CAROL STREAM, Ill. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota baseball team completed its perfect 3-0 run at the Wheaton Tournament Saturday afternoon.
But after convincing offensive outbursts in 12-2 and 10-5 wins over Aurora and Wheaton on Friday, nothing came "easy" for the Cardinals in their final game of the tournament against Cornell.
The Cardinals put together three two-run innings, survived a four-run Cornell sixth, and got a game-winning single from
Jacob Frost (Moline, Ill.) in the eighth en route to a 7-6 nonconference win over the Rams at Pfund Stadium.
"That was a good game, and a good way for us to end the weekend," said Saint Mary's coach
Nick Winecke. "I didn't think it was a great day for us—we definitely didn't play as well as we are capable—but I've always said that great teams figure out ways to win in situations like that, and that's what we did today.
"Give Cornell credit, they can swing the bats," added Winecke, noting that the Rams outhit the Cardinals 16-7, but stranded 13 runners on base. "All-in-all, it was a good day for us—the guys played hard from the first pitch (Friday) to the final pitch today."
Saint Mary's wasted little time getting on the scoreboard, scoring twice in the first inning and adding two more in the third for a 4-0 advantage.
Cornell cut the lead in half with two urns in the fifth, and, after the Cardinals put together their third two-run inning in the top of the sixth, the Rams scored four times in the bottom of the sixth to knot the game at 6-6.
And set up Frost's heroics.
Tyler Lursen (Maple Grove, Minn.) reached on an error to open the Cardinals' eighth.
Jake Mencacci (Wheaton, Ill.) sacrificed pinch runner Connor Christianson (Lakeville, Minn.) to second, and Frost delivered his run-scoring single through the left side to give Saint Mary's the 7-6 advantage.
An advantage that
Nathan Mathwig (Woodbury, Minn.) and
Austin Jacobs (Cannon Falls, Minn.) made stand up—but not without a few tense moments.
Cornell put runners on first and third in the eighth—but Mathwig got a clutch two-out strikeout, and the Rams had runners on first and second with two outs in the ninth, but Jacobs got Rausch to pop out to short to seal the win.
Bob Kinne (St. Paul, Minn.) went 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run score to pace the Cardinals' seven-hit offensive attack, with Doll,
Joe Seegers (Oconomowoc, Wis.),
Ben Buerkle (St. Paul, Minn.),
Jake Barry (Tinley Park, Ill.), and Frost accounting for the other six hits.
Mathwig picked up the pitching win—his team-leading third of the season—throwing 2.1 innings of scoreless relief, with Jacobs collecting the save.
The Cardinals (12-3 overall) are back in action on Thursday, traveling to Copeland Park in La Crosse, Wis., for a nonconference doubleheader against UW-La Crosse. First pitch is slated for 1 p.m.
