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Saint Mary's University of Minnesota Athletics

THE OFFICIAL SITE OF SAINT MARY'S UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA CARDINAL ATHLETICS
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Chris Ebert

Baseball

Bethel hands Cardinals pair of losses in conference opener

Donny Nadeau, SMU Sports Information Director

Bethel catcher Jay Slick puts the tag on SMU's Paul LaNas for the final out of Saturday's first game of the teams' MIAC doubleheader at Max Molock Field
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WINONA, Minn. — It wasn't exactly the way Saint Mary's University baseball coach Nick Winecke was hoping to kick off Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play.

The Cardinals surrendered a three-home home run in the top of the seventh in falling to Bethel 4-3 in the teams' MIAC opener Saturday at Max Molock Field, and the Royals' used that momentum to propel them to a 12-2 victory in the nightcap.

SMU starter Teddy VanRanst (St. Paul, Minn.) turned in a masterful performance in the opening, limiting the Royals to one run on seven hits through six innings — and the Cardinal junior entered the seventh inning with SMU clinging to a 2-1 advantage.

In that seventh inning, however, the Royals strung together a walk and two hits — the second a towering three-run home run off the bat of Matt Rowley that turned SMU's one-run lead into a two-run deficit.

The Cardinals battled back in the bottom of the seventh, putting runners on second and third with one out. Vince Lulic (Mendota Heights, Minn.) got SMU within one with a sacrifice fly to deep left and Andy Edholm (Hudson, Wis.) followed with a single to left, but Paul LaNasa (Mahtomedi, Minn.) was gunned down trying to score from second for the game's final out.

Zach Wolfe (Wabasha, Minn.) went 2-for-3 with a run score to account for two of SMU's nine hits the opener. The Cardinals' other seven hits came from seven different players, with Lulic driving in two of the team's three runs.

SMU got on the board first in the nightcap, scoring the game's first run on a LaNasa RBI single in the second, but it was all Bethel after that, as the Royals scored six runs in the third and two in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings to complete the sweep.

Kevin Gannon (Roselle, Ill.) went 2-for-3, with SMU's other five hits come from five different players. Matt Biagini was tagged with the loss, going 2.1 innings, allowing six earned runs on six hits.

The Cardinals (0-2 MIAC, 8-9 overall) are back in action on Tuesday, heading to Menomonie, Wis., for a nonconference doubleheader against UW-Stout. First pitch is set for 2 p.m.
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