Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 Notables
-Head Coach Kevin Ritsche makes CSS debut
-Pearson had four RBIs on the night

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MINNEAPOLIS (csssaints.com) – The St. Scholastica baseball team opened its 2020 season by winning game one 5-2, but dropping the nightcap 4-2 at U.S. Bank Stadium late Sunday night.
 
Game 1: CSS 5, MAC 2
Sophomore Jerry Gooley (Maple Grove, Minn./Maple Grove HS) struck out six over four innings as the Saints took the opener 5-2.
 
In its first trip to plate of the season, CSS got a leadoff walk from Lane Girtz (Pierz, Minn./Pierz Healy HS) and that was followed by a Joey Zwak (Duluth, Minn./Duluth East HS) double. Girtz later scored on an Aaron Weber (Sauk Rapids, Minn./Pierz HS) groundout and Zwak scored on an Eric Pearson (Champlin, Minn./Champlin Park HS) sacrifice fly to make it 2-0 after one inning.
 
After Macalester cut the margin to 2-1 in the third, St. Scholastica's bottom half was prolonged by a pair of Scot errors. The Saints made those errors hurt with back-to-back RBI singles by Pearson and Mitchell Olson (Eden Prairie, Minn./Eden Prairie HS) to extend the lead back to 4-1.
 
CSS tacked on a fifth run in the bottom of the sixth thanks to another Macalester error which allowed Mitchell Novak (Stillwater, Minn./Stillwater HS) to score. The Scots plated a run in the seventh to make the final 5-2.
 
Gooley struck out six and scattered five hits to earn the win. Matt Tautges (Fort Ripley, Minn./Pierz HS) had a pair of strikeouts to earn the three-inning save.
 
Game 2: MAC 4, CSS 2
The Saints out-hit the Scots 8-3 in the nightcap, but Macalester scored three runs in its final two times to the plate to rally past the Saints and win 4-2.
 
Pearson put the Saints on the board in the top of the first with a two-run single, bringing in Girtz and Zwak. A St. Scholastica error in the bottom frame prolonged the inning, which eventually led to a bases loaded walk and make the score 2-1.
 
CSS had the bases loaded with one out in the second, but came away empty. The Saints also stranded a runner at third in the fourth and fifth innings.
 
The Scots took their first lead of the night with a two-out, two-run double in the fifth to make it 3-2. Macalester extended its lead to 4-2 with another two-out bases loaded walk in the sixth. The Saints had the tying run on base in the seventh, but fell short by a final of 4-2.
 
Freshman T.J. Martin (Minneapolis, Minn./Academy of Holy Angels) did not allow a hit until that two-run double in the fifth, but took the loss with four strikeouts in 4.1 innings. Another freshman Jack Perala (Virginia, Minn./Virginia HS) had three strikeouts in 1.1 innings of relief.
 
Pearson, Zach Harding (Red Wing, Minn./Red Wing HS) and Kam Larson (Chaska, Minn./Chaska HS) all had two hits at the plate for the Saints.
 
Up Next
The Saints will be back at U.S. Bank Stadium next Monday to face the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse with first pitch scheduled for 9 a.m.