Notables
- This is the second win in program history against Saint Mary's, tying the head-to-head record at 2-2
- The Saints have a similar start to that of the 2016 season, as they find themselves 6-5 after their first 11 games
- Neutzling kept a hot bat, going 3-for-4 from the plate and recording his fourth homer of the season
- Rindal pitched three scoreless innings of relief to help secure the CSS victory
- CSS was out-hit by Saint Mary's 13-11, but only committed one error to that of Saint Mary's five

WINONA, Minn. (csssaints.com) – The St. Scholastica baseball team, who was denied its home opener at Wade Stadium on Sunday due to weather, played its first ball game of the season in Minnesota as it took on and defeated Saint Mary's University Tuesday afternoon by a score of 10-3.

The Action
After finishing the Florida trip with a 3-1 record, the red-hot Saints were ready to take care of business yet again Tuesday afternoon against Saint Mary's. Martin Alcoverde (Tucson, Ariz. /Sahuarita HS (Mesabi Range CC)), who had closed out the spring break trip with a complete-game shutout, while allowing just one hit in the process, was given the nod to start for the Saints.

After a quick three-and-out to start the game, Alcoverde and the rest of the Saints ran into trouble in the bottom of the first inning. Back-to-back hits opened up an early threat for the Cardinals, and they took advantage by bringing both of them around to score to take an early 2-0 lead. The Saints answered with a run of their own in each of the next two innings however, thanks to an error in the second inning and a RBI fly out by Tyler Duex (Bloomer, Wis./Chippewa Falls HS (UW-Superior) ) to tie the ball game up at 2-2. In the bottom of the third the Cardinals mustered together another run off a fielder's choice, taking the lead back at 3-2.

That would be the last run scored for the Cardinals until the ninth inning, as the Saints took the game and ran away with it in the fourth and fifth innings. Back-to-back RBI singles by Joey Zwak (Duluth, Minn. /Duluth East HS ) and Tim Munn (Champlin, Minn. /Champlin Park HS ) put CSS back in front at 4-3. Munn then stole second, forcing a throwing error by the Saint Mary's catcher in the process, which scored Zwak from third to make it a two-run lead and a three-run fourth inning.

Alcoverde held his ground in the bottom of the inning, bringing the Saints back to the plate with their 5-3 lead in the fifth. Once again Zwak recorded an RBI, this time by knocking in teammate Brian Minks (St. Cloud, Minn./St. Cloud Cathedral HS ) with a sacrifice fly to left field. Steven Neutzling (St. Cloud, Minn./St. Cloud Cathedral ) advanced to third on the fly out, and then scored on a passed ball moments later to put the Saints up 7-3.

In baseball insurance runs are always welcomed, and that's what Neutzling provided his pitching staff in the seventh inning. With Minks and Duex on base, Neutzling connected perfectly with the ball on his swing and sent it over the fence for his fourth home run on the year to make it 10-3 in favor of CSS. The Cardinals scraped a run across in the bottom of the ninth off a bases-loaded walk, but that's all they got as relief pitcher Jake Turner (Duluth, Minn./Duluth East HS ) forced a grounder to third for the final out of the game.

Pitching
Alcoverde (2-1) earned the win, pitching five innings on the mound while giving up six hits and three runs. He walked four and struck out six Cardinal batters. Grant Rindal (Superior, Wis./Superior HS ) was phenomenal in relief, pitching three scoreless innings while giving up four hits and striking out two. Jake Turner (Duluth, Minn./Duluth East HS ) closed out the game in the ninth inning, giving up one run in the process.

Top Offensive Performances
The Saints were led offensively by Neutzling, who put together a 3-for-4 plate performance on the day with a home run, three RBIs, a double, and four runs scored. Also finding the green multiple times in as many at-bats was Zwak (2-for-4, two RBIs) and Drew Colvard (Little Canada, Minn./Roseville HS ) (2-for-4).

Up Next
The Saints are back in action tomorrow afternoon with another road game, this time traveling into Wisconsin to take on the fourth-ranked University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Warhawks. The matchup between the two programs is a doubleheader, with game one slated to start at 1 p.m.