Game 1 Box Score / Game 2 Box Score

WINONA, Minn. — While the rest of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference was officially kicking off the 2005 season last Saturday, the Saint Mary's University baseball team was idle — the Cardinals would have to wait until Thursday to get their conference season underway.

And it was worth the wait.

The Cardinals pulled out the heavy artillery when they took the field Thursday afternoon against Gustavus, pounding five Gustie pitchers for 21 hits – including seven for extra bases — and scored 15 runs en route to a 9-3, 6-4 sweep at Max Molock Field.

"(Gustavus) took it to us a year ago, and this year we turned the tables a bit on them," said SMU coach Nick Whaley, referring to last season's 15-5, 17-9 GAC sweep. "But what impressed me about today's games was that we didn't go into it with the idea of gaining any type of revenge — we just went out their and played baseball."

And played at a very high level.

The Cardinals jumped on GAC starter Ricky Sabo early, scoring three times in each of the first two innings to take a commanding 6-0 advantage. Matt Rink (Rochester, Minn.), Brady Knudsen (Racine, Wis.) and David Krieger (Mendota Heights, Minn.) all drove in runs in the first inning, while Rink's two-run home run — his third of the season — highlighted the Cardinals' three-run second.

SMU pushed the lead to 9-0 on RBI singles by Ryan Majerus (St. Charles, Minn.) and Knudsen in the fourth and a run-scoring single by Kevin Black (Mahtomedi, Minn.) in the fifth, before GAC finally got to SMU starter Jesse Pedersen (St. Charles, Minn.) for three runs in the top of the sixth.

Pedersen picked up the victory — his second straight — by tossing his first complete-game of the season, going seven innings, allowing six hits and two earned runs, while walking four and striking out seven.

Rink continued his torrid hitting in the second game, going 2-for-2 with a double and his second triple of the day — before GAC intentionally walked him his final two times up — but his Game 2 exploits paled in comparison to those of Nick Winecke (St. Paul, Minn.).

Winecke belted a pair of towering home runs — a solo shot in the first inning and a two-run shot in the fourth — as the Cardinals jumped out to a commanding 6-1 lead and appeared to be able to cruise to win No. 2.

GAC, however, had other ideas, scoring three times in the fifth, then putting runners on first and second with nobody out in both the sixth and seventh, only to leave them stranded both times.

"This was a nice two wins," understated Whaley. "We got very good pitching from all three of our pitchers, we got some timely hitting, and we played well defensively — what more could you ask for?

"In this conference, it's next to impossible to sweep," continued Whaley, whose team moved to 9-2 overall with the wins. "Gustavus was an (MIAC) playoff team a year ago, and to come away with two wins, that's great."