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MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — After opening the season with a 12-2 loss to Wartburg in Tucson, Ariz., the Saint Mary's University baseball team was looking forward to getting another shot at the Knights when the two teams squared off again in the Metrodome.

Unfortunately for coach Nick Winecke, his Cardinals didn't fare any better the second — or third — time around, as Wartburg handed SMU 7-0 and 5-4 setbacks in a doubleheader that started late Sunday night and finished in the wee hours of Monday morning.

"'Overall, I didn't think we played all that well — we just seemed a little 'off,' " said Winecke. "Offensively, we didn't have very good at-bats, and we struggled a bit in the field. We made way to many physical, and mental mistakes."

Wartburg scored in five of the seven innings in the opener, plating one-run innings in the first, third and fourth, before erupting for three runs in the fifth to put the game out of reach.

Wartburg pitcher Ben Rettenmeier — who limited the Cardinals to two runs on four hits in five innings in their first meeting on March 4 — was even better on Sunday, tossing a complete-game three-hit shutout. Jon Schlemmer (De Pere, Wis.), Kyle Servais (Westby, Wis.) and Steph Scatassa (Burlington, Wis.) accounted for SMU's three hits, with Schlemmer delivering a fourth-inning double.

The Cardinals kicked their offense in gear in the second game, scoring twice in the fourth inning and once in both the fifth and sixth. Unfortunately, it was another three-run Wartburg inning that did SMU in, as the Knights broke a 2-2 tie with three runs in the bottom of the fourth to take the lead for good.

Vince Lulic (Mendota Heights, Minn.) went 2-for-3 with two runs scored to fuel SMU's five-hit attack, with Paul LaNasa (Mahtomedi, Minn.), Kevin Gannon (Roselle, Ill.) and Drew Denning (St. Paul, Minn.) accounting for the Cardinals' other three hits.

SMU (7-5 overall) is back in action on Monday, March 25, when the Cardinals return to the Metrodome for a nonconference doubleheader against Cornell. First pitch is set for 7 p.m.