DULUTH, Minn. – The St. Olaf College baseball team was unable to get its offense going in 3-0 and 4-3 losses to the College of St. Scholastica on Monday at Wade Stadium.

Senior Andrew Nomoto provided the lone offense on the day for St. Olaf (14-14, 8-8 MIAC) with a three-run home run in the fourth to give the Oles a 3-2 lead in game two, but St. Scholastica (13-15, 8-8 MIAC) scored twice in the sixth and held on to complete the sweep. The Saints took game one behind a three-hit shutout by Grant Taival.

With two doubleheaders remaining in the regular season, St. Olaf is in a three-way tie for the fourth and final spot in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Playoffs with Saint Mary's and St. Scholastica. The Oles face two of the top-three teams in their remaining series, beginning with a twin bill against first-place Bethel on Tuesday, May 3. First pitch is set for 2:30 p.m. at Mark Almli Field.

St. Scholastica 3, St. Olaf 0 | Box Score

In game one, Taival limited St. Olaf to three hits to pick up his first victory of the season, walking two batters and striking out five in the shutout. Fifth-year senior Hunter Barber took the loss after going the distance for the Oles, allowing three runs on six hits with two walks and six strikeouts.

First year Matthew Kulesa, first year Justin Isaacson, and fifth-year senior Matthew Muller had the lone hits in the loss for St. Olaf.

St. Scholastica put an early run on the board in the bottom of the first on a two-out infield single by Jake Schelonka. The Saints doubled their lead in the fourth on a RBI single by Miles Liebren, who added another RBI single in the bottom of the sixth for the final run of the game.

Schelonka, Liebren, and Luke Schemenauer had two hits apiece to combine for all six hits in the game for the hosts.

St. Scholastica 4, St. Olaf 3 | Box Score

With St. Olaf trailing 2-0, Nomoto hit a three-run home run to left in the fourth to give the Oles a 3-2 lead, but the Saints got RBI singles from Schelonka and Zach Harding in the sixth to pick up the one-run win. Seven of St. Olaf's 14 losses this season have been by one run.

T.J. Martin went the distance on the mound for St. Scholastica, allowing three runs on four hits with two walks and six strikeouts to earn his second victory of the season. In his first collegiate start, sophomore Derek Hansen took the loss after allowing four runs on seven hits in 5.1 innings, striking out four against no walks. Sophomore Sean Goldman threw 2.2 innings of one-hit shutout relief for the Oles.

The Saints broke open a scoreless game with a pair of runs in the bottom of the third, but St. Olaf answered in the next half inning on Nomoto's second home run of the season. The senior's home run came after Kulesa and sophomore Sam Lavin reached base on a one-out single followed by a walk.

The Oles held the 3-2 lead until the bottom of the sixth, when the hosts took the lead for good. Schelonka tied the game with a run-scoring single and Harding delivered the go-ahead, two-out RBI single later in the inning.

St. Olaf got a runner on base in each of the final three innings but could not get the runner into scoring position.