Box Score  | Photo Gallery | GameDay Preview

TUCSON, Ariz. — It was a game of big innings when the Saint Mary's University and Concordia-Chicago baseball teams squared off Thursday afternoon.

Unfortunately for SMU coach Nick Winecke, a three-run second proved to be the highlight of the Cardinals' offensive effort, while the Cougars boasted four multiple-run innings — not to mention scoring runs in six of the nine frames — in handing Saint Mary's a 13-4 nonconference setback.

After spotting Concordia-Chicago a 3-0 lead after an inning and a half, SMU kicked its offense into high gear — with one swing of the bat — as Zach Wolfe (Wabasha, Minn.) belted the team's first home run of the spring to knot the game at 3-3.

It would be all Concordia-Chicago from there, however, as the Cougars plated two runs in the fourth, four in the fifth, one in the sixth and three more in the eighth to seal the win.

Four Cougar pitchers limited SMU to just seven hits, with Wolfe and Taylor Thelemann (Bloomington, Minn.) the only Cardinals with more than one hit. Wolfe also accounted for three of SMU's four RBIs with his second-inning bomb, while David Barry (Apple Valley, Minn.) drove in the Cardinals' fourth run on a sacrifice fly in the ninth that scored Drew Denning (St. Paul, Minn.), who had reached on a picnh-hit triple.

Concordia-Chicago, meanwhile, banged out 18 hits — including three doubles, a triple and a three-run home run of its own — off three SMU pitchers. Colin Bethran proved to be the biggest thorn in the Cardinal pitchers' side, going 5-for-5 with four RBIs and four runs scored, while Rich Santarelli was 3-for-5 and Carlos Olavarrla was 3-for-3.

The Cardinals are right back in action on Friday, squaring off against fellow Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference foe St. Olaf in a pair of nonconference games beginning at noon (CST).