Notables
-T. Bernsdorf collects 200th career hit
-St. Scholastica now leads in the overall series 9-8 over UWS
-Pearson recorded a career-high six RBIs
-Neutzling has now reached safely in 29 straight games
-Duex recorded an inside-the-park home run in the first inning
DULUTH, Minn. (
csssaints.com) – The College of St. Scholastica baseball team opened up tournament play in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) Thursday night with a 12-2 victory over bridge rival University of Wisconsin-Superior. The game marked the second of the day at Wade Stadium, as on the other side of the bracket Bethany Lutheran College took down the University of Minnesota Morris by a score of 7-4.
The Action
It didn't take long for the Saints to get rolling Thursday night, however they started off the scoring in a very unconventional way. With one out recorded in the bottom of the first,
Tyler Duex (Bloomer, Wis./Chippewa Falls HS (UW-Superior) ) skied a ball to left center that went off the fence and took an unfavorable bounce for the YellowJacket outfielders. As the ball rolled farther and farther away from the wall, Duex turned on the wheels and raced home for an inside-the-park homerun to give the Saints a 1-0 lead.
The next runs to score for CSS in the first happened with the bases loaded.
Eric Pearson (Champlin, Minn. /Champlin Park HS ) faced a 3-2 count and sent a rocket to left field that cleared the bases, earning him three RBIs on a double and more importantly boosting the Saints lead to 4-0.
Trevor Bernsdorf (Elmer, Minn./Floodwood HS ) padded the lead before letting
Ben Christofferson (Maple Grove, Minn. /Osseo HS) back on the mound in the second inning, doubling down the right-field line and scoring Pearson to extend the lead to 5-0. The double was Bernsdorf's 200th hit in his career.
UWS scratched across its only two runs in the top of the third inning, with the first coming off a Chad Patko single to left field. Nik Mattson then recorded a RBI of his own off a fielder's choice, bringing the score to 5-2 in favor of the home team.
Pearson recorded his second three-RBI hit of the game in the fifth inning, this time off a three-run home run down the right-field line that scored Connor Wollenzien and
Riley Bernsdorf (Meadowlands, Minn. /Floodwood HS). This marked the fourth, fifth, and sixth RBIs of the game for Pearson, which was a new career-high for the freshman.
The two teammates Pearson knocked in with his home run in the fifth recorded RBIs of their own in the sixth inning. First, it was Wollenzien singling to left field and scoring Duex to make the score 9-2 in favor of CSS. Then R. Bernsdorf flew out to center field, earning himself a sacrifice-fly RBI as
Steven Neutzling (St. Cloud, Minn./St. Cloud Cathedral ) scored from third.
With the scoreboard reading 10-2 as the Saints came to bat in the bottom of the seventh, all they needed were two runs to enforce the ten-run rule after seven innings of play and seal the victory. Duex knocked in the 11th run after hitting a sacrifice-fly to left that scored
Tim Munn (Champlin, Minn. /Champlin Park HS ). Then, later in the inning with
Drew Colvard (Little Canada, Minn./Roseville HS ) in scoring position,
Brian Minks (St. Cloud, Minn./St. Cloud Cathedral HS ) singled one to left field that put the Yellowjackets away as Colvard scored the 12th and final run of the game for the Saints.
Leading the way offensively for the Saints was Pearson, who went 3-for-4 at the plate with six RBIs and a home run. Also having successful days at the plate were Duex and Minks, who each recorded three hits and combined for three runs scored and three RBIs.
Christofferson improved his overall record to 5-0 on the year after going six full innings on the mound, while allowing only two runs on three hits and recording five strikeouts.
Jordan Thompson (Montevideo, Minn. /Montevideo HS (Ridgewater CC) ) came in for the seventh inning, giving up two hits in the process but didn't allow a run to score.
Up Next
The Saints (30-8) will now advance in the winner's bracket where they will take on Bethany Lutheran College Friday afternoon at 4 p.m. The last time these two met occurred on April 13th, which is when the Saints swept the Vikings in a doubleheader by scores of 13-2 and 1-0 (F/10).
