. Freshman
Joey Zwak (Duluth, Minn. /Duluth East HS ) followed with a two-run double to make it 8-6 and put the tying run at the plate. Unfortunately, the Saints grounded out to end it as Cornell hung on for the 8-6 win.
Pitching
Jacob Dzubay (St. Michael, Minn./St. Michael-Albertville HS (Butler) ) picked up the loss for the Saints, going 3.1 innings.
Joe Gonrowski (Elk River, Minn./Elk River HS ) and
Ben Christofferson (Maple Grove, Minn. /Osseo HS) pitched 2.2 hitless innings in relief.
Andy Dodson struck out seven in six innings to earn the victory for the Rams (1-2).
Top Offensive Performers
The Saints pounded out 13 hits, but stranded 11 runners on base. Minks and T. Bernsdorf were both 3-for-5, while Duex, Neutzling and Wollenzien each had a pair of hits.
Cornell finished with 11 hits. Walker Breard was 3-for-5 with three RBIs.
Up Next
The Saints (1-2) are back at the Lake Myrtle Park complex tomorrow morning when it faces Wheaton College (Mass.) at 9:30 a.m. (ET). Follow the live stats at
http://athletics.wheatoncollege.edu/sports/bsb/2016-17/boxscores/20170312_j49g.xml
