Game 1 Box / Game 2 Box / GameDay Online

DECORAH, Iowa — In the hits category, the Saint Mary's University baseball team matched Luther hit-for-hit through the teams' nonconference doubleheader Monday afternoon.

In the left-on-base category, SMU actually stranded two more baserunners than the host Norse.

In the runs, category, however, the Cardinals just couldn't match up, as Luther — fueled by a four-run third inning in the opener and a Game 2, five-run outburst between the second and third innings combined — handed SMU 8-3 and 6-5 setbacks.

“We certainly had our chances — we put together as many hits (as Luther), and we left our fair share of runners on base — we just couldn't quite seem to get over the hump,” said SMU coach Nick Winecke. “We had one bad inning in the first game and we could never seem to recover. And in the second game we spotted (Luther) a 6-2 lead, battled back to within a run, and left the tying run on second with one out and couldn't get him home.

“It's the same story — we're putting ourselves in position to win ball games, we just can't get it done.”

After managing just one hit through two innings, the Norse got to SMU starter Matt Wilgenbusch (Durango, Iowa) in the third, using two hits, two bases-loaded walks, a bases-loaded hit-by-pitch and a sacrifice fly to score four runs.

SMU got one run back in the top of the fourth on an RBI double by Chris Bogie (St. Paul, Minn.), but Luther responded with two runs of its own in the bottom of the fourth.

The Cardinals would add single runs in the fifth — on a Ryan Archambault (Faribault, Minn.) RBI double — and sixth — on a Robbie Johnson (Lake Elmo, Minn.) RBI single — but each time SMU put a run on the board, the Norse would answer in winning for the fourth straight time.

Luther would make that five straight wins in Game 2, but the Cardinals certainly made it interesting, rallying from a 6-2 deficit with three runs in the fifth to cut the gap to 6-5.

SMU then threatened to tie things up in the sixth, as Tyler Kruse (Minneapolis, Minn.) led off with a single, and was sacrificed to second by Jake Lechner (Shoreview, Minn.). Kruse would move to third on a groundout by Kyle Ryan (St. Paul, Minn.), but would get no further, as Zach Olberding (Maplewood, Minn.) grounded out to the pitcher to end the threat — and the Cardinals' hopes of a split.

Bogie led SMU's nine-hit Game 1 attack, going 2-for-3 with an RBI, while seven other Cardinals had one hit — including each of their top four hitters in the batting order. Kruse and Jack Dwyer (Minneapolis, Minn.), meanwhile, each had two hits to fuel SMU's seven-hit attack in the nightcap.

“It's tough — we did a lot of good things today,” said Winecke, whose team falls to 4-20 overall. “We struggled a little bit in the field (in the second game), but I was happy with our approach at the plate, we just need to catch a break, it's that simple.”

The Cardinals return to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Wednesday, traveling to Collegeville, Minn., for a 2:30 p.m. doubleheader against Saint John's.