Game 1 Box Score / Game 2 Box Score

ST. PAUL, Minn. — It was supposed to be Nick Whaley's day.

After all, the Saint Mary's University baseball coach was honored as the first recipient of the St. Thomas Distinguished Baseball Alumni Award Saturday.

Then the Tommies had to go and rain on Whaley's parade.

UST scored twice in the bottom of the ninth inning on a bases loaded double to post a 9-8 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Game 1 win, then erupted for 13 runs in the fifth inning, erasing a 2-0 Saint Mary's lead, and sending the Cardinals to a 13-4 setbacik.

The Cardinals got out of the blocks fast in the opener, scoring four times in the top of the first — three on a home run by Matt Rink (Rochester, Minn.) and the other on a solo homer from Nick Winecke (St. Paul, Minn.).

St. Thomas cut the lead to two, 4-2, with two runs in the bottom of the first, added one in the fourth and three more in the fifth to take its first lead of the game, 6-4.

Down, but far from out, SMU responded with three runs in the sixth, getting RBI doubles from Seth Pugh (Crystal, Minn.) and Pat Gornick (West St. PaUl, Minn.) to take a 7-6 advantage.

UST knotted things up with a home run in the bottom of the sixth with a solo homer, but the Cardinals bounced back again, taking an 8-7 lead in the top of the ninth when Tony Cicalello (St. Paul, Minn.) laced a two-out double and scored on a single by Dan Cosgrove (South St. Paul, Minn.) The Tommies foiled SMU's upset bid, however, loading the bases with no outs and getting an two-run double from Brett Olson to seal the win.

St. Thomas left little doubt in the nightcap, erasing a 2-0 SMU lead with 13 runs in the fifth inning — the most runs SMU has allowed in a single inning this season, and the fifth time this season the Cardinals have given up seven or more runs in one inning.

A Cosgrove home run and an RBI single by Pugh gave the Cardinals a short-lived, 2-0 fifth-inning lead, only to have the roof cave in in the bottom of the fifth, as UST sent 17 batters to the plate, collected eight hits and took advantage of three SMU errors en route to its second-biggest scoring inning in school history.

Dusty Wilhelmy (Mendota Heights, Minn.) launched a two-run home run in the top of the sixth, but it was too little, too late for the Cardinals (5-9 MIAC, 8-18 overall), who return to action Tuesday, playing host to St. John's in a conference doubleheader.

WHALEY HONORED: Saint Mary's University baseball coach Nick Whaley was honored with the first St. Thomas Distinguished Baseball Alumni Award during Saturday's MIAC doubleheader between the Cardinals and the Tommies.

Whaley starred in baseball for the Tommies from 1985-88. He was a three-time All-MIAC selection — hitting a school-record .543 in MIAC play in 1987 — and still holds the school record for career walks (83).

In his eight-plus seasons at SMU, Whaley has compiled a record of 127-122 and guided the Cardinals to back-to-back MIAC post-season tournament berths in 2001 and 2002. SMU finished 16-6 in the MIAC in 2001, earning Whaley MIAC Coach of the Year honors.