University of St. Thomas Athletics
5-1
Carthage
5-4
Baseball tops No. 9-ranked Carthage in 10 innings
3/20/2010 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Senior Tom Wippler's two-out walkoff single in the 10th inning lifted No. 1-ranked St. Thomas to a 2-1 win over No. 9-ranked Carthage (5-4) in Saturday night's non-conference baseball game at the Metrodome.
In a battle that began at 9:49 p.m. and ended at 12:23 a.m., all three runs on the night scored on two-out singles.
The game was a rematch of last May 25's College World Series elimination game won 3-1 by the Tommies.
St. Thomas (5-1) has won five of its last seven games with go-ahead runs in its last at-bat, including last May 26's two NCAA championship wins over Wooster.
In all the Tommies have won eight in a row and 13 of their last 14 games against Division III opponents. Their only other 2010 defeat thus far was a 12-inning, 5-4 loss to Division I Minnesota.
Carthage (5-4) outhit the Toms 9-8, including a 3-for-5 game by Joey Aiello, but it stranded 11 runners. Carthage is batting .337 on the season and averaging nearly nine runs a game, and five of their nine games have come against top-10 ranked teams.
Tommie senior All-American Matt Schuld scattered nine hits and struck out seven in pitching all 10 innings. He improved his career record to 21-3 and lowered his season ERA to 1.06. It was his fourth consecutive complete game, all wins, dating back to last year's College World Series.
Redmen lefty Mario Perez struck out eight and allowed just one run through eight innings. He now has an 0.90 ERA in 20 innings this season.
Cathage scored on two infield hits in the top of the seventh. Chris D'Angelo hustled home from second base and scored when Trevor Whately beat out a play from the second baseman, whose throw came in low.
PHOTOS: Top, Tom Wippler; middle, Matt Schuld; below, Brady Field
UST's Brady Field went 2-for-2, including a two-out single in the bottom of the seventh that tied the game 1-1.
St. Thomas appeared to have the game won in the last of the ninth. Roy Larson reached when his high fly to left field was lost in the Metrodome roof and he was credited with a double. Aiello saved the game for the moment as his diving stop at first base prevented a game-winning hit off the bat of Drew Cremisino and he recorded the first out, with the lead runner taking third. With runners at first and third and one out, the Redmen were credited with a 4-6-3 double play when the UST runner was called for interference at fi
rst base after Aiello was unable to hold on to the relay throw.
Carthage got a one-out double by Aiello in the top of the 10th. After a walk, Schuld got a strikeout, then retired Josh Albers on a fly out to deep center.
Matt McQuillan's one-out bloop single to short left field started UST's winning rally. He stole second and took third on a ground out. After a walk to Tayler Rahm and a pitch in the dirt advanced Rahm to second, Wippler hit a single between the third baseman and shortstop to end the game.
Tommie senior Matt Olson was 0-for-5 and and had a consecutive streak of reaching base end at 47 games.
St. Thomas starts its Florida trip next Friday wi
th a 10 a.m. game against Lawrence.
Click here for box score:
http://www.tommiesports.com/bsbl/stats/3-20-bb.htm
Check back Monday for Greg Smith action photos
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In-Game Blog:
No. 9-ranked Carthage and No. 1-rated St. Thomas are set for tonight's 9:50 p.m. game here at the Metrodome. UST will be the home team in the single, nine-inning game.
Both the Redmen (5-3) and Tommies (4-1) have played a tough early schedule. These teams played an elimination game at nationals last May with UST pulling out a 3-1 win.
Lefty Mario Perez (1-1, 0.64) will start for the Redmen, and senior All-American Matt Schuld (1-0, 1.29) will start for the Tommies.
Check back here for updates.
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UST has a rally in the bottom of the ninth... The St. Thomas website will go down at midnight so call the Tommie Ticker for updates at 651-962-5940...
It's 1-1 going to the bottom of the ninth inning. Bryan Kieffer is on to pitch the Carthage ninth. Each team scored a two-out run in its half of the seventh.
Carthage has eight hits (all singles) to UST's six hits (three doubles). Perez had eight strikeouts and two walks though eight innings. Schuld has six strikeouts and four walks. The Redmen have stranded nine runners, UST has stranded six.
Schuld struck out two and stranded one in the top of the first. Joey Aiello had a two-out single to right. In the second, Schuld walked one but retired the others on a K, line out and ground out. In the third, Tyler Eickmeyer had a leadoff single and was bunted to second. But two fly outs to left stranded
Perez retired the first seven batters, three by strikeout. Brady Field doubled to right center with one out in the third inning. Eikmeyer made a nice running catch of a bloop hit to short right. Matt McQuillans walked, but Matt Olson struck out to starnd two runners.
Carthage got a leadoff walk to Matt Soderlund in the top of the fifth. After a fly out and strikeout, Nate Hughes singled to right. Aiello flied to deep right to end the inning.
UST thereatened in the last if the ffifth as Drew Cremisino and Charles Bruchu singled. They were bunted ahead for the first out. But Perez vot a pop up to the catcher and a ground out to strand two in scoring position.
Carthage got a one-out single by Tim Hansen in the top of the sixth inning. After a fly out, pinch runner Billy Herrin was thrown out trying to steal second.
UST went down 1-2-3 in the sixth.
In the top of the seventh, Chris D'Angelo bunted and barely beat the throw to first. He took second on a slow grounder to the pitcher. After a strikeout, Trevor Whately hit a slow chopper to the right of the second baseman and he hustled it out for a hit. D'Angelo scored all the way from second running with two outs when the hurried throw came in low to first base.
Perez struck out the first two Toms in the seventh inning then walked Bruchu, who stole second. Field singled home the tying run with a two-strike liner into center field.
In the Carthage eighth inning, Aiello led off with a bloop single. After a fly out to center, Aiello was picked off first and tagged out at second. Herrim drew a two-out walk but a ground out ended the inning.
Perez retired the first two in the Tommie eighth on flies/liners but Taylor Rahm stroked a double into right center. Tom Wippler flied out to end the threat.
The Redmen got a leadoff single in the top of the ninth and he was bunted to second. But Schuld got two outs to end the threat.
In the UST's Roy Larson reached second when his high fly to left was lost in the lights and fell for a double. Aiello made a diving stop to save the game and get a putout on Cremisino's hard smash but Larson took third base.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: M. Schuld (2-0)
L: B. Kieffer (0-1)
Batting:
2B: J. Aiello 1
SH: T. Whately 1 ; M. Soderlund 1
Base Running:
RUNS: C. D'Angelo 1
CS: B. Herrin 1
PO: J. Aiello 1
Batting:
2B: T. Rahm 1 ; R. Larson 1 ; B. Field 1
RBI: T. Wippler 1 ; B. Field 1
SH: B. Field 1
Base Running:
RUNS: M. McQuillan 1 ; C. Bruchu 1
SB: M. McQuillan 1 ; C. Bruchu 1
