No. 2-ranked St. Thomas needed 24 innings on the day but it managed to close out a pair of one-run wins over nationally-ranked teams to open its 2015 baseball season Friday night in Tucson, Ariz.
Junior Cory Quinlan's RBI double in the top of the 12th inning snapped a 5-5 tie and St. Thomas held off No. 13-ranked Concordia-Chicago, 6-5. Soph transfer Chad Czaplewski of Eagan and Waldorf College, UST's sixth relief pitcher, retired all three batters for the save in the bottom of the 12th, two by strikeout.
That capped a game that lasted four hours and 15 minutes on the clock and included 459 pitches, 22 hits, 17 walks, four hit-by-pitch, four double plays and 26 runners left on base.
Tommie junior transfer Dominic Reed of Prior Lake started and threw six shutout innings but UST couldn't hold late leads of 3-0 and 5-3. The Toms left 13 on base and had two runners tagged out at home, but its pitchers stranded 13 runners, including the winning run at third base in the 10th and 11th innings. Freshman Alex Eayrs of Hill-Murray worked the 11th inning and stranded two runners and took the victory.
Quinlan and freshman infielder Zach Gottfredsen of Henry Sibley each went 3-for-5, and freshman CF Jake Smith of Apple Valley went 2-for-6.
Concordia was down to its last out in the ninth inning, trailing 5-3, but RBI singles by Carlos Olavarria and Joe Silva extended the contest.
Earlier, St. Thomas got a walkoff win in the 12th inning to top No. 21 Linfield.