University of St. Thomas Athletics
St. Scholastica
Schuld goes all 9 innings, leads Baseball past No. 3 Saints
5/3/2009 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Junior RHP Matt Schuld won his second huge road game in six days with a nine-inning effort and junior Matt Olson ran his hitting streak to 15 games with the game-winning RBI single Sunday as the No. 19/7-ranked Tommies' edged No. 3-ranked St. Scholastica, 4-3, in non-conference baseball in Duluth.
UST (28-9) improved its chances for securing a spot in the May 14-16 regional tourney as it topped the region's second-ranked team. Two of the four losses for the Saints (31-4) this season have been at the hands of Schuld and the Toms, by a combined three runs.
Brian Schmitz had two doubles, including an RBI hit in the first inning. Roy Larson singled home Schmitz in the first and walked and scored what proved to be the deciding run in the eighth inning. UST scored single runs in the fourth inning on Brady Field's two-out double and eighth-inning on Olson's RBI single.
In a battle of All-America hopefuls, Schuld outduled CSS lefty Peter Burg (6 IP, 3R, 6H, 3W). Burg worked six innings but got no decision. Schuld improved to 8-1 on the season and 15-4 on his career. It equaled the second longest outing of Schuld's career -- last year he pitched nine-plus innings in a 10-inning regional tournament loss to UW-Whitewater.
Schuld got the win on Tuesday against Division I Minnesota after he pitched six innings and allowed three runs, four walks and six hits and left with a 5-3 lead in a 6-3 victory. Against St. Scholastica, he allowed seven hits and four walks with seven strikeouts. Back on March 1, he threw a two-hit shutout and fanned 14 in a 2-0 seven-inning win over the Saints.
CSS got its leadoff runner aboard in five of the last six innings but scored just once. Brandon Peterson had three hits and Brian Marshik had two for CSS. The Saints twice had a runner picked off first base, including the potential tying run in the ninth inning.
The Saints came into the weekend with a 21-game win streak but split a Saturday doubleheader with Martin Luther (4-3 loss, 34-1 win).
In his last nine games, Schmitz is batting .483 (14-of-29) with nine RBI, four doubles, two home runs and an .899 slugging percentage. In six games this week, Larson went 8-for-17 (.470) with six runs, six RBI two walks and an HBP. Olson also went 8-for-17 in five games on the week with five RBI. He has hit safely in 23 of his last 24 games.
The Toms close the regular season Tuesday at home with a nine-inning game vs. Northwestern set for 3 p.m. at Koch Diamond. St. Thomas is the top seed for the four-team MIAC playoffs which start Friday in Dundas and Northfield.
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