Game 1 Box Score /
Game 2 Box Score /
GameDay Online
STORM LAKE, Iowa — The conditions were more conducive to a collegiate hockey game than a collegiate baseball game.
In fact, had Mother Nature decided to rain on the Saint Mary's University baseball team's parade Saturday afternoon, the rain would have turned into snow before it hit the ground.
Unfortunately for the Cardinals, the weather wasn't the only thing making them feel miserable Saturday.
Buena Vista was, too.
The Beavers took advantage of a ball lost in the sun to score two runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to beat the Cardinals 4-3 in the opening game of their nonconference doubleheader.
The Cardinals got the upper hand in Game 2 — in much the same fashion — taking advantage of three Buena Vista errors in the top of the eighth inning to beat the Beavers 7-6 and earn the split.
"It was a tough day to play," said SMU coach
Nick Whaley, whose team snapped its eight-game losing streak with the Game 2 win. "The weather conditions were not too good — it wasn't what you would call ideal baseball conditions, that's for sure.
"It was nice to get that win (in the second game), but in the same respect, we feel like we let the first game slip away from us, too," added Whaley. "We played well enough to win — got great pitching, played well defensively and were pretty solid at the plate.
"One fly ball got lost in the sun and we went from a 3-2 win to a 4-3 loss."
Brady Knudsen (Racine, Wis.) helped fuel the Cardinals win in the nightcap, belting a solo home run in the top of the sixth — extending his career-best hitting streak to 21 straight — to tie the game at 6-6, and then three Buena Vista errors, including one on an RBI groundball to short by
Andrew Warren (Stillwater, Minn.) in the seventh, gave the SMU the lead for good.
"We needed to come away with a win — we played too well not to win at least one game," said Whaley, whose team returns to conference play Wednesday, playing host to Bethel on Wednesday at 2:30 p.m. at Winona State's Loughery Field. "Hopefully we can carry that momentum into a strong showing in the final week of the season."
