WINONA, Minn. — After erupting for 20 runs in a nonconference sweep of Luther last Wednesday's, the Saint Mary's University of Minnesota baseball team was held to just three runs in its Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference doubleheader against Gustavus Saturday.
 
Fortunately for Saint Mary's, three runs was enough to earn the Cardinals a conference split—thanks in large part to the right arm of Ben Johnson (Brooklyn Park, Minn.).
 
Johnson tossed a complete-game, nine-inning shutout in Game 2, scattering just seven hits, while striking out three in guiding the Cardinals to a 2-0 victory. The Gusties opened the day with a 3-1 victory—holding the high-powered Cardinals to just one run on seven hits.
 
The Gusties threatened just once against Johnson, putting runners on second and third with one out in the fourth—only to have Dalton Mattson thrown out at the plate by Cardinal leftfielder Ben Buerkle (Roseville, Minn.) trying to score on a fly ball out off the bat of Sam Warner.
 
Gustavus starter Michael Strelow was equaling as impressive, matching Johnson shutout inning-for-shutout inning—until the sixth.
 
David Barry (Apple Valley, Minn.) opened the Cardinal sixth with a single, stole second and advanced to third on a balk. Buerkle walked and stole second, and, one out later, Barry scored and Buerkle moved to third on a wild pitch. Tyler Lursen (Maple Grove, Minn.) then made it 2-0 on an RBI single.
 
And one run was all Johnson would need in improving his record to 3-0 on the year.
 
Lursen finished 2-for-3 with an RBI and was the only Cardinal with more than one hit. David Barry, Buerkle, and Jake Barry (Tinley Park, Ill.) accounted for Saint Mary's other three hits.
 
In the opener, Gustavus got to Cardinal starter Steph Scatassa (Westchester, Ill.) for a single run in the top of the second, but Saint Mary's answered in the sixth, knotting the game in the bottom of the sixth on an RBI double by Lursen.
 
That, however, would be the only run the Cardinals would get off GAC starter Grant Soderberg, while the Gustie bats were just heating up—sealing the Gusavus win with a pair of runs in the top of the seventh on a two-run double by Josh Chatfield.
 
Willie Doll (Amherst, Wis.) went 2-for-4, while David Barry, Buerkle, Jon Schlemmer (De Pere, Wis.), Lursen, and A.J. Redders (Middleton, Wis.) all had one hit. Scatassa suffered his first pitching loss of the season, giving up three runs—two earned on six hits in 6 2/3 innings.
 
The Cardinals (4-4 MIAC, 19-6 overall) are back in action next Saturday, traveling to St. Paul, Minn., for a 1 p.m. conference doubleheader against Macalester.