ARDEN HILLS, MINN. – The Saint Mary's University baseball team was eliminated from the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Confernce (MIAC) Baseball Tourmament Friday afternoon ina heartbreaking loss to St. Olaf College. St. Olaf won the elimination game in Arden Hills, Minnesota by a final score of 10-9. 
 
"This was a great year with a great group of guys," baseball head coach Nick Winecke said after the game. "Today was a tough day for us, but it's all about perspective and I'm really happy and fortunate we had the opportunity to keep playing at this time of year."
 
Saint Mary's fell in a 3-0 deficit after the first two innings, as the Oles scored three runs on three hits in the first two innings of play. That was no issue for the Cardinals, as they cut the lead to 3-2 with a home run by Andy Tapp (Stevens Point, Wis. / Stevens Point Area) in the top of the fourth inning. Saint Mary's then tied things up in the fifth, as Zach Drake (Westby, Wis. / Viroqua) scored from third on a wild pitch to even things up at 3-3 with four innings remaining in the ball game.
 
After Drake scored the game tying run, it was all Cardinals in the top of the fifth and seventh innings, as they unleashed to score six runs on seven hits to take what appeared to be a definitive 9-3 lead. Junior third baseman Will Matthews (Geneva, Ill. / Marmion Academy) kick started the scoring by give Saint Mary's its first lead of the ball game with a solo home run to lead off the top of the sixth. From there, the Cardinals scored two more runs in the inning thanks to singles from Joey Costello (Victoria, Minn. / Chanhassen) and Justin Weinberg (Eagan, Minn. / Cretin-Derham Hall) to boost the lead to 6-3.
 
Saint Mary's posted another three-run inning in the seventh to extend its lead to 9-3 with two innings remaining in the ballgame. Tepp scored the first run of the inning on an RBI groundout by Liam Belleveau (Middleton, Wis. / Middleton) before Matthews scored his second run of the ballgame to put the Cardinals up 8-3. Costello then delivered his second RBI single of the game, as his single through the left side allowed Tyler O'Brien (Belle Plaine, Minn. / Belle Plaine) to score from second to extend Saint Mary's lead to 9-3.
 
Sadly, the 9-3 lead would not be enough for the Cardinals, as the Oles scored one in the seventh, three in the eighth and three in the ninth to win the game by a final score of 10-9.
 
"I couldn't be more proud of who these guys are as players,"  Winecke commented after the game. "We will be back ready to go next year."
 
Eli Morison (Minneapolis, Minn. / Minneapolis Washburn) took the loss for Saint Mary's, ending his season with a 3-5 record on the mound for the Cardinals. Matthews and Costello both went 2-4 at the plate, while right fielder Bailey Melz (Excelsior, Minn. / Minnetonka) was 2-3 with one run and one RBI.
 
With the loss, Saint Mary's concludes the season with an overall record on 20-18 and a 12-8 mark in MIAC play.