COLLEGEVILE, Minn. – The Saint Mary’s University Cardinals won their first conference baseball title by beating St. Thomas 6-3. The victory gave the Cardinals a 29-14 record, automatically qualifying them for the NCAA Division III playoffs. In the opener of what tuned out to be a Minnesota Intercollegiate doubleheader, the top-seeded Tommies beat Saint Mary’s 6-2, which forced a winner-take-all game. In the second game, Saint Mary’s scored a pair of runs in the bottom of the firs inning. St. Thomas pulled within 3-2 with a run in the top of the fifth. But Saint Mary’s pushed its lead to 6-2 in the bottom of the inning with a three-run home run off the bat of first baseman Will Matthews. Ryan Wolfe pitched the remaining four innings and allowed only one run on four hits. Addison Hochevar, who allowed one run on one hit in 1-1/3 innings, earned the victory.
Dark skies but all smiles. The Cardinals’ first MIAC conference championship. Now into NCAA Division III finals.