Notables
-Game added in the last week due to other canceled non-conference games
-CSS ranked No. 25 in D3baseball.com poll
-Bethel receiving second-most votes in D3baseball.com poll
-Saints improve to 23-0 when leading or tied after six innings
-Zwak extends hit streak to 17 games
ARDEN HILLS, Minn. (
csssaints.com) – The No. 25 St. Scholastica baseball team held Bethel University to only two hits and scored four runs in the first four innings to win 4-0 in a non-conference contest at Hargis Park Thursday.
The Action
After a scoreless first inning,
Riley Bernsdorf (Meadowlands, Minn. /Floodwood HS) hit a double to get a two-out rally going. After a walk, his brother,
Trevor Bernsdorf (Elmer, Minn./Floodwood HS ), drove Riley in with a single to make it 1-0. Just yesterday, Trevor had a scary incident against Northland College where he was hit in the face with a pitch. However, he was back in the lineup today.
In the third inning, St. Scholastica loaded the bases with one out and
Conor Wollenzien (North Mankato, Minn. /Mankato West HS) was able to plate
Joey Zwak (Duluth, Minn. /Duluth East HS ) with a sacrifice fly to extend the lead to 2-0.
Tim Munn (Champlin, Minn. /Champlin Park HS ) and T. Bernsdorf led off the fourth with a pair of singles.
Drew Colvard (Little Canada, Minn./Roseville HS ) followed with a squeeze bunt to score Munn and make it 3-0. After a groundout advanced Bernsdorf to third,
Tyler Duex (Bloomer, Wis./Chippewa Falls HS (UW-Superior) ) hit a two-out RBI single as the lead grew to 4-0.
Pitching
While the offense was scoring runs,
Ben Christofferson (Maple Grove, Minn. /Osseo HS) was keeping the Royal offense in check. He faced the minimum thru the first three innings. Christofferson finished with a line of five innings pitched, five strikeouts and only one hit allowed and would be credited with the win.
Joe Gonrowski (Elk River, Minn./Elk River HS ) entered the contest in the sixth and allowed only one hit in the eighth in his three innings of work.
Isaac Rocha (Owatonna, Minn./Owatonna HS) finished the contest by striking out the first two batters he faced and then after a walk, getting the last batter to fly out to preserve the 4-0 shutout.
Top Offensive Performers
Zwak and both Bernsdorf brothers each had two hits to pace the offense for the Saints. Zwak extends his hitting streak to 17 games. R. Bernsdorf and
Steven Neutzling (St. Cloud, Minn./St. Cloud Cathedral ) each extended their on-base streak to 24 games.
Up Next
The Saints (26-7) will wrap up Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) action with a doubleheader at Crown College on Saturday, beginning at 1:30 p.m.
