CAROL STREAM, Ill. — After surrendering 13 runs in falling to Aurora 13-9 in 10 innings — and facing an opponent who had just plated 15 runs in a 15-5 victory — Saint Mary's University baseball coach Nick Winecke knew his team would have its hands full when the Cardinals took to the diamond Monday evening against Wheaton.
 
How right he was.
 
The two teams combined to score 17 runs, but it was Wheaton's five-run sixth inning that proved to be the difference, as the Thunder dealt Saint Mary's a 9-8 nonconference setback Monday evening at Lee Pfund Stadium.
 
It did not take the Cardinals long to get their offense on track against the Thunder, scoring twice in their first at-bat — thanks to RBI singles from Riley Bauman (Stratford, Wis.) and Mason Coyle (Madison, Wis.) — to nab a quick, 2-0 lead.
 
The Cardinals pushed their lead to 3-0 on an RBI single by Cameron Weber (Holmen, Wis.) in the top of the third, only to give that run back in the bottom of the frame on a solo home run by Wheaton's Joe Klein.
 
Saint Mary's doubled its run output in the third inning, scoring three times on three hits — all coming with two outs.
 
Daniel Marxen (Maple Grove, Minn.) — who went 2-for-4 with a double and a home run in SMU's loss to Aurora earlier in the day — kicked things off in the third with a two-out single. Will Boeckman (Big Lake, Minn.) followed with a walk and both scored on a Tanner Bauman (Willmar, Minn.) double. Bauman then scored when Cam Miller (Kimberly, Minn.) singled through the left side — and just like that, Saint Mary's lead had ballooned to 6-1.
 
Unfortunately, Wheaton tagged Cardinal starter Andrew Fischer (La Crosse, Wis.) for three runs on three hits in the fourth, including the Thunder's second home run of the game — a lead-off bomb by Ben Weaver — and, as quickly as SMU's lead had expanded to five, it was whittled back down to two, 6-4.
 
Saint Mary's regained two of those runs with solo runs in the fifth and sixth innings. Marxen led off the fifth with a double, moved to third on a ground-out, and scored on Miller's second RBI single of the game, before getting a two-out, solo home run off the bat of Riley Bauman in the sixth to push the Cardinal lead back to four, 8-4.
 
The Thunder's penchant for the long ball, however, once again transformed what appeared to be a comfortable four-run Cardinal cushion.
 
Wheaton opened its half of the sixth with back-to-back singles, and Klein launched his second home run of the contest — a three-run shot — to get the Thunder within one, 8-7. Noah Yi delivered a one-out RBI single to tie the game, moved to second on a ground-out, stole third and scored on an SMU throwing error to give Wheaton its first lead of the game, 9-8.
 
After scoring at least one run in five of the first six innings, the Cardinals came up empty in each of their final three at-bats — although they did threaten in the ninth, putting the first two runners on via a lead-off single by Coyle and Marxen being hit by a pitch. The Coyle moved to third and pinch-runner Mason Palmer (Holmen, Wis.) advanced to second on a wild pitch, only to have Thunder reliever Brendan Dyer struck out the next three batters he faced to seal the one-run Wheaton victory.
 
Saint Mary's boasted six players with two hits to highlight a 15-hit offensive attack. Weber, Coyle, Marxen, Miller, Riley Bauman, Cameron Weber (Holmen, Wis.), and Trevon VanEgtern (La Crosse, Wis.) all collected two hits, with Riley Bauman, Tanner Bauman, and Miller each delivering two RBIs.
 
The Cardinals (3-7 overall) are right back at Lee Pfund Stadium in Carol Stream, Ill., on Tuesday, squaring off against Northwestern (Minn.) in an 11 a.m. nine-inning nonconference contest.
 
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