WINTER HAVEN, Fla. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota baseball team continued its winning ways on Saturday, as the Cardinals pushed their winning streak to five in a row with back-to-back 9-3 and 6-2 nonconference wins over Houghton.
"It was a good day for us," said Saint Mary's coach
Nick Winecke. "We got good pitching, swung the bats pretty well, and did a nice job in the field—when you do those three things well, good things are going to happen."
Pitching certainly was a bright spot for the Cardinals against the Highlanders, as
Ben Johnson (Brooklyn Park, Minn.) tossed a complete-game seven-hitter with seven strikeouts in the opener, while
Eli Morison (Minneapolis, Minn.) picked up his first collegiate win in his first collegiate start and
Josh Hottinger (Oconomowoc, Wis.) notched career save No. 1 in the sweep-clinching Game 2.
The Cardinals scored in every inning but the third in the opener, putting together two-run innings in the first, second, and fourth, before adding single runs in the fifth, sixth, and seventh. Johnson, meanwhile, held Houghton to single runs in the third, fifth and seventh en route to his first win of the year.
Offensively, the Cardinals tagged two Highlander pitchers for nine runs on 12 hits, led by
Joe Seegers (Oconomowoc, Wis.) and
Ben Buerkle (Roseville, Minn.) with three hits each.
Willie Doll (Amherst, Wis.) added a pair of hits, and Buerkle and
Bob Kinne (St. Paul, Minn.) each drove in two runs.
Two continued to be the magic number for the Cardinals in the nightcap, scoring twice in the first and fifth innings, while adding single runs in the fourth and sixth. Houghton, meanwhile, scored both of its runs off Hottinger in the sixth.
Morison threw four innings of shutout ball in his first start as a Cardinal, scattering four hits, while walking just one and striking out four. Hottinger tossed the final three innings, allowing two runs on two hits, with one walk and one strikeout.
Seegers and Buerkle continued to feast on Houghton pitcher, as the duo each collected two hits in combining for four of Saint Mary's nine Game 2 hits.
Cale Pieczynski (Plover, Wis.) drove in three runs, while Doll stole two bases—giving the senior four on the day and eight in eight attempts through six games.
The Cardinals (6-1 overall) are back in action on Sunday, squaring off against Capital University (10:30 a.m. EST) and Franklin College (2 p.m. EST) in a pair of nine-inning nonconference games.
