Notables
- Neutzling went 6-for-8 with 7 RBIs in the two games played
- CSS turned a triple play in game one
- The Saints are now riding a five-game winning streak, matching their season best
- Neutzling has increased his on-base streak to 54 consecutive games
- Colvard is now on a 22-game hitting streak
DULUTH, Minn. (
csssaints.com) – The College of St. Scholastica baseball team kept the bats hot Sunday afternoon, sweeping the Martin Luther College Knights at Wade Stadium by scores of 12-0 and 14-2 in the doubleheader contest. Combining the run totals from Sunday with the doubleheader sweep over Morris the previous day, the Saints have combined for 61 runs in the past four games.
Game 1: CSS 12, MLC 0 (F/7)
The Saints acted as the away team in game one of the two-game series, leading off in the top of the first inning against Martin Luther's Adam Kock. It didn't take long for the Saints to score as they scratched across three runs in the first, highlighted by an
Aaron Weber (Sauk Rapids, Minn./Pierz HS) double to right center.
Dallas Miller (Big Lake, Minn./Big Lake HS) stood atop the mound for CSS to start things off in the bottom half of the inning, retiring three of the four batters he faced to keep the score at 3-0. The second inning went by quick with both teams going three-and-out. The Saints doubled their lead in the top of the third inning, with the first of the three runs scored coming off a pick-off play. With
Drew Colvard (Little Canada, Minn./Roseville HS) on third, teammate
Joey Zwak (Duluth, Minn./Duluth East HS) took off a tad early as he attempted to steal second. Kock relayed it over to first base, where the ball was quickly thrown to second for the tag-out on Zwak. During the commotion, Colvard advanced home to make the score 4-0.
Steven Neutzling (St. Cloud, Minn./St. Cloud Cathedral) doubled to left center a few at bats later to score Weber, then proceeded to score himself on a wild pitch after advancing to third off a
Conor Wollenzien (North Mankato, Minn./Mankato West HS) groundout to make it 6-0. The Saints tacked on another run in the fourth as
Braydon Hanson (Monticello, Minn./Monticello HS (UW-Whitewater)) tagged up and scored on a
Tim Munn (Champlin, Minn./Champlin Park HS) flyout, and yet another in the fifth thanks to
Chris Olson (Duluth, Minn./Duluth East HS)'s single to left center that scored Neutzling to make it 8-0.
Miller's day would be done after the Olson single to give him a stat line for the day of four innings pitched, three hits allowed, five strikeouts, and no runs crossing the plate.
Seth Anderson (Robbinsdale, Minn./Robbinsdale Cooper HS) took over in the bottom of the fifth, which is where the Saints defense produced a highlight of their own. With the bases loaded and no one out, Martin Luther's Tyler Roecker lined one to second where it was snagged by Hanson. The ball was then quickly snapped to the second base bag and relayed to first in time to get the runners after they had taken off on the swing of the bat for a CSS triple play.
As if the eight-run lead wasn't enough, the Saints put together some extra insurance runs in the top of the seventh. The four-run inning started with a solo homerun blasted to right field by Neutzling.
Riley Bernsdorf (Meadowlands, Minn./Floodwood HS) knocked in
Brad Fossum (Sturgeon Lake, Minn./Moose Lake HS (Concordia-St. Paul)) later on in the inning with a double to left field, and Zwak hit a two-run single to right center to cap off the CSS scoring at 12 runs in the game.
Conor Bachman (Woodbury, Minn./East Ridge HS) came in for the Saints in the bottom of the seventh to close out the game. He did just that, allowing only one walk in his inning of pitching to secure the Saints victory at a score of 12-0.
Game 2: CSS 14, MLC 2 (F/8)
Game two proved to be more of the same with the Saints rolling early once again. By the end of the first inning the scoreboard read 4-1 in favor of Scholastica, thanks in part to a two-RBI double off the bat of Neutzling to score Weber and Colvard.
Bobby Eckert (Farmington, Minn./Farmington HS (Century CC)) also knocked in a run during the inning with a single to right center.
Neutzling would double once again in the top of the second, adding another RBI to his fantastic day at the plate as he hit in Weber for the second time in as many innings.
CSS added three more runs in the fifth inning, with the first two coming off of throwing errors from Martin Luther and the last of the three on a sacrifice fly from Zwak.
Three seemed to be the theme the rest of the way out as the Saints scored three more runs in the seventh inning. Zwak once again produced at the plate with a RBI single to score Hanson. He then stole second base as well as third base before being knocked in by Neutzling. The last run to be scored in the half inning came off the bat of Olson, singling in Weber from first base.
After giving up one run in the bottom of the first St. Scholastica's
Jake Sande (Hayward, Wis./Hayward HS) coasted into the seventh inning without giving up another run and only allowing three hits.
Nick Peterson (Richfield, Minn./Richfield HS (St. Cloud Tech & CC)) took over for Sande to start off the seventh, allowing one run before striking out the last two batters to end the inning.
The three popped up again in the box score during the eighth inning. The first of three runs produced came off a Colvard single to right center. The next batter, Zwak, brought in Hanson with a sacrifice fly. The last run of the day for the Saints, and the 61st on the weekend, occurred after Weber sent one to deep right field for a triple to score Colvard.
Jake Turner (Duluth, Minn./Duluth East HS) came out to put the finishing touch on the lopsided game, retiring the side on four pitches.
With the win the Saints improve to 16-6 (7-1 UMAC) while the Knights fall to 3-15 (2-2 UMAC).
Up Next
The Saints (13-6, 7-1 UMAC) will stay at Wade Stadium for the two remaining games in the current eight-game homestand as they host North Central University (Minn.) this coming Wednesday. The first pitch is slated to be thrown at 1:30 p.m.
