ST. PAUL, Minn. – Junior Henry Black hit the game-tying and eventual game-winning solo home runs late in game two, as the St. Olaf College baseball team recorded its second consecutive Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) sweep by defeating Hamline University by scores of 10-1 and 10-6 in 10 innings on Sunday afternoon at CHS Field.

St. Olaf (13-5, 4-0 MIAC) cruised to a 10-1 victory in game one by getting multi-hit games from five different hitters and 5.2 innings of one-run ball from junior Kevin Steel. Hamline (5-15, 0-2 MIAC) held a 6-5 lead after seven innings in game two before Black hit a solo home run in the eighth to tie the game and another one to lead off a four-run top of the 10th for the Oles.

Black's two-homer game accounted for two of St. Olaf's four home runs on the day, as sophomore Cole Pleimann and junior Frank Lavin both went deep in game one. The Oles hit .347 as a team on the day and got six hits and four RBI from senior Evan Hammonds over the two games.

St. Olaf will be back on the road on Wednesday, April 9 for a twin bill at the College of St. Scholastica, with first pitch set for 2:30 p.m. at Wade Stadium in Duluth.

St. Olaf 10, Hamline 1 | Box Score

Hammonds, Lavin, Pleimann, junior Mason Buck, and junior Christopher Woodside all recorded multi-hit games in the opener, as St. Olaf tallied 14 hits and scored in five of its seven innings at the plate. Steel picked up his second victory of the season by limiting Hamline to one run on three hits with four walks and seven strikeouts over his 5.2 innings of work before senior David Scheil retired all four batters he faced to finish off the game.

Lavin was 2-for-4 with a home run, two runs scored, and three RBI, while Pleimann was 2-for-4 with a homer, two runs scored, and two RBI. Hammonds also had two hits and drove in three runs, while Woodside was 3-for-4 with a double and two runs scored.

The Oles put together back-to-back three-run innings in the second and third to open up a 6-0 lead early. Lavin opened the scoring with a one-out solo home run in the second before runs scored on a wild pitch and a two-out, run-scoring single by Hammonds later in the frame. Lavin added a two-out RBI single in the third and Pleimann followed with a two-run blast for his second home run of the season.

St. Olaf tacked on a run to its lead in the fourth before Hamline got its lone run of the game off Steel in the bottom of the inning to make it 7-1. Hammonds doubled in a run in the fifth and knocked in another run with a sacrifice fly in the seventh. Buck added an RBI single later in the seventh for the final run of the game.

St. Olaf 10, Hamline 6 (10 inn.) | Box Score

St. Olaf held a 5-3 lead before Hamline scored three runs in the bottom of the sixth to take its first lead of the day. The Pipers held onto the one-run lead until Black homered in consecutive at bats in the late innings for the game-tying and game-winning runs. Black's second home run ignited a four-run top of the 10th for the Oles.

Black got on base four times by going 2-for-3 with two solo home runs, two walks, and four runs scored, while Hammonds recorded his second four-hit game of the season by going 4-for-6 with a run scored and one driven in. Senior Matthew Kulesa went 2-for-4 with two walks, a double, two runs scored, and three RBI, while Pleimann added a pair of hits and two RBI.

Sophomore Kieran Haaland improved to 3-0 on the season by throwing 4.2 innings of shutout relief for St. Olaf, scattering five hits with one walk and one strikeout as the fifth Ole pitcher to work in the game. The outing lowered Haaland's ERA to 1.47 in a team-high eight appearances this season.

St. Olaf and Hamline exchanged three-run innings in the third, with the Oles taking advantage of a pair of walks in the top of the inning. After Black and Buck drew walks to put two runners on with one out, Kulesa scored them both with a double to center field. Junior Breckin Hadley followed with a single to the gap in left center, but the 3-0 lead was short-lived as the Pipers got all three runs back in the bottom of the inning.

Kulesa broke the 3-3 tie with a run-scoring single in the top of the fifth and Hammonds added a two-out RBI single in the sixth to stretch St. Olaf's lead to 5-3. Hamline responded with its second three-run inning of the game in the bottom of the sixth, with all three Pipers who scored reaching base on walks.

Hamline maintained its 6-5 lead until Black homered to left with one out in the top of the eighth for the first home run of his collegiate career. St. Olaf left the bases loaded in the top of the ninth, but Haaland got the Oles another chance to go ahead with a 1-2-3 bottom of the ninth.

Black led off the 10th with a solo home run to right to break the tie. With the bases loaded and one out later in the inning, Pleimann lined a single into left-center field to score two more runs and the final run of the inning scored on a wild pitch in the next at bat. The first two Piper hitters reached base in the bottom of the 10th, but Haaland got a 5-4-3 double play and a groundout to second to end the game.