DULUTH, Minn. – The St. Scholastica baseball team hosted the Cardinals from Saint Mary's this afternoon in a conference doubleheader matchup. The Saints struck gold with a four-run fifth inning in game one, en route to a 4-1 victory, but the Cardinals got the best of CSS in game two, as Saint Mary's came away with a 9-3 victory in the second game of the day.
Game One: CSS: 4, SMU: 1
The Cardinals broke the scoreless tie in the top of the first inning, scoring a run on a Saints error to lead 1-0 early.
CSS collected three base hits in the bottom of the first inning, as Kyle Oswald (Mahtomedi, Minn./Mahtomedi HS), Jake Schelonka (Sartell, Minn./Sartell HS), and Finley Spicer (Aberdeen, N.C./Union Pines HS (Limestone University)) all singled, but the Saints couldn't bring in a runner, trailing 1-0 after one inning of play.
Brady Goebel (Albany, MN/Albany HS) and Levi Stubbles (San Bruno, Calif./El Camino HS (Skyline College)) both singled in the bottom of the second inning for CSS, but once again the Saints stranded a pair of runners, unable to cut into the deficit.
Payton Jeffries (Vancouver, Wash./Union HS (Shasta College)) helped keep the Cardinals bats silent in the middle innings of the contest, as the score remained 1-0 heading into the bottom of the fifth inning.
Schelonka and Damian Tamayo Vera (Miami, FL./Felix Varela Senior HS) both reached base with one out in the inning and with two outs, Luke Krull (Greenville, WI/Xavier HS) picked up an RBI single to drive in Schelonka and tie things up at 1-1. One batter later, Jack Tiemann (Bloomington, Minn./Bloomington Kennedy HS) gave CSS its first lead with an RBI single, followed by later in the inning a steal of home by Krull and an RBI base hit by Sam Shopbell (Prior Lake, MN/Prior Lake HS (Fayetteville CC)), giving the Saints a 4-1 lead.
After Jeffries completed six strong innings, the Saints called on Schelonka to close out the seventh inning. Schelonka was able to deliver exactly what CSS needed, forcing a ground into a double play and a game-ending groundout to close out a 4-1 CSS victory.
Game Two: SMU: 9, CSS: 3
The Cardinals once again broke the scoreless tie, this time coming in the top of the third inning, as Saint Mary's put up two runs in the inning on four hits, taking a 2-0 lead.
After the Saints offense was held in check, the Cardinals added two more runs to its total in the top of the fifth inning, expanding its lead to 4-0 over CSS.
St. Scholastica got baserunners on early in the bottom of the fifth inning, ultimately leading to a two-run home run from Levi Stubbles (San Bruno, Calif./El Camino HS (Skyline College)), cutting the Saints deficit in half, trailing 4-2.
Saint Mary's responded however in the top of the sixth inning, tallying on two more runs on two hits, making the score 6-2.
After Schelonka and Tamayo Vera both reached base to kickoff the bottom of the sixth, Tiemann would be able to drive in a run on a sacrifice fly, bringing the score to 6-3.
Matt Juza (Rice Lake, Wis./Rice Lake HS) had a dominant top of the eighth inning on the mound, striking out a pair of Cardinal batters to hold the Saints deficit to three runs.
St. Scholastica had a golden opportunity to add to their total in the bottom of the eighth, loading the bases, but unfortunately couldn't capitalize in the inning, stranding three runners on base.
The Cardinals grabbed the insurance runs they were looking for in the top of the ninth, scoring three runs to expand the lead to 9-3 heading into the bottom of the ninth.
CSS were unable to put together a late rally in the bottom of the ninth inning, as the Cardinals secured a game two victory by a score of 9-3.
Up Next
The Saints (11-14, 4-7 MIAC) will be back in action tomorrow, where they will host the LumberJacks from Northland College at Wade Stadium. First pitch is scheduled for 5:00 p.m.
