04/21/07

The Saints entered their Saturday afternoon game against host UM-Morris having won three of three games at the UMAC Crossover but four unearned runs in the first two innings put them behind 6-1 to an eager Cougars squad, anxious to not only send the Saints to their first UMAC defeat since the 2004 season, but to also gain their first win against St. Scholastica -- ever.

Erica Kozacek's three-run blast in the third cut the lead to 6-4 but more importantly, brought to life a team and their bats as the Saints scored seven more runs in the next three innings to wrest the lead from Morris and put a stop to their early game momentum.

A 20-hit Saints attack and great relief appearance from Rilee Dawson ended up securing an 11-6 win over the Cougars and kept St. Scholastica (13-13, 6-0 UMAC) undefeated in conference play. Morris dropped to 5-16 overall and 4-4 in the UMAC with the loss.

Kozacek picked up a fourth RBI in the game with a triple that scored Robin Lake who was pinch running for Dawson.

Dawson, Katie Brown, and Michaela Carlson each finished with three hits on the day. Two of Brown's hits went for doubles but it was her single in the sixth that resulted in her lone RBI. Carlson's single in the fourth scored Dawson from third for her one RBI in the win.

Chelsey Weiss, Mary Jo McNamee, Erika Solin, and Kristin Swartz each had two hits bringing the total number of Saints with a multi-hit game to eight.

On the mound, starter Amy Jansen gave way to Dawson in the second inning who then quieted the Cougar bats over the remaining five and two-thirds innings. Dawson (9-6) spread out three Morris singles, walked none, and struck out nine in picking up the win.

The Saints' four game sweep of the first of two UMAC Crossover weekends allowed the team to regain some familiar territory -- atop the league standings. While the Saints went unbeaten over the weekend, two other squads that entered the Crossover undefeated in UMAC action dropped at least one game. Northland College lost to Morris, while Presentation lost to both the Saints and Northland to drop to third place in the standings.