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PHOENIX, Ariz. — The final doubleheader of their spring trip proved to be a rather nail-biting one for the Saint Mary's University baseball team, as the Cardinals dropped a one-run, 4-3 decision in the opener against Lewis & Clark, then bounced back to take the nightcap — also by one run — with a 14-13, 10-inning victory.

“It was a crazy day of baseball,” said SMU coach Nick Winecke. “We had a great chance to win (the first game) and left the tying run on third and the winning run on second and couldn't get the big hit, and then in the second game, we battled back twice, before (Curt) Swanson had the clutch hit in the 10th to give us the split.”

In the opener, SMU and Lewis & Clark traded runs in the second and third innings, before the Pioneers scored twice in the fourth to take a 4-2 advantage. The Cardinals cut the gap to one, 4-3, with a single run in the fifth, but that was as close as they would get.

Kevin Gannon (Roselle, Ill.) and Andy Edholm (Hudson, Wis.) each collected two hits in the opener, while Gannon also belted his first collegiate home run and scored two of the team's four runs.

In the nightcap, the Cardinals were as clutch as clutch could be, scoring five runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to eras a 10-5 Lewis & Clark advantage, then — after giving up three runs in the top of the ninth ¬¬— plating three runs in the bottom half of the frame to force a 10th inning.

After holding the Pioneers off the scoreboard in the top of the 10th, SMU got a lead-off triple by Zach Wolfe (Wabasha, Minn.), and, after the Pioneers intentionally walked Gannon, Curt Swanson (Woodbury, Minn.) delivered a walk-off, game-winning single.

Paul LaNasa (Mahtomedi, Minn.) went 4-for-5, while Gannon and Swanson each had three hits in Game 2. Gannon drove in four runs and Swanson finished with three RBIs.

The Cardinals, who went 6-4 in their 10 spring-trip games, return to action on Saturday, squaring off against Cornell (Iowa) in a nonconference doubleheader at the Metrodome in Minneapolis, Minn. First pitch is set for 10 p.m.