05/12/07

For the second time in less than 24 hours, the Saints and Cougars faced off at Wade Stadium, this time on Friday night with much more at stake.

St. Scholastica had sent Minnesota-Morris back into the loser’s bracket Thursday night with an 18-0 shellacking as the Saints marched into the tournament final.

Morris made their way into the final earlier in the day on Friday with a 22-20 roller-coaster win over Northland College while the Saints rested.

Morris starter Nik Randall came out and held the Saints to a pair of runs through six innings, though, in the championship game; close enough that when his Morris teammates pushed a pair of unearned runs across the plate in the top of the seventh to tie the game at 2-2, the underdog Cougars believed they had a chance to pull off a shocking upset of the top-seeded Saints.

St. Scholastica’s Sean Tracy came to the rescue in the bottom of the seventh, breaking the tie with a two-RBI single to right field that brought home Brandon Swartz and Sean Claugherty to give the Saints a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.

Four more St. Scholastica runs in the bottom of the eighth – highlighted by UMAC Player of the Year Blake Eller’s steal of home – extended the lead, and with the UMAC’s Co-Pitcher of the Year in Adian Kummet on the mound the Saints (36-6) closed the door on the hopeful Cougars (10-21) and rolled to their 11th consecutive UMAC championship and postseason crown.

Saints starter Mark Erickson pitched four nearly perfect innings striking out six and allowing only one walk to the 13 batters he faced before handing the ball over to senior teammate Keith Ritsche (5-1) who earned the win with three and a third innings on the mound allowing two runs – both unearned – and one walk with five strikeouts. Kummet walked one but didn’t allow a hit in one and two thirds innings.

Tracy was 3-for-5 with three RBI in the championship-clinching win while Eller finished with two hits, a pair of RBI, two runs scored and a stolen base.

Randall (1-2) took the loss for Morris, allowing seven earned runs on nine hits and six walks through seven-plus innings.