WEST LIBERTY, Iowa — The Saint Mary's baseball team (11-6) closed out a perfect weekend in style and ride a five game win streak. The Cardinals improved to 11-6 on the season with a 6–2 win over UW-Superior (9-7) on Sunday, completing a four-game sweep of the Yellowjackets.
SMU 6, UWS 2
The Cardinals set the tone early and never really let up, using a big second inning and steady pitching to finish off the unbeaten trip.
Saint Mary's jumped in front in the second, getting solo home runs from Alex Hanneman and Drew Rothenberger to spark a three-run frame. Daniel Sherman kept things rolling with a double before Dom Najacht drove him in with a two-bagger of his own, giving the Cardinals an early edge they wouldn't give back.
The lead grew in the fourth thanks to some aggressive baserunning and timely hitting. After taking advantage of a defensive miscue, the Cardinals put runners in scoring position, and Josh Costello delivered with a double down the left-field line to bring home two more runs and stretch the lead.
Najacht helped tack on an insurance run in the seventh, coming around to score on a sacrifice fly from Reese Berg after reaching base earlier in the inning.
On the mound, Connor Tulley gave the Cardinals a strong start, going five innings while allowing just two hits and one earned run. He struck out three and kept Superior off balance before handing things over to the bullpen.Â
As a staff, the Cardinals held the Yellowjackets to five hits while striking out nine.
Hanneman and Rothenberger each finished with two hits and a home run to lead the offense, while Najacht added a pair of hits, including a double, and drove in a run.
With contributions up and down the lineup and another solid outing from the pitching staff, the Cardinals wrapped up a 4-0 weekend and carried plenty of momentum out of West Liberty.
They will now turn their attention to their first conference series on Saturday, Mar. 28 at Saint John's for a doubleheader starting at 1:00 p.m.
