Game 1 Box Score / Game 2 Box Scoresports/baseball/2002/425beth2.htm

ARDEN HILLS, Minn. — It's crunch time in the race for the four Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference baseball playoff berths.

And the Saint Mary's University baseball team did its part, sweeping a key conference series against Bethel, beating the Royals 5-2 in the first game behind the complete-game, six-hit pitching of Eric Williamson (St. Charles, Minn.), then exploding for 16 and 12 runs en route to a 12-6 win in Game 2.

With the victories, the Cardinals improved to 9-7 in the MIAC and kept them in the thick of the chase for any of the final three playoff positions.

Ryan Majerus (St. Charles, Minn.) gave SMU all the offensive support it would need, as the freshman went 2-for-4 and drove in three of the Cardinals' five runs. Tony Cicalello (St. Paul, Minn.) and Rob Kimlinger (Lake Elmo, Minn.) drove in the other two runs.

SMU scored one in the second, and added three more in the third — two coming on Majerus' RBI single. The Royals cut the lead to 4-2 with a solo run in the bottom of the third, but SMU gave Williamson a little breathing room with a solo run of its own in the top of the fourth.

The Cardinals' bats came to life in a big way in the second game as SMU tagged three Bethel pitchers for 16 hits, and took advantage of four Royal errors en route to its second MIAC sweep of the season.

Kimlinger and Aaron Smolinski (White Bear Lake, Minn.) powered the Cardinals' offensive onslaught, going 5-for-5 and 4-for-5, respectively. Kimlinger also drove in three runs and scored twice, while Smolinski had two RBIs and a run scored. Majerus did his part as well, driving in three runs, while Matt Rink (Winona, Minn.), David McMahon (Coon Rapids, Minn.) and Eric Froistad (North St. Paul, Minn.) all had 2-for-4 performances.