By
Donny Nadeau
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
DECORAH, Iowa — Both games of the Saint Mary's University of Minnesota baseball team's nonconference doubleheader against Luther were scheduled for seven innings.
But in reality, the Cardinals only needed one to take down the Norse in Game 1.
Saint Mary's, held scoreless on just two hits through their first four at-bats, erupted for five runs in the fifth inning—thanks to a two-run single from
Joe Seegers (Oconomowoc, Wis.) and a three-run home run off the bat of
Andy Tepp (Stevens Point, Wis.)—en route to a 7-4 victory.
Unfortunately for the Cardinals, the Norse only needed one inning—one swing of the bat, in fact—to determine the winner of Game 2, getting a two-out, walk-off home run from Trent Athman in the bottom of the eighth inning in dealing Saint Mary's a 2-1 loss.
The Cardinals came out swinging in the opener, getting first-inning singles from Seegers and
Justin Weinberg (Eagan, Minn.)—but Saint Mary's came up empty.
Luther pitcher Kyle Bode set down the Cardinals in order in each of the next three innings, and then came the fifth—and what an inning it was.
Bode struck out the first two Cardinals to open the fifth, but
Dixon Irwin (Red Wing, Minn.) reached on an error by Luther shortstop Jake Halverson—and the floodgates opened. Seegers delivered a bases-loaded, two-run single, and Tepp followed with his first collegiate home run—a three-run shot—to give Saint Mary's a 5-1 advantage.
After Luther plated its second run of the game in the bottom of the sixth, Saint Mary's struck again in the seventh—and again it was Seegers and Tepp doing the damage, as Seegers laced a run-scoring double and Tepp added an RBI single—to push the Cardinals' lead back to five, 7-2.
The Norse scored twice in their half of the seventh, but it was too little, too late, as the Cardinals locked up their second straight win.
Seegers and Tepp were a devastating 1-2 punch for the Cardinals in the opener—Seegers finished 3-for-4 with three RBIs and two runs scored, while Tepp was 2-for-4 and drove in four runs.
R.J. Brown (Broadview, Ill.) picked up the pitching win in Game 1, allowing one run on two hits in four innings.
Jonathan Cieminski (Fountain City, Wis.) allowed a run on one hit in two innings of relief, with
Kodey Kiel (Medford, Minn.) surrendering a pair of runs and two Luther hits in the seventh.
The Cardinals struck first in the nightcap, taking advantage of a Luther error to score a solo run in the top of the fourth inning. The Norse responded with a single run of their own in the bottom of the fourth—and the score would remain that way until Athman's two-out blast in the bottom of the eighth.
Tepp continued to swing a hot bat for the Cardinals, going 3-for-4 in Game 2, while Seegers, Weinberg, and
Zach Slowiak (Chippewa Falls, Wis.) accounted for Saint Mary's other three hits.
Ryan Wolfe (Wabasha, Minn.) was the hard-luck loser on the mound, tossing all 7 2/3 innings, limiting Luther to two runs—one of which was earned—on five hits, while walking two and striking out two.
The Cardinals (6-9 overall) kick off Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Saturday—weather permitting—hosting Saint John's in a 1 p.m. doubleheader at Max Molock Field.
