|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
|
2005 Record: 5-7 MIAC, 12-9 Overall
|
| Last Week's Results: Saint Mary's 11, Bethel 7 / Details Bethel 18, Saint Mary's 0 / Details St. Thomas 6, Saint Mary's 1 / Details St. Thomas 8, Saint Mary's 5 (8) / Details |
| Upcoming Games: Tues., April 26: Saint Mary's at St. John's, 2:30 p.m. Sat., April 30: Saint Mary's at Augsburg, 1 p.m. |
| This and That: The Cardinals' 11-7 win over Bethel last Wednesday snapped their season-high three-game losing streak. Unfortunately, the Cardinals dropped Game 2 of that DH and were swept by St. Thomas, leaving them mired in their second straight three-game slide. … SMU's 11 runs vs. the Royals were the most scored by the Cardinals in a single game this season. … The Cardinals’ 18 runs against in Game 2, however, were also a season high, and the most allowed by SMU since the Cardinals were beaten 22-11 by Ferrum College on March 27, 1997. … Brady Knudsen (Racine, Wis.) launched his first collegiate HR in SMU's win vs. Bethel, then added his first career grand slam — a first-inning shot vs. St. Thomas on Saturday. … Nick Winecke (St. Paul, Minn.) also homered vs. Bethel. … SMU's eight-inning loss vs. St. Thomas was its second extra-inning loss this season — and the second time in the last two years that SMU has fallen to the Tommies in extra innings. … David Krieger (Mendota Heights, Minn.) had his team-high nine-game hitting streak snapped in SMU's Game 1 loss to the Tommies. … Matt Rink (Rochester, Minn.) was held without a hit in both games vs. UST, snapping his eight-game hitting streak. … His 0-for-3 effort in Game 1 marked the first time this season that Rink has not reached base safely. … Rink continues to lead the Cardinals in virtually every offensive category — average (.397), hits (29), triples (4), HRs (4), RBIs (23), total bases (49) and slugging percentage (.671). … Matt Popek (Eagan, Minn.) tossed his first collegiate complete game, scattering 12 hits in SMU's Game 1 win over Bethel. … Saturday's Game 2 loss to UST was the first time this season SMU has lost when leading after three innings (10-1). … SMU is 2-0 when hitting two or more home runs. … The Cardinals are 8-0 when outhitting their opponent. |
they just can't convert on chances in falling twice to UST
WINONA, Minn. — All season long — in fact, for as long as Nick Whaley has been coaching the Saint Mary's University baseball team — the SMU coach has lived by a simple motto: Don't let the game get away from you. If you do that, you'll always have a chance to win.
Last Saturday against league-leading St. Thomas, the Cardinals never let the game get away from them — and they had more than their fair share of chances to win.
They just couldn't capitalize on those chances.
The Cardinals had runners in scoring position with less than two outs in three of the seven innings, but managed just one run — on a seventh-inning RBI single by Jose Rueda (Winona, Minn.) — in dropping Game 1 of their Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference doubleheader to the Tommies, 6-1.
And in Game 2, SMU squandered a first-inning grand slam by Brady Knudsen (Racine, Wis.) in falling 8-5 in eight innings.
Yet, despite the end results, Whaley had trouble feeling disappointed.
"Sure it hurts to lose, but those were two great baseball games," Whaley said. "Today we had an opportunity to go up against one of the top baseball teams around, and we battled them from start to finish.
"We put ourselves in position to win both games, we just couldn't come up with the clutch hits when we needed them."
St. Thomas jumped out to a 1-0 lead in their first at-bat of Game 1, and held that 1-0 advantage into the fourth — thanks in part to an inning-ending double play in the third that thwarted SMU's first-and-third, one-out threat.
The Tommies then put the game out of reach, picking up four hits — including a two-run single by Mike Kimlinger — and scoring four times to push the lead to 5-1. The two teams traded seventh-inning runs, SMU's on a one-out single down the right-field line by Rueda.
"We knew coming in that these games were going to be a battle, and our guys didn't back down," said Whaley, whose team dropped three of its four games on the week — splitting with Bethel (winning 11-7 and losing 18-0), then falling twice to UST. "It was a great day for baseball."
And, after the first inning of the nightcap, it looked like Game 2 would be a great day for the Cardinals.
Knudsen erased a 1-0 UST lead by belting his second home run of the week — a grand slam to deep center field — to give SMU a 4-1 advantage.
An advantage the Cardinals couldn't hang on to.
UST scored single runs in the second, third and fourth innings to tie the game, only to have SMU regain the lead, 5-4, on a Rueda single in the bottom of the fourth. UST again tied it, 5-5, in the top of the sixth, then completed the sweep by scoring three times in the top of the eighth.
"We gave ourselves a chance, that's all you can ask," said Whaley. "These guys played two great games — against a very good team. It's pretty hard to feel disappointed."