MOORHEAD, Minn. — Talk about déjà vu.
 
And not in a good way for the Saint Mary's University baseball team.
 
The Cardinals — right in the thick of the MIAC Playoff chase — gave up the game-tying single in the bottom of the seventh and a walk-off single in the bottom of the eighth inning in dropping a heartbreaking 3-2 setback in Game 1 of their Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference doubleheader.
 
And the outcome of Game 2 was eerily similar, only this time — after once again tying the game in the bottom of the seventh — it took 12 innings for the Cobbers to deliver their second straight, 3-2, walk-off win over the Cardinals Wednesday at Bucky Burgau Field.
 
GAME 1: EXTRA-INNING HEARTBREAK
 
Saint Mary's came out swinging against Cobber starter Jacoby Nold in the opener, collecting two hits and a solo run in its first at-bat. Brandon Merfeld (La Crosse, Wis.) led off the game with a single, moved to second on a one-out balk, and scored on a Trevon VanEgtern (La Crosse, Wis.) single up the middle.
 
The Cardinals had a golden opportunity to pad their lead in the third, loading the bases with no one out, only to have Nold wiggle out of the jam, inducing a pop-out to second and a pair of groundball outs to keep it a one-run game.
 
Concordia matched SMU's third-inning opportunity — with the same result — loading the bases with one out in the bottom of the fourth, but Cardinal starter Luke Gilbertson (Windom, Minn.) escaped unscathed, thanks to a pop-out to second and a ground-out to third.
 
The Cobbers finally got to Gilbertson — who had blanked CC on three hits through six innings — in the bottom of the seventh, getting a one-out single by Jake Christianson and a two-out, pinch-hit double off the bat of Justin Kloster to knot the game at 1-1 — and send it to extra innings.
 
Extra innings did not last long, however — thanks to Mason Coyle (Madison, Wis.).
 
Cameron Weber (Holmen, Wis.) opened the Cardinal eighth with a lead-off infield single and, after a VanEgtern fly out to left, stole second to get into scoring position for Coyle, who deposited an RBI double to deep left field to give SMU the lead.
 
Unfortunately for the Cardinals, the lead did not last long, as the Cobbers loaded the bases with two outs against SMU reliever Andrew Fischer (La Crosse, Wis.), and Christianson laced a walk-off, two-run single to right to give the Cobbers the come-from-behind win.
 
VanEgtern and Ben Coons (Kimberly, Wis.) led the Saint Mary's offense with two hits each, while Merfeld and Weber scored the Cardinals' two runs. Gilbertson went the first seven innings on the mound, allowing one run on five hits in a no-decision.
 
GAME 2: EXTRA-INNING HEARTBREAK, PART II
 
The Cobbers would strike first in Game 2, scratching across an unearned run in the bottom of the second to grab a 1-0 lead.
 
After being set down in order by CC starter Dylan Inniger in each of the first three innings, Saint Mary's finally got to the right-hander in the fourth.
 
Merfeld led off the inning with a double, moved to third on a groundout to second by Weber, and scored on a VanEgtern RBI single to tie the game, 1-1.
 
VanEgtern was at it again in the sixth, this time lacing a one-out double down the left-field line, scoring Weber — who had reached on a single to right-center — to give Saint Mary's its first lead of the contest, 2-1.
 
And for the second game in a row, the Cardiac Cobbers were at it again, scoring an unearned run in the bottom of the seventh to knot the game at 2-2 — and return the two teams to extra innings.
 
Concordia put two runners on in both the eighth and the 10th, and loaded the bases on a Noah Pilon lead-off double and back-to-back two-out intentional walks in the 11th, but the Cardinals would escape unscathed all three times.
 
And in the 11th, the Cardinals came within one out of escaping yet again — only to have their Houdini act fall flat.
 
After surrendering a lead-off double to Wyatt Gunkel, SMU reliever Justin Haugo (Springfield, Minn.) induced a pair of fly-ball outs, before Noah Pilon laced a single to right-center, scoring Gunkel and giving CC its second straight walk-off victory.
 
VanEgtern went 2-for-5 and drove in both Saint Mary's runs, while six other Cardinals accounted for SMU's other six hits.
 
The Cardinals (8-10 MIAC, 16-19 overall) close out their regular-season schedule on Sunday, heading to Northfield, Minn., for a 1 p.m. conference doubleheader against Carleton.

 
 
  Read Full Article