SIOUX CITY, Iowa — Two games, two walk-offs, same final score — different outcomes.
The Saint Mary's University baseball team battled Luther to a nonconference split Sunday, with both teams winning by 7-6 outcomes. The Norse got a two-out, two-run walk-off double by Joshua Matanich to cap a three-run seventh inning in leading Luther to a victory over the Cardinals, while the Cardinals turned the tables on the Norse in the nightcap, as
Trevon VanEgtern (La Crosse, Wis.) laced a walk-off single in the bottom of the 11
th to give Saint Mary's its own 7-6 victory.
The Cardinals had the upper hand through the game's first five innings, scoring twice in the third, once more in the fourth and three times in the fifth to grab a 6-1 advantage.
After being stymied by SMU starter
Addison Hochevar (Lake Geneva, Wis.) through the first five innings — managing just a fourth-inning run — Luther finally got to the Cardinal left-hander, scoring three times in the sixth to pull within 6-4.
And set up Luther's seventh-inning heroics.
Joe Jersak was hit by a pitch to open the Norse seventh, moved to second on a one-out infield single by Luke Plunkett, and scored on Charlie Rubendall's RBI single to left. SMU reliever
Dylan Westcott (Holmen, Wis.) induced a pop-out to third for the second out, before Matanich laced a double to left-center to score both Plunkett and Rubendall to seal the win.
Daniel Marxen (Maple Grove, Minn.) finished 2-for-3 with a pair of RBIs to lead the Cardinal offense, while
Tyler O'Brien (Belle Plaine, Minn.),
Cameron Weber (Holmen, Wis.),
Jake Mercado (Belle Plaine, Minn.),
Brandon Merfeld (La Crosse, Wis.), and
Trevon VanEgtern (La Crosse, Wis.) accounted for SMU's other five hits.
Unlike Game 1, it was the Norse who grabbed control early in the nightcap, scoring three times in the first inning, once in the second and four more in the fourth to build a 6-1 lead.
Saint Mary's erupted for three runs in the bottom of the fifth on a Marxen three-run home run to cut the deficit to 6-4, and a run-scoring double by O'Brien in the sixth and an RBI double by Weber in the eighth got the Cardinals even, 6-6.
And set up VanEgtern's 11th-inning heroics.
Jack Arndt (Coon Rapids, Minn.) opened the Saint Mary's 11th with a double, Marxen was intentionally walked and the two were sacrificed over by Coons.
Mason Coyle (Madison, Wis.) drew SMU's second intentional walk of the inning and VanEgtern laced a single to left to give Saint Mary's the victory.
O'Brien finished 3-for-6 and Weber, Arndt, Coons, and Coyle each chipped in two hits for the Cardinals, while
Timmy Smith (South St. Paul, Minn.) collected the pitching win, throwing six innings of scoreless relief, scattering six hits, while striking out seven.
The Cardinals (5-6 overall) are back in action on Tuesday, heading to Waverly, Iowa, for a 1 p.m. nonconference doubleheader against Wartburg.
