Box Score  | GameDay Preview

TUCSON, Ariz. — For the Saint Mary's University baseball team, it was only a matter of time Wednesday — or, as head coach Nick Winecke put it, “better late than never.”

The Cardinals rallied from a 3-2 deficit in the bottom of the ninth — forcing extra innings on a bases-loaded walk by Paul LaNasa (Mahtomedi, Minn.) — then won it in the bottom of the 11th when Willie Doll (Amherst, Wis.) laced a one-out single to lift SMU to a 4-3 victory over Iowa Wesleyan at the Kino Sports Complex.

“That was a big win — a big team win,” said Winecke, whose team has now won three straight heading into Wednesday's second game of the afternoon — a nine-inning affair against Simpson. “We had a lot of guys come up with some huge at-bats, and others made some outstanding plays in the field.

“All-in-all, it was a great baseball game.”

After eight-and-a-half innings of great baseball, the fireworks really began, as the Cardinals, down to their last out, came through when they needed it most.

Trailing 3-2, Zach Wolfe (Wabasha, Minn.) led off the SMU ninth with a double and moved to third when Mike Feriancek's (River Falls, Wis.) sacrifice bunt was so well-placed that he beat it out for an infield single. Iowa Wesleyan pitcher Joseph Neilson got Kyle Servais (Westby, Wis.) and Taylor Thelemann (Bloomington, Minn.) to ground out, with Feriancek moving to second on Servais' ground-out to first.

The Tigers elected to intentionally walk Doll to load the bases — and set up LaNasa's heroics, as the junior worked out of an 0-2 hole to draw the bases-loaded walk and force the game into extra innings.

Iowa Wesleyan had base runners in both the 10th and 11th, but each time, Tyler Krysiak (Bloomington, Minn.) worked out of the jam, inducing an inning-ending double play in the 10th and recording back-to-back strikeouts after giving up a lead-off walk in the 11th.

In the bottom of the 11th, Servais — who gunned down Iowa Wesleyan's Chase Daniels trying to steal in the top of the inning — delivered a one-out single, and Thelemann followed with a single to move pinch-runner David Berry (Apple Valley, Minn.) to third. Doll then promptly laced a Joe Thomas offering into right field to plate Berry with the game-winning run.

Doll, Vince Lulic (Mendota Heights, Minn.) and Wolfe all collected two hits for the Caridnals, while Krysiak — the third SMU pitcher — picked up the win, allowing no runs on three hits, while striking out two in two innings of work.

Justin Kronebusch (Altura, Minn.) worked the first seven innings for SMU, surrendering three runs — all in the fifth inning — on four hits, while striking out three. Sam Nord (Mendota Heights, Minn.) worked a scoreless eighth and ninth to set the table for Krysiak.

“It's hard to put that game into words,” said Winecke. “I'm very happy for the way the guys battled all the way through. We got great pitching, key at-bats and solid fielding — it was just a great all-around performance.”