Notables
-Wollenzien ties program record with three doubles in game two
-Hanson records first career win in first career start in game two
-Weber extends hit streak to 14 games
-Girtz records five RBIs in the two games
DULUTH, Minn. (
csssaints.com) – The St. Scholastica baseball team marked its home opener with a doubleheader sweep over Martin Luther College in its first conference games of the season at Wade Stadium on Friday evening, winning both games by a score of 11-1.
Game 1: CSS 11, MLC 1 (F/8)
Isaac Rocha (Owatonna, Minn./Owatonna HS) gave up just four hits in the Saints' first victory of the night. The Saints got things started in the bottom of the first after a wild pitch allowed
Braydon Hanson (Monticello, Minn./Monticello HS (UW-Whitewater)) to score. The next three innings were scoreless, until the bottom of the fifth when the Saints earned three runs.
First,
Joey Zwak (Duluth, Minn./Duluth East HS) was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to allow
Tim Munn (Champlin, Minn./Champlin Park HS) to score. A fly out to center field by
Conor Wollenzien (North Mankato, Minn./Mankato West HS) drove in
Brad Fossum (Sturgeon Lake, Minn./Moose Lake HS (Concordia-St. Paul)). A pop up by
Aaron Weber (Sauk Rapids, Minn./Pierz HS) allowed Hanson to score to make it 4-0 to CSS.
The Knights scored their first run of the night in the top of the sixth, but the Saints responded in the seventh inning with five runs. A double to left field by
Eric Pearson (Champlin, Minn./Champlin Park HS) allowed Wollenzien to score and two RBIs apiece by
Lane Girtz (Pierz, Minn./Pierz Healy HS) and Fossum made it 9-1 CSS.
The Saints added two more runs in the bottom of the eighth to finish the game with an 11-1 victory.
Rocha pitched all eight innings and struck out three to earn his first win of the season. Girtz was 2-for-3 with three RBIs to lead the offense.
Game 2: CSS 11, MLC 1 (F/7)
The Saints also took the nightcap by an 11-1 score, but only needed seven innings this time.
The Saints' first run of the game came through Zwak in the first inning, who scored thanks to an error by the Knights' pitcher.
Cody Venske (Stillwater, Minn./Stillwater HS) then drove in Wollenzien to make it 2-0.
CSS added another pair of runs in the second inning. A fly out to right field by Girtz allowed Munn to score, and Fossum stole home on a double steal to make it 4-0 to the Saints.
A ground out in the fourth inning by Girtz allowed Zwak to score again, increasing CSS' lead to five runs. The Knights were able to pull one back in the sixth, but a RBI double by Wollenzien and a two-run single by Pearson made it 8-1 CSS.
The Saints would then add three more runs in the bottom of the seventh, thanks to RBIs by Wollenzien, Weber and
Zach Harding (Red Wing, Minn./Red Wing HS) to make the final 11-1.
In his first collegiate pitching start, Hanson pitched all seven innings, scattering five hits, while not allowing an earned run to earn to earn his first career win.
Wollenzien was 3-for-3 with a career-high three doubles. The three doubles also tie a single-game program record as he becomes the ninth player to do.
Up Next
The Saints (9-8, 2-0 UMAC) head to Collegeville on Sunday for a matchup against Saint John's University for one, nine-inning game at 1 p.m.
