WINONA, Minn. – The Saint Mary's baseball team managed just six runs in 16 innings against Saint John's last Thursday — parlaying three, two-run innings into a road split with the Johnnies.
 
Two days later, the Cardinals plated another six runs — in one inning.
 
Fueled by a six-run fourth inning, Saint Mary's got off to a quick start in its Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference doubleheader against Concordia, rolling to a 10-3 victory at Max Molock Field.
 
The Cardinals took a bit of a different approach in the nightcap — showing their flair for the dramatic.
 
After falling behind 6-1, Saint Mary's rallied to tie the game on a Will Matthews (Geneva, Ill.) sacrifice fly in the bottom of the ninth, then scored two more in the bottom of the 10th on a walk-off double by Tyler O'Brien (Belle Plaine, Minn.) to complete the sweep with a 8-7 victory.
 
Concordia got on the board first in the opener, scoring a solo run off Cardinal starter Ryan Wolfe (Wabasha, Minn.), but that would be all they would get off the SMU ace, who went the first five innings, allowing just the one run on five hits.
 
And Saint Mary's gave Wolfe plenty of run support, scoring three times in the second — one on a Joey Costello (Victoria, Minn.) sacrifice fly and two on a two-run single by O'Brien — and once more in the third when Justin Weinberg (Eagan, Minn.) scored on a wild pitch.
 
And then came the fourth.
 
The Cardinals sent 10 batters to the plate – Jack Arndt () opened the inning with a single and ended it with a fly out to left — and in between, Zach Drake (Westby, Wis.) had an RBI single, Liam Belleveau (Middleton, Wis.) belted a two-run single, and Andy Tepp (Stevens Point, Wis.) launched a three-run double — to push the Saint Mary's lead to 10-1.
 
Concordia scored two in the top of the seventh, but it was far too little, too late, as Saint Mary's locked up the easy Game 1 win.
 
Weinberg went 3-for-4 with two runs scored, while O'Brien was 2-for-3 with 2 RBIs, and Arndt and Drake were both 2-for-3 with a pair of runs scored to pace the Cardinals' 13-hit attack. Wolfe picked up his team-leading fourth win with his five-innings of work, while Keegan Majerus allowed two runs on two hits in two innings of relief work.
 
The Cobbers scored the first four runs in the nightcap, plating one in the second, two in the third, and one more in the fifth, before Saint Mary's finally got on the board on a sacrifice fly by Mitchell Feyereisen (River Falls, Wis.) in the seventh to make it 4-1.
 
Concordia scored twice in the top of the eighth to push its lead to 6-1, before Saint Mary's began its late-game rally, scoring four times in the bottom of the eighth – on just two hits — before Matthews completed the comeback with his game-tying sacrifice fly in the bottom of the ninth to knot the game at 6-6.
 
And force extra innings.
 
The Cobbers regained the lead on an RBI double by Matt Gruber in the top of the 10th, but the Cardinals would not be denied, loading the bases with one out to set the table for O'Brien's game-winning, walk-off double.
 
O'Brien finished the nightcap 3-for-6, while Matthews added a pair of hits in four at-bats to pace the Cardinals' 11-hit attack. Kodey Kiel (Owatonna, Minn.) picked up the pitching win, allowing one hit in 2/3 of an inning of relief.
 
The Cardinals (9-5 MIAC, 15-8 overall) and Cobbers return to Max Molock Field on Sunday, squaring off in a nine-inning conference contest. First pitch is slated for 1 p.m.