SIOUX CITY, Iowa — For the Saint Mary's University baseball team, Saturday's matchup against Luther was the first of three games between the two teams — and it would be the Norse who would grab the upper hand early, and never relinquish it.
 
Luther scored three runs in its first at-bat, and pitchers Ryan Mantemach and Calvin Brinda combined on a three-hit shutout, as the Norse blanked the Cardinals 5-0 in a nine-inning nonconference game played at Briar Cliff University.
 
After the rocky three-hit, three-run first inning, Cardinal starter Luke Gilbertson (Windom, Minn.) settled down, throwing up zeros in the second, third, and fourth innings, before Luther added singles runs in the fifth and sixth to round out the scoring.
 
Gilbertson went six innings, allowing five runs on eight hits, while walking two and striking out five. Justin Haugo (Springfield, Minn.) worked the final three innings, scattering two hits and striking out four.
 
Offensively, Nolan Olszewski (Jackson, Wis.) delivered two of Saint Mary's three hits, while Ben Coons (Kimberly, Wis.) accounted for the other.
 
The Cardinals will get two more shots at the Norse on Sunday, as the teams play a nonconference doubleheader beginning at 11 a.m. in Sioux City, Iowa.
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