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Cardinals finally find a way to put it all together by clubbing Dickinson State 8-1 for season's 1st victory
And winning, of course. The Cardinals managed just one run, while stranding seven runners on base including a third-inning bases-loaded situation in dropping the opening game of the nonconference doubleheader 3-1 Monday evening at Metrodome. In the nightcap, SMU loaded the bases in both the fourth and fifth innings and scored five times en route to an 8-1 victory over the Blue Hawks. "It's not that we played poorly in that first game, we just didn't get any clutch hits," said SMU coach Nick Whaley, whose team snapped its season-opening four-game losing streak with their Game 2 win. "Our pitchers did an outstanding job, and we swung the bats a bit better in the second game, which was good to see. "All-in-all, I was very pleased with our performance." SMU rebounded from its Game 1 loss in which the Cardinals were held to four singles, two by David Reiter (Elgin, Minn.) with a 13-hit offensive onslaught in Game 2. Kevin Black (Mahtomedi, Minn.) led the SMU offensive barrage, going 3-for-4 with two doubles and three RBIs. Reiter, Dan Cosgrove (South St. Paul, Minn.) and Alex Schmidt (La Crosse, Wis.) all chipped in two hits, with Brady Knudsen (Racine, Wis.) driving in two runs. After spotting the Blue Hawks a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning in Game 2, SMU knotted things up with a single run in the second, then broke the game open with two runs in the fourth and three in the fifth. SMU then closed out the scoring with a pair of runs in the seventh. Mike Mitchell (Mound, Wis.) picked up his first win of the season, tossing five innings of five-hit ball. He did not walk a batter and struck out two. Andy Pass (Roseville, Minn.) pitched the last two innings, surrendering one hit, while walking one and striking out one. Matt Popek (Eagan, Minn.) was the hard-luck loser in Game 1, allowing just three hits, all singles, while walking two. Dickinson State tagged Popek for a pair of runs in the top of the third, the sealed the win with a single run in the sixth. "It's nice to finally get that first win," said Whaley. "We've played some pretty good baseball and haven't gotten the end result to show for it. (In the second game) we finally got the clutch hits we needed, and that was the difference." |
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