SAINT PETER, Minn. – The St. Scholastica baseball team traveled for their season opener against the Storm from Simpson College. The Saints cruised to a 10-0 victory in game one of the doubleheader, but fell short in their second game by a score of 16-5.
Game One: CSS: 10, Simpson: 0
Things couldn't have started any better for the Saints in the first inning, as after Payton Jeffries (Vancouver, Wash./Union HS (Shasta College)) picked up a strikeout en route to a scoreless first inning, Jake Schelonka (Sartell, Minn./Sartell HS) led off the Saints offense with a solo home run to give CSS a 1-0 lead.
Two batters later, Damian Tamayo Vera (Miami, FL./Felix Varela Senior HS) gave the Saints another run on a solo shot of his own to push the lead to 2-0. The Sains got two more batters on, as Brady Goebel (Albany, MN/Albany HS) and Levi Stubbles (San Bruno, Calif./El Camino HS (Skyline College)) both singled, and with two outs Sam Shopbell (Prior Lake, MN/Prior Lake HS (Fayetteville CC)) drove both runners in on a base hit to make the score 4-0.
Later in the inning, Ryan Garlick (Coon Rapids, Minn./Coon Rapids HS (Iowa Central CC)) drove in both Shopbell and Jack Tiemann (Bloomington, Minn./Bloomington Kennedy HS), who reached base on a single, expanding the lead to 5-0. CSS would add another run on an error in the inning, but led 6-0 after one inning of play.
Jeffries continued his success in the innings that followed, not allowing a run to come across with the score remaining at 6-0 after 3 ½ innings.
Adam Braun (Buffalo, Minn./Buffalo HS (Central Lakes CC)) led off the bottom of the fourth for CSS with a walk, followed by Vera getting hit by a pitch to put two runners on for the Saints. After the Saints grounded into a double play, Stubbles would reach base on an error that scored Braun and gave the Saints their seventh run of the ballgame. Finley Spicer (Aberdeen, N.C./Union Pines HS (Limestone University)) would follow things up with a base hit that scored Stubbles and made the score 8-0 in favor of CSS.
Matt Forrest (Oakdale, Minn./Hill-Murray HS) came in for his first innings of the 2025 campaign and picked a scoreless inning in the top of the fifth.
Garlick got on base via a hit by pitch, and after stealing second base, Braun drove him in on an RBI double, bringing the lead to 9-0.
Forrest was able to shut down the Storm offense down the stretch, as the Saints commanded a nine-run lead. In the bottom of the seventh, After Tiemann tripled to lead off the inning, Andrew Beffel (Highlands Ranch, CO/Mountain Vista HS) pinch ran for him, which would lead to a two-out RBI single from Braun to push the Saints' 10th run of the contest, taking the first game of the season in style by a score of 10-0.
Game Two: Simpson: 16, CSS: 5
The Saints were held scoreless in the top of the first inning, despite Schelonka and Vera both reaching base, as the game sat scoreless heading to the bottom of the first inning.
Simpson would score their first run of the afternoon in the bottom of the first inning, bringing across one run on two hits to take a 1-0 lead.
CSS responded quickly to begin the second inning with singles from Stubbles and Spicer. Two batters later, Tiemann would single up the middle to score Stubbles and tie the game at 1-1.
The Storm would regain the lead in the bottom of the second inning, driving in a run on an RBI double, taking a 2-1 lead heading into the third inning.
After CSS was retired in order in their half of the inning, the Storm responded with a big third inning, driving in six runs on five hits, including on error, as the game now sat at 8-1 with the Storm in front.
Simpson College added four more runs in the bottom of the fourth inning, expanding their lead to 12-1.
Schelonka added a run for the Saints on a solo home run in the top of the fifth inning, but the Saints were still well behind by a score of 12-2.
CSS showed some signs of life in the top of the sixth inning, as Shopbell picked up an RBI on a single and Tiemann added two more runs on a single, cutting the deficit down to 12-5.
Despite the three-run inning for the Saints, the Storm wouldn't be denied in its half of the sixth inning, bringing across four runs in the inning, to take game two of the doubleheader by a score of 16-5.
Up Next
The Saints (1-1) will be back in action on March 7, where they will travel to Davenport, Florida to take part in the Russmatt Invitational. They will take on Suffolk University on the first day of games.
