Notables:
-CSS' final UMAC contests
-Miller strikes out eight in complete-game win over Bethany
-Novak 3-for-4 with two runs scored in win over Bethany
-Schelonka bats .400 with four of the team's seven RBIs in the tournament
ST. PAUL (
csssaints.com) – The St. Scholastica baseball team defeated Bethany Lutheran College to open play on Saturday, but could not force a winner-take-all championship game, falling to the University of Northwestern (Minn.) in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) Tournament championship game to conclude its season.
CSS 2, BLC 1
For the second time in the tournament the Saints defeated Bethany Lutheran by one run, eliminating the Vikings 2-1 to begin the day.
Dallas Miller (Monticello, Minn./Big Lake HS) pitched a gem for the Saints, striking out eight and allowing just one run on three hits for the complete-game victory.
For the third time in the tournament, CSS got on the board in the first inning as a Bethany error allowed
Mitchell Novak (Stillwater, Minn./Stillwater HS) to score all the way from first base to make it 1-0.
Miller was then in cruise control, having not allowed a hit until the sixth inning. However, the Vikings (16-15) led off the seventh inning with a home run to tie the contest at 1-1.
It remained 1-1 until the bottom of the eighth when Novak led off the inning with a triple. Following two strikeouts,
Jake Schelonka (Sartell, Minn./Sartell HS) delivered in the clutch with a two-out double to give the Saints a 2-1 lead.
Miller stepped back on the rubber in the ninth and proceeded to strikeout the side to keep the Saints alive with a 2-1 victory.
Novak was 3-for-4 scoring both runs in the win.
Northwestern 10, CSS 1
The Saints then faced the top-seeded Eagles and needed to defeat Northwestern to force a second championship game on Sunday. Unfortunately, the Saints could not get the bats going and fell by a final of 10-1 as Northwestern captured the tournament crown.
The Eagles (32-10) scored three runs with two outs in the second to take a 3-0 lead. Northwestern then took control with a four-run fifth inning. The lone CSS run of the contest came on a
Jake Schelonka (Sartell, Minn./Sartell HS) RBI single in the sixth inning.
Schelonka and
Kam Larson (Chaska, Minn./Chaska HS) each had a pair of hits for four of the team's five hits. Schelonka batted .400 for the tournament with four of the team's seven RBIs. Novak scored five of the team's eight runs in the tournament.
End of Season:
The Saints' season ends with an overall record of 20-9. The team is expected to lose only a couple of graduating seniors in
Daniel Deitz (Andover, Minn./Andover HS (Anoka-Ramsey CC)) and
Reed Larson (Alexandria, Minn./Alexandria HS). The Saints will now prepare for next season in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC).
For future information on the St. Scholastica baseball program; keep checking csssaints.com.