University of St. Thomas Athletics
St. Olaf
Hitters sharp as Baseball sweeps Oles
4/16/2008 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Strange things often happen when St. Thomas and St. Olaf play in MIAC baseball. In a doubleheader that lasted 5:35 and featured 49 runs and 57 hits -- and had two pitchers named Erik Olson in the game at the same time -- the 15th-ranked Tommies pulled out a 12-9, 15-13 sweep of Wednesday's conference games in Northfield.
The Tommies (17-5 overall, 6-0 MIAC) kept pace with first-place Gustavus (8-0 MIAC), which swept Carleton. UST rallied from deficits of 7-2 and 9-8 in game one and scored four runs in its last at-bat to pull out the victory.
St. Thomas has beaten the Oles in six of their last seven meetings, all in the last 12 months, all on road or neutral fields. Five of those were close games.
St. Olaf junior All-American pitcher Todd Mathison, who came in 9-0 on his career against conference foes, pitched into the final inning and took the game-one loss. Only six of the 10 runs he allowed were earned.
Three Tommies had five hits on the day at the plate -- sophomore Tom Wippler (5-of-8, two homers, seven RBI) and juniors Dan Leslie (5-of-7, six RBI) and Brian Schmitz (5-of-8, HR, seven runs).
Wippler's two-run single in the top of the seventh scored the tying and go-ahead runs in game one. Freshman Tayler Rahm added a pinch-hit, two-run single for insurance, and came back to go 3-for-5 in game two.
Leslie's seventh-inning double in game two added a big insurance run. Schmitz had a double and scored a key insurance run in game two, then ended the game with a running catch that saved a run as darkness set in at the Oles' diamond.
Senior Matt Pexa had two hits in each game. His leadoff double in the seventh inning started a key rally. Senior Chris Bullis went 3-for-6 overall, reached base in six of nine trips on the day, and ran his hitting streak to 12 games. Bullis leads all NCAA players in batting average, now at .613. He had a key single in the seventh-inning rally and scored the eventual winning run in the opener.
Junior Louie Salmen had a big two-run single in game two to help build their final cushion. Roy Larson went 2-for-5 in game two.
Junior Erik Olson, who pitched a compete-game win just two days earlier, was called on to get the last four outs and earned a save. Sophomore Zach Neubauer got the victory in each game in relief with 2.1 scoreless innings in game one.
They helped counter a tough day by Tommie starters Lonnie Robinson and Matt Schuld, Both were on the mound for the first time in 12 days and both struggled to hold down the Ole bats.
St. Thomas is scheduled to play three doubleheaders in four days, all at home, starting with Saturday's 1 p.m. home twinbill vs. St. Mary's. UST will play Bethel on Monday in makeup games (2:30 p.m.), and face Hamline on Tuesday (2:30 p.m.).
Click here for Game 1 box score:
http://www.stolaf.edu/athletics/baseball/media/0708/box/sto-ust1.htm
Click here for Game 2 box score:
http://www.stolaf.edu/athletics/baseball/media/0708/box/sto-ust2.htm
Tom Wippler -- 2 HRs, 7 RBI
Brian Schmitz -- 7 runs scored
Dan Leslie -- 6 RBI
Taylor Rahm -- 4-for-6 on day
Zach Neubauer -- 2 wins in relief
