April 25, 2018

St. Scholastica Pushes Streak to Seven With Sweep of North Central

More news about: St. Scholastica

Notables
-Season-best seven wins in a row for CSS

-Neutzling becomes ninth Saint to record 200 career hits; extends on-base streak to 56 games
-Neutzling has tallied 16 RBIs in the last seven games
-Colvard has had two hits in seven of the last eight games; extends hitting streak to 24 games


DULUTH, Minn. (csssaints.com) - The St. Scholastica baseball team found more success within the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) on Wednesday when it swept North Central University (Minn.). Game one ended with a score of 10-4, and the Saints managed a one-hit shutout in game two with a final score of 15-0 with the mercy-rule ending things after seven innings.

Game One: CSS 10, NCU 4
The Saints started the scoring off early in the bottom of the first after Drew Colvard led the inning with a triple down the right field line. Joey Zwak followed up with a single to bring Colvard home. North Central then overtook the lead in the third inning on five hits, which scored four runners to make the score 4-1. The Saints answered in the bottom of the third. A double from Cole Tyman starting things off. Then a fielding error allowed for Tyman to score, with Braydon Hanson reaching second on the error. Colvard then walked, followed by another NCU error which scored Hanson and put Colvard on third. On the next Saints batter, the third strike was bobbled by the Rams catcher. On the throw to first base, Colvard was able to score, tying the game up at 4-4. 

The bottom of the fourth saw the Saints take back the lead on a Tyman home run, his first collegiate home run. From there, CSS kept extending their lead and allowed the Rams to get none back. In the fifth inning, the Saints had four runners cross the plate on four hits, with an RBI going to Steven Neutzling on his double, which scored Zwak and two RBIs coming on a Chris Olson single, scoring Neutzling and Aaron Weber. 

The sixth saw some pitching difficulties from NCU. Zwak walked after B. Hanson got on base with a double. The runners advanced on a wild pitch, then Hanson scored on a balk during the next at-bat to make the score 9-4. The final run of the game came in the eighth on a single from Zwak to bring the score to 10-4.

Jake Turner started from the mound for CSS, earning the win. He pitched six full innings, striking out three. Seth Anderson stepped in as relief and pitched the final three innings, facing 10 batters and allowing no hits to earn his first collegiate save. Zwak and Olson both had two RBIs with Zwak going 3-for-4 from the plate.

Game Two: CSS 15, NCU 0 (F/7)
The Saints scored in game two in every inning except the third. The game started with two runs from CSS, with RBIs going to Eric Pearson and Neutzling to make the score 2-0 after the first. The second inning was a big one for CSS, with six runs coming on four hits and an error. Two of the hits were triples, one from Tim Munn for three RBIs, and one from Zwak which also scored a run. After just the second inning, the score stood at 8-0 in favor of CSS.

The third was a quiet inning on both sides. The Saints tallied another run in the fourth, credited to Neutzling on a single, followed by a three-run fifth and sixth inning. Pearson homered in the fifth to score two, and Conor Wollenzien doubled for an RBI to make the score 12-0. The bottom of the sixth, in what would prove to be the last round of at-bats for the Saints saw three more hits and three runs from CSS. Two of the RBIs went to Jared Davidson on a double, and Neutzling, on a single, pushed the last runner to score to give the game its final score of 15-0.

Nick Peterson got the "W" for CSS, pitching five innings and striking out six batters. Joe Gonrowski came in to help out in the final two innings and earned two strike outs of his own. On offense, the Saints proved they some depth in the lineup with three batters, Pearson, Neutzling, and Munn, all contributing three RBIs, with Davidson and Wollenzien each tallying two. 

Up Next
The Saints (15-6, 9-1 UMAC) will hit the field again on Saturday at Wade Stadium in Duluth when they take on Crown College for a UMAC doubleheader. Game one is set to begin at 1:30 p.m.