Game 1 Box Score /
Game 2 Box Score /
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NORTHFIELD, Minn. — The was one tour that Saint Mary's University baseball coach
Nick Whaley was happy to see come to an end.
It started on Saturday with 5-0 and 9-3 losses to league-leading and nationally ranked St. Thomas.
Two days later, it moved on to St. Peter, Minn., and a date with second place Gustavus — a stop that resulted in a 10-5 Game 1 loss and a suspended Game 2 in which SMU was leading the high-powered Gusties 7-1 in the fourth.
And the following after, the tour made its final stop, screeching into Northfield, Minn., where St. Olaf — currently in the thick of the race for the third and four spots in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament.
Unfortunately for Whaley and the Cardinals, the tour ended the same way it began, as St. Olaf handed SMU two straight setbacks, erupting for 21 runs in a 21-2 Game 1 win, then completing the sweep with a 9-4 victory.
"I don't know what it was today, fatigue maybe — five games in four days is tough — but whatever the reason, we did not play well in any facet of the game today," said Whaley, whose team saw its losing streak climb to seven straight with the two losses. "As well as we played (against Gustavus on Tuesday), we played equally as poorly today.
"We just didn't have it."
The Oles feasted on Cardinal pitching in Game 1, banging out 19 hits en route to their 21 runs, while scoring at least once in every inning they batted — including an eight-run third inning and a seven-run fourth. SMU, meanwhile, scored single runs in the sixth and seventh, but by that time, it was way too little, way too late.
It was more of the same in Game 2, as St. Olaf scored once in the first and four more times in the second, before SMU cut the gap to two, 5-3, with a three-run fourth that was highlighted by a two-run single off the bat of
Kyle Ryan (St. Paul, Minn.).
St. Olaf answered with two runs in the bottom of the fourth, and after giving up an RBI single to
Brandon Haugh (Easton, Minn.)\, the Oles iced the win with their second straight two-run inning in the bottom of the fifth.
Brady Knudsen (Racine, Wis.) continued to swing a hot bat for the Cardinals, going 2-for-3 in each game — accounted for two of SMU's four Game 1 hits — to extend his career-high hitting streak to 19 straight games, while Ryan was 3-for-4 with a pair of RBIs in Game 2.
"This was certainly a tough stretch," said Whaley, whose last three opponents combed for a 27-7 MIAC record. "To have to play St. Thomas, Gustavus and St. Olaf in a span of four days ... that's not something I want to have to do again."
