LA CROSSE, Wis. – In its first game against a nationally-ranked team, the St. Olaf College baseball team was defeated 16-6 in eight innings by No. 16-ranked UW-La Crosse in its final non-conference game of the regular season on Tuesday afternoon at Copeland Park.
After St. Olaf (25-10) got a run in the top of the seventh to tie the game at 6-6, UW-La Crosse (25-11) scored seven runs in the bottom of the seventh and three more in the eighth to record the run-rule win. The No. 16-ranked Eagles were the Oles' highest-ranked opponent since a 6-3 victory over third-ranked UW-Whitewater on March 26, 2018. UW-La Crosse was ranked No. 16 in this week's D3baseball.com/National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Top 25 and the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) Coaches Poll, while St. Olaf picked up one vote in the former poll.
The game brought an end to a 16-2 month of April for St. Olaf, which will turn back around to host Hamline University on Wednesday, May 1 at 2:30 and 5 p.m. at Mark Almli Field. The Oles already have clinched at least a share of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) regular-season title and are one win – or a loss by Saint John's University – away from claiming the title outright.
First year
Cole Pleimann was 3-for-4 with two RBI, as St. Olaf's No. 2-5 hitters combined for eight of the Oles' nine hits in the loss. Junior
Matthew Kulesa went 2-for-4 with a double and two runs scored, while senior
Joey Glampe was 2-for-4 with a run scored and two RBI. Senior
Sam Lavin drew two walks, hit a solo home run, and scored twice.
With the MIAC games on the horizon, seven pitchers worked in the game for St. Olaf, with first years
Sam Hruska and
Carter Follman throwing 2.0 innings apiece. All seven pitchers gave up at least one run, as UW-La Crosse tallied 15 hits while breaking the game open over the final two innings.
St. Olaf took the first of its two leads in the game in the opening half inning on a two-out RBI single by Pleimann, but UW-La Crosse got the run right back in the bottom of the first and took the lead with another run in the second. In the top of the third, the Oles recorded three runs on four hits, getting RBI singles from Glampe, Pleimann, and senior
Brian Nevin to grab a 4-2 lead.
UW-La Crosse tied the game at 4-4 with a two-run home run in the bottom of the third and the score stayed tied until Lavin led off the fifth with a solo shot for his sixth home run of the season to give St. Olaf the lead again. UW-La Crosse again responded immediately with two runs in the bottom of the fifth to reclaim the lead at 6-5.
In the top of the seventh, Kulesa led off with a single, got to second on a passed ball, moved to third on a fly out by Lavin, and scored when Glampe lined a single off the pitcher to tie the game at 6-6. The Eagles sent 11 batters to the plate in their seven-run seventh that broke the tie, scoring seven runs on three hits by capitalizing on four walks, two errors, and a passed ball in the inning. The hosts wrapped up the 10-run victory with three more runs in the eighth.
