Notables
-Risse strikes out 10 for the second straight start
-Marolt has reached base safely in 28 consecutive games; Minks at 25
-CSS pitching has limited opponents to six hits or less in six of the last seven games
-Saints reach 30 wins for the third straight season and 19th time overall
DULUTH, Minn. (csssaints.com) – The St. Scholastica baseball team cruised past the University of Minnesota Morris 11-0 to open the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) Tournament at Wade Stadium on Thursday. Then put together another 13-hit performance, while limiting the University of Northwestern to five hits to win 6-3 in the nightcap and advance to tomorrow's championship game.
CSS 11, UMM 0 (F/7)
The Saints were held hitless through three innings against the Cougars until the bats exploded in the fourth, plating eight runs in the inning en route to an 11-0 convincing victory.
CSS went nine up and nine down through the first three innings as Morris' Joey Hyde kept the Saints in check. However, Al Marolt got the offense going with a one out single in the fourth and it snowballed from there.
After a walk, St. Scholastica put together three straight RBI singles to go up 3-0. A pair of Cougar errors allowed another run to score to make it 4-0. Later in the inning, Austin Colvard had a two-run single with Marolt and Brian Minks also recording RBIs to extend it to 8-0.
The Saints scored three more runs in the fifth inning on a Conor Wollenzien RBI single, a Chris Olson RBI double and a Drew Colvard RBI single.
That is all St. Scholastica needed as Martin Alcoverde struck out seven in seven scoreless innings to end game by the 10-run mercy rule 11-0.
Five different Saints had a pair of hits in the victory with A. Colvard, Wollenzien and Olson each recording a pair of RBIs.
CSS 6, UNW 3
St. Scholastica jumped on the Eagles early, scoring four runs in the first two innings. Jordan Risse was solid on the mound, striking out 10 and scattering four hits in seven innings to advance the Saints to tomorrow's championship game by a 6-3 final score.
Steven Neutzling put the Saints on the board, ripping a single down the left field line to bring in A. Colvard in the bottom of the first. In the second inning, CSS got a two-out RBI double from A. Colvard and then a squeeze bunt RBI single by Marolt, followed by a Northwestern error that allowed a third run to score in the inning to make it 4-0 after two.
Northwestern scored its first run on the top of the fourth, but the Saints responded in the bottom frame with a RBI groundout by A. Colvard to put the margin back at four.
The Eagles cut the lead in half with one swing of the bat in the top of the sixth as Ryan Sutterer hammered a ball over the center field wall to make it 5-3.
CSS got an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth on an Olson single that brought in Haydn Lanoue to make it 6-3. Jake Turner shut the door on the Eagles, allowing one hit in two innings to earn his sixth save of the season.
Risse improves to 7-0 on the year and recorded his fourth game with at least 10 strikeouts on the season.
Olson was 3-for-4 at the plate with a RBI and a pair of runs scored. The top four hitters in the lineup all had two hits. A. Colvard drove in two and scored two.
Up Next:
The Saints (30-9) will face the winner of the Northwestern/University of Wisconsin-Superior game at 4 p.m. tomorrow. If St. Scholastica wins that game, they will capture their 19th consecutive UMAC Tournament title. If they lose, a winner-take-all championship game will take place on Saturday at 1 p.m.