Box Score  | Photo Gallery | GameDay Preview

MINNETONKA, Minn. — When the Saint Mary's University and Augsburg baseball teams met during the regular season, both games of their Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference doubleheader went into extra-innings.

So it was only fitting that when the Cardinals and Auggies met in the opening round of the MIAC Tournament Friday evening the outcome would not be decided in the scheduled nine innings.

Unfortunately for the Cardinals, the third time was anything but a charm, as Augsburg scored the game-winning run on a wild pitch in the bottom of the 11th inning, lifting the Auggies to a 5-4 victory — and berth in Saturday's MIAC Tournament semifinal against second-seeded Concordia.

The Cardinals used a pair of two run innings to jump out to a 4-0 lead, but Augsburg scored single runs in the fifth, sixth, seventh and ninth innings — including a one-out, suicide squeeze to score the game-tying run in the bottom of the ninth — to send the game into extra innings.

And, after holding SMU scoreless in the 10th and 11th — the Auggies put together their game-winning rally in their half of the 11th.

Louie LaChapelle led off the bottom of the 11th with a single, and Billy Brookshaw and Zach Pavlisick were both hit by a pitch to load the bases. After Gary Mariscal lined out to third for the first out, LaChapelle scored on a wild pitch to cap Augsburg's come-from-behind win.

SMU got out of the blocks quickly, scoring four runs in their first three at-bats, but the Auggies proved that Friday's tournament contest was more of a marathon than a sprint, scoring single runs in five of the game's last seven innings — while holding the Cardinals off the board over the final eight frames.

The Cardinals, who stranded Kevin Gannon (Roselle, Ill.) at second in the top of the first, put a runner on second again in the second — and this time cashed in with the game's first runs.

Willie Doll (Amherst, Wis.) laced a one-out double down the left-field line and Drew Denning (St. Paul, Minn.) followed with an RBI triple to give SMU a 1-0 lead. Denning then scored SMU's second run of the game on Vince Lulic's (Mendota Heights, Minn.) groundout to second.

And the Cardinals were just getting warmed up.

David Barry (Apple Valley, Minn.) singled and Paul LaNasa (Mahtomedi, Minn.) was hit by a pitch to open the SMU third. Kevin Miley (St. Paul, Minn.) followed with a single through the right side to score Barry, and a sacrifice fly by Kyle Servais (Westby, Wis.) plated LaNasa to give the Cardinals their second straight two-run inning — and a 4-0 advantage.

The Cardinals had a runner in scoring position in both the fourth and fifth innings, but failed to pad their four-run lead — and the Auggies took advantage, getting back-to-back singles by Brookshaw and Pavlisick to open its half of the fifth, and an RBI groundout by Brent Kolbow, to cut the SMU lead to 4-1.

SMU once again threaten to break the game wide open in the sixth — but again the Auggies escaped unscathed. Denning led off the Cardinal sixth with a single and, one out later, stole second. Mike Feriancek (River Falls, Wis.) walked, and both moved up a base on a wild pitch. That, however, is where they would stay, as Barry and LaNasa would each ground out to third to end the inning.

The Auggies continued to whittle away at the Cardinals' advantage, plating single runs in the sixth and seventh innings to make it 4-3, then knotted it up in the ninth, when Brookshaw was hit by a pitch to open the inning, moved to second on a wild pitch, advanced to third on sacrifice bunt by Pavlisick, and scored on Marsical's suicide squeeze bunt.

Barry, Miley and Denning all had to hits to pace SMU's 10-hit offensive attack.

The Cardinals, who were making their second straight MIAC Tournament appearance, close out the season with a 19-17 overall record.