Notables
-Novak records two hits
-Haapajoki and Rott record first RBI of season
-Hits: CSS-6, NCU-15
WESTFIELD, Ind.
(csssaints.com) – The St. Scholastica baseball team fell in its first game of the season, taking on the Cardinals from North Central (IL), in the Crossover Series. The Cardinals were able to strike early and defeated CSS by a score of 11-3.
How it Happened
T.J. Martin (Minneapolis, Minn./Academy of Holy Angels) was given the opening day start today to open up the season for the Saints. Martin recorded his first strikeout of the season, striking out the first batter he saw.
Later in the inning, the Cardinals scored its first run on a RBI triple, and scored its second run of the inning on a groundout, as North Central took an early 2-0 lead.
After a one-two-three top of the second for the Saints, the Cardinals extended its lead, as a leadoff triple and a RBI groundout gave a 3-0 lead for North Central.
The Saints got its first hit of the season in the top of the third inning, as
Mitchell Novak (Stillwater, Minn./Stillwater HS) doubled with two outs. The Saints would ultimately get nothing out of the double, however.
The Cardinals took a 4-0 lead in the bottom of the third, scoring on a sacrifice fly.
In the top of the fourth inning, both
Luke Schemenauer (Chippewa Falls, Wis./Chippewa Falls HS) and
Jake Schelonka (Sartell, Minn./Sartell HS) reached base on a pair of Cardinal errors. With two outs,
Alex Haapajoki (Brainerd, Minn./Brainerd HS (Central Lakes)) drove in Schemenauer on a RBI single, followed by another RBI single by
Andrew Rott (St. Augusta, Minn./St. Cloud Cathedral HS), that scored Schelonka and made the score 4-2.
The Cardinals responded in the bottom half of the fourth, as a two-out single would lead to a RBI double, taking a 5-2 lead in the process.
Payton Jeffries (Vancouver, Wash./Union HS (Shasta College)) replaced Martin earlier in the inning, and he got his first strikeout of the year to end the inning.
Novak opened up the top half of the fifth with a single, and later scored on an error to cut CSS' deficit to 5-3.
In the bottom of the sixth, North Central broke the game open, scoring four runs on four hits, including a home run, to take a 10-3 lead heading into the later innings of today's game.
The Cardinals would score the final run of the game on a RBI single to make it 11-3.
The Cardinals were able to keep the Saints in check and defeated CSS by a score of 11-3.
Top Performers
Mitchell Novak (Stillwater, Minn./Stillwater HS) was the lone Saint who recorded multiple hits, as he went 2-3 on the day.
Alex Haapajoki (Brainerd, Minn./Brainerd HS (Central Lakes)) and
Andrew Rott (St. Augusta, Minn./St. Cloud Cathedral HS) both recorded RBI in the game today.
Up Next
The Saints (0-1, 0-0 MIAC) will play again later today, as they take on the University of Mount Union (OH) at 4 p.m. in the second game of the Crossover Series.
