AUBURNDALE, Fla. — The Saint Mary's University baseball team left the cold and snow of Minnesota for a week in sunny Florida.
Unfortunately for the Cardinals, while their pitching staff seemed to be in mid-season form — their bats haven't quite thawed out yet.
Saint Mary's was held to just two runs in its nonconference doubleheader against Franklin Sunday afternoon, falling to the Grizzlies 3-2 in the opener and 1-0 in the nightcap.
GAME 1: EARLY OFFENSE NOT ENOUGH
The Cardinals came out swinging early in the opener against the Grizzlies, scoring solo runs in the second and fourth innings to grab a 2-0 advantage.
Riley Bauman (Stratford, Wis.) got things off on the right foot for the Cardinals, launching his first collegiate home run — a solo shot in the second inning — and
Ben Coons (Kimberly, Wis.) delivered an RBI single in the fifth, scoring pinch-runner
Mason Palmer (Holmen, Wis.) to up the SMU lead to 2-0.
Franklin, however, matched the Cardinals' run total with a pair of runs off SMU starter
Andrew Fischer (La Crosse, Wis.) in the bottom of the fifth, before plating what proved to be the game-winning run in the bottom of the sixth on a two-out single by Matt Earley.
Bauman finished 2-for-3 – adding a single to his second-inning home run — to pace the Cardinals' seven-hit attack. Fischer went the first five innings, allowing two runs on four hits, while
Dylan Westcott (Holmen, Wis.) took the loss, surrendering one run on two hits in one inning of work.
GAME 2: STELLAR PITCHING CAN'T SAVE THE DAY
Addison Hochevar () and a pair of relievers pitched a gem in the nightcap, with Hochevar allowing just one run on two hits, while walking two and striking out nine in the first five innings.
That one run, however, proved to be the difference, as Franklin got a one-out RBI single from Tysen Lipsco to score A.J. Sanders — who had led off the inning with a walk and promptly stole second.
The Cardinals had their share of chances, loading the bases in both the third and fifth innings, only to come up empty both times.
Cameron Weber (Holmen, Wis.) went 2-for-3 to pace SMU's five-hit attack, while Coons,
Brandon Merfeld (La Crosse, Wis.), and
Mason Coyle () had the Cardinals' other three hits.
TJ Bergland (Farmington, Minn.) relieved Hochevar in the sixth, walking one and striking out two, before giving way to
Mason Windschitl (Excelsior, Minn.) who tossed scoreless, one-hit seventh.
The Cardinals (0-2 overall) are right back in action on Monday, squaring off against Milwaukee School of Engineering in a nine-inning nonconference game in Auburndale, Fla. First pitch is set for 10 a.m. (EST)
