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MINNETONKA, Minn. — Before the season started, Saint Mary's University baseball coach Nick Winecke must have felt a bit like Rodney Dangerfield — after all, his Cardinals were getting no respect.

In fact, in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll, the Cardinals were picked to finish dead last.

Unfazed by that lack of respect, the Cardinals promptly climbed the MIAC ladder, earning their first MIAC Tournament berth since 2002 with their fourth-place regular-season finish.

And if that didn't earn the Cardinals a bit of MIAC respect, their tournament-opening performance against St. Thomas — the tourney's No. 1 seed and the second-ranked team in the nation — certainly should.

The Cardinals battled the high-powered Tommies to a 2-2 stalemate through the first nine innings, then scored twice in the top of the 10th — the first on an RBI single by Paul La Nasa (Mahtomedi, Minn.) and the other on an RBI groundout by Danny Geraghty (Park Ridge, Ill.) — as Saint Mary's stunned heavily favored St. Thomas 4-2 in the first game of the three-day, double-elimination tournament.

With the win — their 22nd on the season — the Cardinals advance to Saturday's 2 p.m. game at Veteran's Stadium against Saint John's, 7-3 winners over Bethel Friday. St. Thomas, meanwhile, will face Bethel at 11 a.m. Saturday.

Jon Schlemmer (De Pere, Wis.) opened the 10th with a single and Curt Swanson (Woodbury, Minn.) and Vince Lulic (Mendota Heights, Minn.) followed with back-to-back singles to load the bases with no one out. LaNasa delivered a run-scoring single up the middle, scoring pinch-runner David Barry (Apple Valley, Minn.) and keeping the bases loaded. Geraghty pushed SMU's lead to 4-2 with a one-out RBI groundout to short, and SMU reloaded the bases on a Mike Feriancek (River Falls, Wis.) walk — but Paul La Nasa (Mahtomedi, Minn.) was picked off second to end the threat.

Freshman reliever Tyler Krysiak (Bloomington, Minn.) — the Cardinals' single-season saves leader with six — then iced the win, shutting down the Tommies in the bottom of the 10th to ice the victory.

After managing just one hit through the first eight innings, the Cardinals collected six hits over the final two — led by Lulic, who went 2-for-4. LaNasa went 1-for-4 and delivered two of SMU's three RBIs, while Schlemmer, Geraghty and Swanson all had a hit.

The Tommies jumped out to quick 1-0 lead — literally — as UST's second batter, Jack Hogan, belted a VanRanst offering over the fence in left.

SMU quickly answered, scoring a pair of runs in top of second, as Schlemmer — who was hit by a pitch to open the inning — scored on a wild pitch and Lulic came home on an RBI groundout by LaNasa.

UST evened the score, 2-2 with a solo run in the bottom of the second — and it would remain that way until the Cardinals broke the deadlock in the 10th.

After a two-out walk to Mike Feriancek (River Falls, Wis.) in the third, UST pitcher Mark Dominik retired 16 straight Cardinals, before giving way to Dylan Thomas in the top of the ninth. Dominik — making just his fourth start of the season — allowed just the second-inning double to Lulic, while walking one and striking out four.

SMU starter Teddy VanRanst (St. Paul, Minn.), meanwhile, went the first seven innings for SMU, scattering just four hits, while walking three and striking out three. Sam Nord (Mendota Heights, Minn.) went 1.2 innings of shutout ball, and Krysiak finished things up with 1.1 innings of scoreless, hitless relief to notch the win.

SMU threatened in the ninth, as Geraghty singled to center to open the ninth. Feriancek sacrificed him to second and Geraghty moved to third on pinch-hitter Andy Edholm's (Hudson, Wis.) groundout to short. UST reliever Tommy Danczyk, however, got Kevin Gannon (Roselle, Ill.) to fly out to keep the game deadlocked at 2-2.

UST also had a chance to end the game in regulation, as Nick Reichert delivered a one-out, pinch-hit single, and, after a fielder's choice groundout, Jon Kinsel and Ben Podobinski delivered back-to-back singles to load the bases. SMU coach Nick Winecke brought in Krysiak, who got Morgan to ground out to third, sending the game to extra innings.