PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. — Saint Mary's University baseball coach Nick Whaley has always approached his team's spring trip as a learning experience — both for his players and for himself.

And if there's one thing Whaley learned during this year's week-long stay in Port Charlotte, Fla., it's never count the Cardinals out.

Ever.

For the third time in their last five games, the Cardinals rallied from behind to come away with a victory. But last Friday's 6-5 come-from-behind win over Elmhurst was a real work of art.

"If there's anything I've learned this week, it's that this team will keep battling," said Whaley, whose team has now won three straight one-run games. "This was a very good week for us — not just because of the wins (SMU went 4-1), but also because of the way we played.

"The wins didn't come easy, but we seemed to always find a way to get the job done."

And, while everyone did their part in helping SMU to Friday's triumph over Elmhurst, it was the brush strokes of Matt Rink (Rochester, Minn.) that rivaled those of Picasso and Michaelangelo.

"Matt swung a hot bat today — he came up with a couple of clutch hits when we needed them," said Whaley of his senior rightfielder, who went 4-for-4 with a seventh-inning RBI double and a game-winning, three-run double in the ninth "Rinker and Ryan (Majerus) both had great weeks for us. They have been our leaders on and off the field — they have just done a great job."

After spotting the Bluejays a 4-0 lead in the second inning, the Cardinals slowly began their climb back, scoring twice in the top of the third on a two-run single by Brady Knudsen (Racine, Wis.). SMU cut the lead to one on Rink's RBI triple in the seventh, a shot to right-center that scored Majerus from first, then took the lead for good with three runs in the top of the ninth.

Pinch-hitter Dave Krieger (Mendota Heights, Minn.) opened the ninth with a single to left, moved to second when Nick Winecke (St. Paul, Minn.) was hit by a pitch. Brandon Verbout (Rochester, Minn.) sacrificed the two to second and third before Majerus was hit by a pitch to load the bases for Rink — who delivered a bases-clearing double to deep center to give the Cardinals a 6-4 advantage.

Elmhurst threatened in the bottom of the ninth, opening the inning with back-to-back walks off SMU reliever Grant Barthel (Watertown, Minn.), but Mike Mitchell (Mound, Minn.) came on to give up a sacrifice fly, before getting Jim Deschamps to ground out to short to end the game.

"I'm very pleased with how we competed all week — how we stayed in the game and gave ourselves a chance to win," said Whaley, whose team returns home to play at Winona State on Tuesday. "This was a good trip for everyone — we learned a lot about what this team is made of."