ST. PAUL, Minn. — The last time the Saint Mary's University baseball team appeared in post-season play in 2021, the Cardinals captured the program's first-ever MIAC Playoff title — opening the double-elimination tournament with back-to-back-to-back wins, before beating St. Thomas 6-3 in a winner-take-all title tilt.
 
Saint Mary's returned to post-season play on Thursday, but if the Cardinals are going to repeat that magical run of 2021, they can't afford a misstep — thanks to an 11-1 loss to regular-season champion and top-seeded St. Olaf in the teams' MIAC Playoff opener at CHS Field.
 
The Oles got a 12-strikeout gem from starting pitcher Sam Lavin — who struck out at least one SMU batter in all six innings he worked — in sending the Cardinals into Friday's loser's bracket game, where they will face third-seeded Saint John's at noon. SJU lost to Bethel 17-7 — despite leading 7-0 — in Thursday'sother opening-round game. A loss to the Johnnies on Friday would bring SMU's post-season run to a screeching halt.
 
The Oles grabbed the upper hand early, making Saint Mary's pay for a one-out throwing error, scoring a pair unearned runs — the first on a sacrifice fly by Sam Lavin and the second on an RBI groundout from Joey Glampe to take a 2-0 lead.
 
A lead St. Olaf would not relinquish in the nine-inning tournament-opener.
 
Saint Mary's, meanwhile, struggled to find their rhythm against Lavin, who got the starting nod for the Oles — and promptly set the Cardinals down in order in both the first and second innings, recording two strikeouts in each frame.
 
The Cardinals threatened in the top of the third, getting a pair of one-out walks to Tanner Bauman (Willmar, Minn.) and Daniel Sherman (Richfield, Minn.), but Lavin wiggled out of the jam, inducing a strikeout and a flyout to right to end the inning.
 
SMU finally got its first hit of the afternoon when Riley Bauman (Stratford, Wis.) led off the fourth with a single, but back-to-back strikeouts and a groundout to first kept the Cardinals scoreless.
 
St. Olaf had much more success in its half of the fourth, parlaying four singles and a walk into three runs, giving the Oles a commanding 5-0 lead heading to the fifth.
 
The Cardinals put together their best opportunity to cut into that five-run Ole lead in the fifth, getting an RBI single off the bat of Sherman and loading the bases with one out, only to have Lavin rack up his second and third strikeouts of the inning to limit SMU to just the one run.
 
The Oles' offense continued to purr, tagging reliever Andrew Milner (Eau Claire, Wis.) — on in relief of starter Addison Hochevar (Lake Geneva, Wis.) — for two runs on two hits, while taking advantage of SMU's second error of the afternoon in the fifth, and getting an RBI triple from Lavin in the sixth to extend the lead to seven, 8-1.
St. Olaf rudely welcomed SMU's second reliever of the afternoon, roughing up Jaxon Vance (Eau Claire, Wis.) for two runs on three hits — and once again made the Cardinals pay for a pair of fielding miscues in sealing the Oles' 10-run victory.
 
Knickerbocker, Sherman, Riley Bauman, and Cam Miller (Kimberly, Wis.) accounted for SMU's four hits — all singles.
 
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