WINONA, Minn. – The St. Olaf College baseball team opened Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) play with a pair of one-run victories, sweeping Saint Mary's University by scores of 1-0 and 9-8 on Saturday afternoon at Max Molock Field.

Junior Sam Lavin struck out 10 over six no-hit innings and combined with junior Brock Brumley for a one-hit shutout for St. Olaf (6-7, 2-0 MIAC) in game one. Saint Mary's (6-12, 2-4 MIAC) held a 7-3 lead in game two before the Oles rallied with five runs in the eighth and went on to claim a 9-8 victory on a walk-off single by sophomore Evan Hammonds.

St. Olaf played as the home team in both games after the doubleheader was moved to Winona as the result of unplayable field conditions at Mark Almli Field. The Oles host Hamline University in their home opener on Monday, April 10 at 2:30/5 p.m.

St. Olaf 1, Saint Mary's 0 | Box Score

Lavin outdueled Addison Hochevar in game one by facing the minimum of 18 batters over his six on-hit innings. The junior struck out 10 and allowed just one baserunner, which came on a throwing error to start the fourth before the runner was thrown out stealing second.

Hochevar nearly matched Lavin inning for inning for the Cardinals, holding the Oles scoreless until the sixth inning. Hochevar allowed just one unearned run on five hits with one walk and 10 strikeouts in the hard-luck loss.

St. Olaf left a runner in scoring position in the second, third, and fifth innings before scoring the lone run of the game in the bottom of the sixth. After the first two batters of the inning were retired, junior Joey Glampe struck out but reached base on a passed ball to keep the inning alive. First year Breckin Hadley kept the rally going with a single to move Glampe to second before sophomore Matthew Kulesa delivered the eventual game-winning RBI single to left center to score Glampe.

Brumley took over for Lavin in the seventh and pitched around a one-out double to earn his second save of the season.

St. Olaf 9, Saint Mary's 8 | Box Score

After trailing 3-1 early, Saint Mary's scored six-straight runs to open up a 7-3 lead through seven innings, but St. Olaf plated five runs in the bottom of the eighth to take an 8-7 lead. The Cardinals responded with a run in the top of the ninth to tie the game, only for the Oles to walk it off in the home half of the inning on a two-out RBI single by Hammonds.

St. Olaf took advantage of four Saint Mary's errors to score five unearned runs, including capitalizing on an error that prolonged the bottom of the ninth. Junior Brian Nevin had his first three-hit game of the season, going 3-for-5 with a run and an RBI for the Oles, while Sam Lavin and first year Frank Lavin combined to go 4-for-10 with three runs and two RBI.

Brumley was credited with his second win of the season despite blowing a save in the ninth. First year Kevin Steel worked the first five innings and allowed just one earned run (three runs) on three hits with four walks and three strikeouts.

The Oles grabbed an early 2-0 lead with a pair of first-inning runs, scoring on a sacrifice fly off the bat of sophomore Jack Alley and a two-out RBI triple by Glampe. After Saint Mary's got on the board in the top of the third, St. Olaf got the run back in the next half inning on an RBI single by Hadley after Frank Lavin doubled to start the frame.

The Cardinals scored twice in the fifth, once in the sixth, and three times in the seventh to open up a 7-3 advantage before St. Olaf took advantage of two Saint Mary's errors in its five-run eighth. With one out and the bases loaded, Nevin drove in the first run of the inning with a single. The next two runs scored on a wild pitch and an error to make it a 7-6 game. With runners on the corners and one out, Sam Lavin bounced a single through the right side to tie the game before Frank Lavin beat out a potential double-play grounder to score Hammonds for the go-ahead run.

Saint Mary's pushed across a run in the top of the ninth and had a runner at second with one out, but Brumley escaped further damage to keep the score tied. In the bottom of the inning, Kulesa reached on a one-out single and stole second with two outs. After Nevin reached on an error to keep the inning going, Hammonds singled to center to score Kulesa for the game-winning run.