Notables
-Saints break their five game losing streak in game two Saints record against Concordia is now 3-1
-First collegiate win for Ashley Matejka (Oak Forest, Ill./Carl Sandburg HS)
-Saints had nine hits in each game
Duluth, Minn. (csssaints.com) – In their home opener, St. Scholastica ended up splitting 1-1 with Concordia College. In game one the Saints ended up losing 7-4 but took game two with a 7-6 win.
CSS 4, Concordia 7
The Saints started off game one with a strikeout by Savannah Romero (St. Louis Park, Minn./St. Louis Park HS (Bethel)) leading to a three up and three down top of the inning. Unfortunately, the bottom of the first inning also went three up three down keeping the score at 0-0. The Cobbs were able to make something happen within their offense in the second inning and scored two runs and kept CSS scoreless. It remained just a 2-0 game until the fourth inning when Concordia put up another two runs. The top of the fourth inning ended with a pickoff at third base from Samantha Paniagua (Corona, Calif./Centennial HS). In the bottom of the fourth, a triple from Kari Breuer (White Bear Lake, Minn./White Bear Lake HS) would score Lauren Laviano (Maplewood, Minn./Mahtomedi HS) bringing the score to 4-1. Concordia put up one more run in the fifth inning and Matejka came in to pitch and closed the top half of the inning with two strikeouts. In the bottom of the fifth inning Emma Bolin (Litchfield Park, Ariz./Millennium HS) singled to right field and stole second before scoring off a double by Aislind Dail (Sumner, Wash./Sumner HS). After scoring another run in the top of the sixth, CSS went into the bottom of the inning down 6-2 but a home run by Paniagua would then bring the score to 6-3. The Cobbs scored their seventh and final run of the game in the top of the seventh inning. In the bottom half of the inning, pinch runner Danielle Erickson (International Falls, Minn./Littlefork-Big Falls HS) scored the Saints final run of the game on a single by Dail. Despite their efforts, the Saints couldn't come back and ended in a 7-4 loss.
At the plate for CSS Bolin went 3-3 and Dail and Paniagua both went 2-3. In the circle, Romero pitched 4.1 innings and had four strikeouts and Matejka pitched 2.2 innings with four strikeouts as well.
CSS 7, Concordia 6
CSS kept Concordia scoreless in the top of the first inning. However in the bottom of the inning, the Saints put up their first run after Bolin hit a double then scored off a double by Laviano. The second run of the inning was from Laviano scoring off a single from Breuer. The second inning was short on both sides and remained a 2-0 game going into the third. In the top of the third Concordia went three up and three down. However, in the bottom of the third inning the Saints broke it open and scored their final five runs of the game. CSS capitalized on the two errors by the Cobbs as well as had five singles that contributed to the five runs. The score remained 7-0 until the fifth inning when Concordia put up four runs putting some pressure on the Saints. Haley Rosenthal (Mahtomedi, Minn./Mahtomedi HS) came in to finish up the fifth inning and got CSS out of the inning. The Cobbs put up another two runs in the top of the sixth, leaving St. Scholastica with just a one run lead. The Saints were able to hold Concordia in the seventh and took their first conference win of the season.
At the plate for CSS Laviano went 2-2. In the circle, Matejka went 4.2 innings with one strikeout and Rosenthal pitched 2.1 innings with two strikeouts.
Up Next
The Saints (11-9, MIAC 1-3) will be on the road to Winona, MN on Saturday the 15th to face St, Mary's University. Game times are scheduled for 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.
