WINTER HAVEN, Fla. — After managing just one run in their season-opening 7-1 nonconference loss to Augustana Sunday, the Saint Mary's University of Minnesota baseball team decided to kick its offense up a notch.
 
Or two.
 
Or nine.
 
The Cardinals erupted for nine runs—including four in the second inning—en route to a 9-3 nonconference win over Augustana in the teams' rematch Monday afternoon.
 
"It was good to see the guys swing the bats a little better today," said coach Nick Winecke, whose team banged out eight hits and took advantage of five Augustana errors to pick up their first win of the season. "We got some clutch hits from some of our upperclassmen, which was nice to see."
 
Bob Kinne (St. Paul, Minn.) opened the Cardinals' four-run fourth inning with a double—the first of his three hits on the afternoon—and Jake Mencacci (Wheaton, Ill.) followed with a run-scoring single to put Saint Mary's on the board. Three Augustana errors led to three more Saint Mary's runs—and the Cardinals would not relinquish the lead.
 
Augustana whittled the Saint Mary's advantage to one, scoring twice in the third and once more in the fourth, but the Cardinals had an answer—getting an RBI single from Jacob Frost (Moline, Ill.) in the fifth, before recording their second four-run inning of the day in the sixth to seal the win.
 
Kinne led the Cardinals' offensive attack, going 3-for-5 with two runs scores, while Frost added two hits in four at-bats, and Cale Pieczynski (Plover, Wis.) finished 1-for-4—delivering a two-run single in the sixth.
 
Steph Scatassa (Westchester, Ill.) went the first four innings on the mound, allowing three runs on five hits, while striking out five. Ryan Mathwig (Woodbury, Minn.) followed Scatassa's lead, throwing four innings of shutout relief—allowing just four hits—to pick up the pitching win. Ryan Fejt (Westchester, Ill.) pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for the Cardinals.
 
Saint Mary's (1-1 overall) is back in action on Tuesday, squaring off against Concordia in a nonconference nine-inning affair. Opening pitch is slated for 2:30 p.m. (EST).