The College of St. Scholastica

DULUTH, Minn. – The St. Scholastica Saints turned the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference Tournament Championship into a doubleheader with a 30-4 victory over the Bethany Lutheran Vikings on Friday afternoon, earning a degree of revenge for a 10-9 extra-inning loss Thursday evening.

Bethany Lutheran won a coin-flip prior to the game to be named the home team, but batting in the top of the inning at their home field did not seem to phase the Saints’ offense.

The first eight Saints reached base with a base-running error causing the only out before nine batters came to the plate. The Saints had six hits in the first frame, highlighted by a two-run single by Steve Gerten (Jr.-West St. Paul, Minn.) and a two-run double by Kyle Wojtysiak (Sr.-Proctor, Minn.). Bethany scored one run in the bottom of the inning, but starting pitcher Adian Kummet (Sr.-Brainerd, Minn.) struck out first baseman Wade Dollerschell looking to end the rally.

St. Scholastica continued to pour on the runs in the top of the second and the third, sending nine batters to the plate with five earning an RBI in each inning, including Steve Gerten’s third of the game on an RBI-single. With a ten-plus run lead, Kummet took control of the game, retiring 14 of 16 batters including eight straight while striking out nine in six innings of work.

Meanwhile, Bethany was forced to use six pitchers in the game. The Saints scored multiple runs in the fifth, sixth, and seventh innings, highlighted by a fifth-inning three-RBI double by Paul Kolodge (Jr.-Cloquet, Minn.). Kolodge finished the game with a team-high seven RBIs.

Garrett Groebner (Sr.-Poplar, Wis.) pitched the final three innings to earn his first save of the season.

The Saints and Vikings will meet again for the second game of this championship doubleheader with the UMAC tournament crown on the line later tonight.