Saints, Vikings win on day one of UMAC Baseball Tournament

5/11/2017 9:32:32 PM

DULUTH, Minn.---The 2017 Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) baseball tournament started off in high-scoring fashion with both of the top seeds coming up with victories Thursday. No. 2 Bethany Lutheran College used 15 hits to take down No. 3 University of Minnesota Morris 7-4 in the opener, before No. 1 College of St. Scholastica defeated No. 4 University of Wisconsin-Superior 12-2 in seven innings.

| Tournament Site | Game One | Game Two |

Game 1 - No. 2 Bethany Lutheran def. No. 3 Minnesota Morris, 7-4 | Box Score |
The opening game of the tournament looked on paper as if it could be a close one as both No. 2 Bethany Lutheran and No. 3 Minnesota Morris finished 12-4 in the regular season and split their regular-season series. And through five innings it was until the Vikings pulled away late for the win.

The Vikings got on the board early in the bottom of the first when Trent Saharek brought Brandyn Olsen home to give the higher-seeded team a 1-0 lead. It wasn't until the top of the third when the Cougars responded with a triple from Chandler Erickson who eventually came home on a wild pitch to even the score at 1-1.

The fifth inning was full of excited and scoring with the Cougars compiling three runs to take a 4-1 lead. Donnie Mavencamp, Blaise Fairbanks and Lucas Luedtke hit consecutive singles to give their squad its first lead of the game. The Vikings wasted no time getting their lead back, though, answering with six hits and four runs to take a 5-4 lead. Three of the four runs came on a single from Jordan Grams with two runs coming in on a throwing error to home.

The league's leading hitter during the conference season in Olsen helped add to the Vikings' lead with a RBI single in the bottom of the sixth to push the lead to two runs. John Brown drove in the final Viking run of the game to seal the win in the bottom of the eighth and help advance Bethany Lutheran to winner's game Friday.

As the lead off for the Vikings, Brown went 3-for-5 with two runs and an RBI to highlight a 15-hit performance for the Vikings. The next three batters in the order in Grams, Olsen and Saharek each tallied two hits a piece and combined for four RBI. Cody Leitner picked up the win on the mound in five innings pitched striking out two Cougar batters.

Erickson anchored the Cougars as the lead off with two hits, two runs and a stolen base, while Mavencamp and Evan Ellingworth each had two hits. Connor Spindler also reached base four times on four walks. Michael Dockendorf recorded the loss for the Cougars.

Game 2 - No. 1 St. Scholastica def. No. 4 Wisconsin-Superior, 12-2 (7 innings) | Box Score |
Though the Saints took both games of their regular season series with the Yellowjackets by a sizable margin, playing a rival in a conference tournament raises the stakes and ensures the constest should be more closely contested. Through four-and-half innings, it appeared it may be that way until the Saints' offense came to life and put a comeback out of reach for UWS.

The No. 1 Saints wasted no time getting on board in the first inning. Just the second batter in the lineup, Tyler Duex scored first with an in-the-park home run to get the Saints going. Then, the next three Saints made it to base on a pair of singles and a hit-by-pitch before Eric Pearson recorded a three-RBI double to make it 4-0 in the Saints' favor. Pearson then came home on a double from Trevor Bernsdorf to make it 5-0.

The Yellowjackets found some offense in the top of the third on RBI from Chado Patko and Nik Mattson to pull within three of the Saints. They also managed to hold the Saints scoreless for three-straight innings after the big first, until the bottom of the fifth when Pearson got his bat going again and launched a three-run homer to right field making it a 8-2 game. The Saints added four more runs between the sixth and seventh innings to pull away for the 12-2 win.

Pearson led the Saints at the plate going 3-for-4 with six RBI and two runs scored, while Duex was a perfect 3-for-3 with two RBI, two runs, a walk and a sacrifice. Brian Minks collected three hits and Bernsdorf also picked up two hits of the Saints' 15 on the night. Ben Christofferson improved to 5-0 on the season with a six-innings pitched allowing just two runs on three hits and striking out five.

The Yellowjackets were led by Cory Albertson who went 2-for-3 and added a stolen base. He also had seven putouts in left field. Patko, Spencer Lawniczak and Nick Mcnosky each added a hit for Wisconsin-Superior.

The No. 3 Cougars and No. 4 Yellowjackets will play at 1 p.m. Friday in an elimination game before the No. 1 Saints and No. 2 Vikings face off at 4 p.m. for a chance to advance to the championship game Saturday. The final elimination game Friday will take place at 7 p.m.

All tournament information including scores, recaps, team information and more can be found on the UMAC Baseball Playoffs page. Keep up with all of the tournament action on Twitter and Instagram using #UMACchamp.

Event Information
The UMAC Tournament has the following admissions prices: Single Day Adult Ticket, $10; Single Day Student/Senior Ticket - $5; Adult Tournament Pass, $15; Student/Senior Tournament Pass, $7. All UMAC students, staff and faculty are FREE with valid institution ID for all games. No other passes will be accepted.

All tournament information including scores, recaps, team information and more can be found on the UMAC Baseball Tournament page. Keep up with all of the tournament action on Twitter and Instagram using #UMACchamp.

2017 Tournament Page

Schedule

Upper Midwest Athletic Conference

Conference Members

Conference Members

Saints, Vikings win on day one of UMAC Baseball Tournament