Box Score  | GameDay Preview

CAROL STREAM, Ill. — As if surrendering innings of three and four runs in a 10-2 loss to Edgewood earlier in the day wasn't bad enough, Saint Mary's University baseball coach Nick Winecke watched as his Cardinals allowed a six-run frame against Wheaton in its second game Friday.

In the first inning.

Wheaton erupted for six runs in their first at-bat, and then held off a late Cardinal rally in which SMU scored six runs in the final two innings, as the Thunder dealt Saint Mary's a 7-6 nonconference setback at Lee Pfund Stadium.

Despite the final score, Winecke could not have been happier with the way his team performed — especially after that first inning.

"I have never been prouder of a group of guys than I was after watching this team compete the way they did after falling behind 6-0," Winecke said. "The guys battled and battled and battled all the way to the end — they never gave up, and put us in position to win the game in the end.

"This game was a defining moment for this team," added Winecke. "They could have easily folded up the tent and went through the motions for the last eight innings — but they didn't, and that says a lot about the character of this team.

"I'll gladly take this one loss for a lot of wins down the road."

The Thunder didn't waste any time getting to SMU starter Ben Johnson (Brooklyn Park, Minn.), tagging the sophomore right-hander for six runs on six hits in the game's opening inning — highlighted by a two-run single from Taylor Howe, an RBI single from Kyle Mellinger, and an RBI triple by Johnny Peltz — to jump out to a commanding 6-0 advantage.

Wheaton pushed its lead to 7-0 on an infield single by Howe in the bottom of the third, but Johnson settled into a groove, blanking the Thunder over the next five innings.

And in the eighth, the Cardinals' bats — which had managed just three hits to that point — finally came to life, as Kevin Gannon (Roselle, Ill.) delivered an RBI single and Ben Buerkle (Roseville, Minn.) followed with a two-run double to cut the Wheaton lead to 7-3.

The Cardinals new-found offense continued to produce runs in the ninth, as scored twice on wild pitches and Willie Doll (Amherst, Wis.) delivered an RBI triple to make it a 7-6 game.

That, however, would be as close as SMU would get, as Wheaton pitcher John Schmitz to get Kevin Miley (St. Paul, Minn.) to fly out to center to end the threat — and the game.

Buerkle and Gannon led the Cardinals' seven-hit attack with two hits each, while Doll, Tommy Merkelis (Calumet City, Ill.) and Tyler Lursen (Maple Grove, Minn.) accounted for the other three.

The Cardinals (3-9 overall) get another shot at both Edgewood and Wheaton on Saturday, squaring off against the Eagles at 11 a.m. and the Thunder at 2 p.m. Both games will be played at Lee Pfund Stadium.