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Cardinal Roster
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Cardinal Schedule
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MIAC Standings
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MIAC Statistics
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| 2007 Records: 0-0 MIAC, 4-7 Overall |
| Recent Results: Northwestern 2, Saint Mary's 1 / Details Northwestern 7, Saint Mary's 3 / Details Saint Mary's 5, UW-La Crosse 2 (7) / Details |
| Upcoming Games: Mon., April 2: SMU at Saint John's, 2:30 Wed., April 4: SMU at Carleton, 2:30 Sat., April 7: St. Olaf at SMU, 1:00 |
| Cardinal News and Notes: The Cardinals snapped a season-high four-game losing streak with their nonconference win over UW-La Crosse on Wednesday. … After being held to a combined 10 hits and four runs in dropping back-to-back games vs. Northwestern Tuesday, SMU erupted for 11 hits — equalling a season high — and five runs vs. the Eagles Wednesday. … Brandon Haugh (Easton, Minn.) belted his first career home run — the Cardinals' first of the season — and was one of four SMU players with two hits vs. UW-La Crosse. … Haugh also drove in three runs, while Alex Schmidt (La Crosse, Wis.) drove in a pair of runs with his first double of the season. …SMU has been held to three runs or less in five of its seven losses this season. … Brady Knudsen (Racine, Wis.) went 2-for-3 vs. UW-L and has now hit safely in six straight games. … Knudsen has now had at least one hit in 10 of SMU's 11 games, while Nick Winecke (St. Paul, Minn.) — who also had two hits vs. UW-L — has reached base safely 10 of 11 games. … Knudsen has hit six of SMU's 15 doubles this season, leads the team in RBIs (7) and shares the team lead in hits (13) with Winecke. … The bottom three batters in SMU's lineup — Haugh, Schmidt and Kyle Ryan (St. Paul, Minn.) — went 5-for-10 with all five RBIs vs. UW-L. … Matt Popek (Eagan, Minn.) picked up his first win of the season vs. UW-L, allowing two earned runs and four hits in seven innings. … Kevin Black (Mahtomedi, Minn.) collected SMU's second triple of the season in Game 2 Tuesday vs. Northwestern. … The Cardinals have been outscored 56-37 — including 12-0 in the second inning. … SMU has not won a game in which either team scores in the first inning (0-5). |
in losses vs. Northwestern to beat UW-La Crosse, 5-2
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Brandon
Haugh 2-for-4, HR 3 RBIs vs. Eagles |
A day after managing just four runs and 10 hits — combined — in dropping both ends of a nonconference doubleheader at Northwestern — the Saint Mary's University baseball team got back on the right track last Wednesday afternoon.
In all facets of the game.
The Cardinals' offense banged out 11 hits — including two each off the bats of Nick Winecke (St. Paul, Minn.), Brady Knudsen (Racine, Wis.), Brandon Haugh (Easton, Minn.) and Alex Schmidt (La Crosse, Wis.)
On the mound, SMU got a complete-game, four-hit gem from senior right-hander Matt Popek (Eagan, Minn.).
And in the field, the Cardinals were flawless.
Combined, it all added up to a 5-2 nonconference victory over UW-La Crosse — a win that snapped the Cardinals' four-game losing streak.
"We played very well, especially considering the poor conditions," said SMU coach Nick Whaley, noting that Wednesday's game — scheduled for nine innings but called after seven due to rain and cold — was played in a constant drizzle. "I think the fact that, because it was raining the whole time, we seemed to play more relaxed.
"It was good to see us finally put everything together — we got a great pitching performance from Matt, we came up with clutch hits and we made some big plays defensively," Whaley added. "All-in-all, despite the weather, it was a great day of baseball."
After spotting the Eagles a 1-0 lead after two innings, the Cardinals erupted for four runs in the top of the fourth — getting a two-run single from Haugh and a two-run double off the bat of Schmidt — then added a single run in the top of the sixth on Haugh's first collegiate home run, a solo shot to right.
The Eagles tagged Popek for another solo run in the bottom of the sixth on a sacrifice fly, but that was as close as they would get, as Popek set the side down in order after giving up a lead-off triple.
"It was nice to see us rebound (after Tuesday's 2-1, 7-3 losses to Northwestern)," said Whaley, whose team opens conference play on Monday, traveling to Saint John's for a 1 p.m. doubleheader. "Hopefully we can put together the same type of performance on Monday."