Game 1 Box | Game 2 Box | Photo Gallery | Senior Salute | GameDay Preview

WINONA, Minn. — In a season that has had its share of oddities — including a doubleheader cancelled due to lack of umpires — it almost seemed fitting that Game 1 of the Saint Mary's University baseball team's conference doubleheader against Bethel came down to a passed ball.

A game-winning passed ball that was set up by two clutch moves by SMU coach Nick Winecke.

After giving up a run in the top of the eighth inning, the Cardinals rallied for two runs in the bottom of the frame — the first scoring on a pinch-hit single by Daniel Geraghty (Chicago, Ill.) and the second set up by a perfectly executed hit-and-run and scored on a passed ball — as SMU handed the Royals a 5-4 setback at Max Molock Field.

The Cardinals weren't able to write another happy ending in the nightcap, however, as Bethel scored four runs in the second inning and never looked back in earning a conference split with an 8-3 victory.

The Cardinals jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the opener, scoring single runs in the first, fourth and fifth innings.

SMU starter Gary Seifert (Prescott, Wis.) was cruising along through the first four innings, holding the Royals to no runs and just two hits. Then came the fifth, when Bethel chased the Cardinal senior, scoring three times to knot the game at 3-3.

Neither team could score in the sixth or seventh, setting up a wild eighth inning.

Bethel scored once in its eighth-inning at-bat, but the Cardinals — with a pair of key strategic moves by Winecke — answered in the bottom of the eighth.

Chris Bogie led off the inning with a single. John Henderson (Bloomington, Minn.) pinch ran, moving to second on a wild pitch and advancing to third on a sacrifice bunt by Andrew Warren (Stillwater, Minn.). Winecke went to the bench and called up Geraghty to pinch hit, and the junior delivered a game-tying, RBI single to right. Teddy VanRanst (St. Paul, Minn.) pinch ran for Geraghty and scooted to third on a hit-and-run single through the right side by Luke Larson (Bloomington, Minn.). And on the next pitch, VanRanst raced home to score the game-winning run on a passed ball.

Bethel scored all the runs it would need in the second inning of the nightcap, scoring four runs on five hits in chasing SMU starter Andrew Ruf (Chippewa Falls, Wis.). Bethel added a single run in the fifth, before SMU began chipping away. SMU scored twice in the fourth on an RBI single by Cody Pfennig (La Crosse, Wis.) and a run-scoring double by Chris Bogie (St. Paul, Minn.), then traded single runs with the Royals in the fifth to make it a 6-3 game.

The Royals, however, tacked on two more runs in the top of the seventh to seal the win.

Bogie, one of eight SMU seniors playing their final games at Max Molock Field, made the most of his swan song, going 6-for-8 — 3-for-4 in both games — including his first collegiate home run in the bottom of the fifth in Game 2. Warren closed out his home collegiate career with three hits in six at-bats vs. the Royals, while senior Sam Levisen (Rochester, Minn.) picked up his first collegiate win in the opener, allowing just one run on three hits in 2 2/3 innings of relief.

The Cardinals (3-15 MIAC, 10-26 overall) close out their season on Sunday, traveling to St. Paul, Minn., for a conference doubleheader against St. Thomas.