Notables
-DH originally scheduled to be at Crown on Saturday
-James Fuerniss (Lonsdale, Minn./New Prague HS) had 4 RBIs across the two games
-Sande earns sixth win of the season.
DULUTH, MINN. (
csssaints.com) – The St. Scholastica baseball team outlasted Crown College in both games Friday at Wade Stadium to sweep the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) doubleheader.
Game 1: CSS 18, Crown 3
After earning a 4-0 lead by the end of the seventh inning, CSS' offense exploded in the final two innings, scoring 14 runs.
The first of the 14 came after a single by
Justin Fleming (Eagan, Minn./Eagan HS) drove in
James Fuerniss (Lonsdale, Minn./New Prague HS). Then, a fielding error allowed
Brad Fossum (Sturgeon Lake, Minn./Moose Lake HS (Concordia-St. Paul)), Fleming, and
Mitchell Olson (Eden Prairie, Minn./Eden Prairie HS) to all score on the same play. Two more runs were added when
Lane Girtz (Pierz, Minn./Pierz Healy HS) hit an inside-the-park home run. A single by
Eric Pearson (Champlin, Minn./Champlin Park HS) drove in
Aaron Weber (Sauk Rapids, Minn./Pierz HS) to round out the eighth inning and make it 11-0 to CSS.
Crown was able to get two runs back in the bottom of the eighth to extend the game another inning. CSS made the Storm pay for that tacking on seven more runs in the ninth to make the final 18-3.
Matt Tautges (Fort Ripley, Minn./Pierz HS) earned the complete-game win for the Saints, giving up just five hits and throwing eight strikeouts. Tautges only allowed only hit prior to the eighth inning.
Fuerniss was 3-for-4 with four RBIs. Girtz also had three hits in the win.
Game 2: CSS 11, Crown 9
The second game of the doubleheader was much closer than the first, with the score tied five different times and the Saints having to rally from a deficit twice after the fifth inning.
Fossum opened the scoring after an RBI by
Joey Zwak (Duluth, Minn./Duluth East HS) in the first inning. However, Crown later responded by tying the game at 1-1. CSS answered back in the second with three runs, thanks to a RBI double and run by
Tim Munn (Champlin, Minn./Champlin Park HS). Crown responded again in the third to score three runs of its own and tie the game at 4-4.
Weber scored off an RBI by
Cody Venske (Stillwater, Minn./Stillwater HS) to make it 5-4 to CSS, but Crown once again responded with two runs in the fifth to make it 6-5 and take their first lead of the game.
CSS regained the lead in the sixth inning after an RBI by Weber and a two-run home run by Pearson made it 8-6. But Crown was able to score three runs to make it 9-8.
The Saints scored a run an inning in the final three innings to finish the game with an 11-9 victory. The game-winning run came in the eighth inning to break a 9-9 tie when Weber doubled in Girtz.
Jake Sande (Hayward, Wis./Hayward HS) earned the win on the mound in relief, pitching the final four innings and giving up just two hits.
Weber and Fossum each had three hits in the win.
Up Next
The Saints (21-8, 12-0 UMAC) are scheduled to face the University of St. Thomas on Sunday. That doubleheader would begin at 1 p.m.
