WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota baseball team took two very different paths to the same end result Wednesday afternoon—a nonconference victory.
The Cardinals scored three runs in their first at-bat en route to a 6-3 win over Luther in the opening game of their nonconference doubleheader at Max Molock Field.
And in the nightcap, Saint Mary's waited until their final at-bat, before erupting for 10 runs in rallying from an 11-3 deficit to beat the Norse 13-11 and complete the sweep.
Whether is was scoring early or late, there was on constant in Wednesday's sweep—
Jon Schlemmer (De Pere, Wis.) was unstoppable.
Schlemmer feasted on Norse pitching all afternoon, as the senior designated hitter went 3-for-3 with a home run and three RBIs in the opener, and matched that effort in the nightcap by posting his second straight 3-for-3, 1-home run, 3-RBI performance—while also adding four runs scored.
Ben Buerkle (Roseville, Minn.) and Schlemmer got the Cardinals' offense jump-started in Game 1, as Buerkle delivered a two-run triple and scored on Schlemmer's RBI single to give Saint Mary's an early 3-0 advantage.
The two teams traded runs in the third—Saint Mary's coming on an RBI double off the bat of Schlemmer—before the Cardinals pushed their lead to 6-1 with single runs in the fifth and sixth innings.
Luther cut the lead to 6-3 with two runs in the top of the seventh, but it was not nearly enough to catch the quick-starting Cardinals.
Willie Doll (Amherst, Wis.) matched Schlemmer's 3-for-3 Game 1 effort, as the duo accounted for six of the team's 11 hits, while Buerkle chipped in a pair of RBIs.
Things certainly didn't start the same in Game 2, as Luther erupted for five second inning runs, and found themselves in what appeared to be complete control, holding an 11-3 lead heading into the bottom of the sixth inning.
And what a sixth inning it proved to be.
Schlemmer opened the inning with a walk and scored on
Kevin Miley's (St. Paul, Minn.) triple. By the time Schlemmer batted for the second time in the inning, Saint Mary's had plated seven runs—highlighted by a two-run single from
David Barry (Apple Valley, Minn.) and RBI singles from Doll and
Drew Denning (St. Paul, Minn.), and a sacrifice fly by Buerkle—to whittle the Norse lead to 11-9.
But the Cardinals weren't done—far from it.
Schlemmer laced his second double of the game to cut the lead to one, 11-10, and
Jake Barry (Tinley Park, Ill.) launched his first collegiate home run—a three-run bomb to right field—to complete the improbable comeback.
Luther put two on with two outs in the top of the seventh, but
Ryan Fejt (Westchester, Ill.) struck out Andrew Burgmeier looking to seal his first collegiate save.
Denning joined Schlemmer in the three-hit club in the second game, with
David Barry and
Jake Barry each collecting two hits, not to mention two and four RBIs, respectively.
The Cardinals (18-5 overall) are right back in action on Thursday, traveling to Copeland Park in La Crosse, Wis., for a 5 p.m. nine-inning nonconference game against Viterbo.
