03/17/07

The Saints closed out their spring trip with an 8-1 record and on an eight game win streak after defeating Carleton College 17-0 on Saturday morning in Fort Pierce, Florida.

St. Scholastica (10-3) chipped away at Carleton (4-1) for four runs over the first five innings before exploding for four runs in the sixth, seventh, and ninth innings.

Starter Mark Moriarty, and relief pitchers Mark Erickson and Chad Weiss combined for the three hit shutout of the Knights.

Moriarty allowed only three singles in separate innings over his five innings of work, registering five strikeouts and a pair of walks to Carleton batters. Erickson pitched three innings without surrendering a hit or walk and struck out four, while Weiss came on in the final inning and struck out two of the three batters he faced in closing the door on the shutout.

Lead off batter Chad Weiss continued to spark the Saints with a 4-for-6 day that included two doubles and a triple, four RBI and four runs scored. Weiss finished the Florida trip with a .519 (15-for-27) batting average, 16 RBI, and nine stolen bases which led the team.

Teammate Brandon Swartz culminated his spring trip with a 2-for-3 day, one double, and a pair of runs scored. The 2006 Saints batting leader closed out his Florida trip with a team-leading .619 (13-for-21) batting average.

Steve Kraushaar was 2-for-3 with a double and a run in the win over Carleton. His five doubles in nine games led the Saints while in Florida.

Blake Eller and Kyle Rizzi each had one hit against Carleton but both cleared the bases. Eller's first collegiate home run scored Weiss who had led the ninth off with a single. Later in the inning, Rizzi lashed a two-out triple that brought home Sean Tracy and Jake Gaub who had both reached on walks.

Moriarty got the win on the mound for the Saints, his third 'W' of the trip, and he ended his stay in the Sunshine State with a 1.38 ERA over 13 innings pitched.

Over the final six games of their eight game unbeaten string, St. Scholastica scored an astounding 116 runs while allowing only 9 to their opponents and recording three shutout victories.

The Saints return to Duluth now and will have a week off from games before heading indoors for a doubleheader against Concordia-Moorhead College on Saturday, March 24. Game one is set for a 5 p.m. start.