AUBURNDALE, Fla. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota baseball team has developed a bit of a habit during its first four games of its spring trip.
Fortunately for coach
Nick Winecke, it's turning into a very good—very high-scoring—habit.
For the third straight game, the Cardinals offense put up huge numbers—including a four-run second and a three-run third—as Saint Mary's outslugged Elmira 12-6.
"It was good to see the guys get out and get after it after missing out due to (Wednesday's) rain-out," said Winecke, whose team has now scored four or more runs in an inning four times during their current three-game winning streak. "We did some things well, and there are still some things we have to work on—but that's to be expected at this time of the year.
"One thing that I have been really pleased with is our plate discipline—it's been awesome," added Winecke, noting the Cardinals took advantage of 11 walks against the Soaring Eagles. "Now we get an off day (Friday) and then it's six games in three days—I guess we'll really see what we are made of."
Saint Mary's scored in each of the first four innings against the Soaring Eagles.
Joe Seegers (Oconomowoc, Wis.) got the Cardinals off and running with a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the first for a 1-0 lead.
Back-to-back RBI doubles by
Willie Doll (Amherst, Wis.) and Seegers highlighted the Cardinals' four-run second, while
Jake Mencacci (Wheaton, Ill.) and
Jack Cherry (Hopkins, Minn.) each had run-scoring singles as part of their three-run third that pushed the Saint Mary's advantage to 8-0.
Elmira clawed its way back, cutting the Saint Mary's advantage to 9-5 with two runs in the fourth and three in the fifth, but the Cardinals weren't finished—taking advantage of a pair of bases-loaded walks in the bottom of the sixth, before icing the win with a
Tyler Lursen (Maple Grove, Minn.) RBI single in the eighth.
Doll, Mencacci, and
Bob Kinne (St. Paul, Minn.) all had two hits for the Cardinals, while Seegers and Cherry each drove in two runs. Doll also had three stolen bases and Kinne scored a team-high three times.
Jesse Barron (Minnetonka, Minn.) collected his first collegiate pitching win in relief for Saint Mary's, allowing one run on three hits in 2 2/3 innings, with
Brian Powers (Berwyn, Ill.) working a pair of 1-2-3 innings in the eighth and ninth.
The Cardinals (3-1 overall) are now off until Saturday, when they square off against Houghton in a nonconference doubleheader beginning at 10 a.m. EST.
