AUBRURNDALE, FL. – The saying goes "when you're hot, you're hot".
 
On Saturday, that may have been an understatement for the Saint Mary's University baseball team. The Cardinals scored a combined 25 runs in two games against the Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE), winning the first 15-3 and the second 10-3, to open their trip to Florida with a perfect 2-0 record.
 
In the first game, Saint Mary's wasted no time getting on the board in the top of the first, scoring two quick runs to take a 2-0 lead over MSOE. Bailey Metz provided the Cardinals first run of the ball game, scoring from third on a wild pitch from Raider starter Jacob Roley, before a Justin Weinberg single brought in Dirk Drohner to give Saint Mary's the 2-0 advantage.   
 
That lead, though, simply wasn't enough for the Cardinals, who went on to score 13 more runs over the next six innings. Saint Mary's added four more runs in the fourth to extend its lead to 6-0, but the Cardinals had their best offensive inning in the sixth, when they unloaded for eight runs on five hits, including a two-run homer by Ben Buerkle. The team then added one in the seventh, which allowed Jacob Taschetta to close out the 15-3 victory.
 
Ryan Wolfe earned the start in game one, allowing just two runs and four hits in 3 2/3 innings of work.
 
The Cardinals picked up right where they left off in game two, jumping out to a quick 5-0 lead in the bottom of the first. However, unlike the first game against MSOE, Saint Mary's batters were unable to strike again, despite threatening multiple times in the second and third innings. The Cardinal bats didn't need to be impressive, though, after the initial inning, as starting pitcher R. J. Brown was outstanding on the mound. The junior sent the Raider batters down in order in the first two innings before surrendering the first MSOE run of the ball game in the third inning.
 
Despite the Raiders run, Saint Mary's still held a comfortable 5-1 lead after three innings thanks to that huge first inning. However, things started to get a little uncomfortable in the top of the fourth, when MSOE managed to score two runs and cut the Cardinals lead to 5-3. In the bottom of the inning, Saint Mary's answered in the best way possible, with five runs of its own.
 
Thanks to the five run fourth inning, the Cardinals were able to win game two handily by a score of 10-3. Brown earned his first win of the season, after giving up just three runs and five hits, while striking out eight, in four innings of work.

"It all starts with throwing strokes and playing good defense, and we did that today," head baseball coach Nick Winecke commented after the doubleheader. "I thought our bats got better as the day went and was happy with how we competed." 
 
Buerkle proved to be the offensive star for Saint Mary's against MSOE. The senior outfield went 2-5 in the first game with two home runs and 4-4 in the second with a triple. Weinberg ended up going 3-5 in the opening game against the Raiders, while Zach Slowiak went 3-4 in the second game.
 
The Cardinals will return to action on Monday, February 27, when they take on Wartburg College in a double header, scheduled to start at 11:15 a.m. EST.