AUBURNDALE, Fla. — Three proved to be the magic number for the Saint Mary's University of Minnesota baseball team.
The Cardinals scored three runs in three separate innings—including both the eighth and ninth—as Saint Mary's rolled to a 9-3 nonconference win over Capital Saturday morning.
Saint Mary's did not waste any time taking control against the Crusaders, scoring three times in their first plate appearance.
Joe Seegers (Oconomowoc, Wis.) got things going with a leadoff single and stole second.
Justin Weinberg (Eagan, Minn.) walked and
Ben Buerkle (Roseville, Minn.) followed with an RBI single to score Seegers with the game's first run and move Weinberg to third. A passed ball plated Weinberg with run No. 2, and a
Chris Bartosz (Woodridge, Ill.) two-out single plated the Cardinals' third run of the inning.
The Cardinals would maintain that 3-0 advantage into the eighth—thanks in large part to the pitching tandem of starter
Jesse Barron (Minnetonka, Minn.) and reliever
Austin Jacobs (Cannon Falls, Minn.).
Barron went the first 4 2/3 innings, limiting the Crusaders to just two hits, while walking two and striking out two. Jacobs earn the win with 4 1/3 innings of relief, including holding Capital off the board until the bottom of the ninth—when the Crusaders recorded three of their five hits off the Cardinal right-hander.
Saint Mary's padded its lead to 6-0 in the eighth, thanks to RBI doubles by
Bob Kinne (St. Paul, Minn.) and Bartosz, and a sacrifice fly by
Jake Barry (Tinley Park, Ill.), before making it 9-0 with three more runs in the top of the ninth.
Will Matthews (Geneva, Ill.) drove in two runs with a single, while a Kinne single plated the other.
Seegers collected his second four-hit game in as many days, going 4-for-5 with a pair of runs scored to pace the Cardinals' offensive attack. Buerkle, Kinne, Matthews, and Bartosz all chipped in two hits, with Matthews recording three RBIs, while Kinne drove in two.
The Cardinals (7-2 overall) closed out their 10-game spring trip on Sunday, squaring off against Coe in a 9 a.m. (EST) nine-inning contest.
