WINONA, Minn. — Saint Mary's University baseball coach Nick Whaley was hoping one last "tune-up" would be just what the doctor ordered as his team completed preparations for Friday's MIAC tournament opener against league-champion St. Olaf.

What Whaley didn't realize, however, is that the doctor the Cardinals went to see Tuesday afternoon, the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, was no ordinary doctor — the Eagles were more like a witch doctor.

A witch doctor that put a hex on the Cardinals' bats, as three UW-L pitchers held SMU to seven hits — all singles — en route to a 5-3 nonconference victory over the Cardinals.

SMU, which had its season-high six-game winning streak snapped with the loss, opened the scoring with a single run in the bottom of the first on an RBI single by Matt Domarus (Woodbury, Minn.). UW-L, however, scored twice in the top of the third — with both runs coming on a single by Josh Abbott — to take a 2-1 advantage.

The Cardinals tied the game 2-2 in the fourth on an RBI single by Matt Rink (Rochester, Minn.), but the Eagles regained the lead with three runs in the top of the sixth. SMU loaded the bases with one out in the sixth, but a strikeout and a fly out ended the threat. The Cardinals threatened again in the seventh, but a Ryan Majerus (St. Charles, Minn.) RBI single was all they could muster in watching their overall record level off at 15-15.