WINONA, Minn. --- Crown Baseball defeated the Saint Mary's Cardinals for the first time in school history, their fourth win over a team the program had never defeated this season. The Storm got weird for this win, stealing home (their second time stealing home on the day) and scoring on a balk. Their victory didn't come without peril, as the Storm led 11-2 before allowing a Cardinals comeback, eventually narrowly winning 12-10. This game came after a 10-4 Saint Mary's win in game one of the doubleheader.

The weather was 70 degrees and high winds, which prevented the high-powered Storm offense from getting balls out of the park, as four different balls (Aaron Clogston, Kyle Schroedle, Seth Betts twice) would have gone out on a calm day. Despite this, the Storm are still ranked ninth in the nation in total home runs. 

In game one, the Storm took a 4-3 lead in the first inning, as Bailey Sarto hit in Tristian Shoemaker, Seth Betts stole home on an incredible play, and Sarto and Chad Herrera scoring on an error by the Cardinals' left fielder. Unfortunately, their scoring stopped at four, and the Storm were defeated 10-4.

Pitching the first contest was sophomore Gavin Boots, who lasted three innings with four earned runs and striking out two along the way. Senior Eric Newman relieved Boots and continued his excellent pitching, going two innings with only a single hit allowed and allowing no earned runs. First-years Liam Jones and Caleb Keen finished the Storm's pitching in the contest. 

In game two, there was scoring abound as the Storm scored seven runs in the second inning. In the first inning, Schroedle doubled to score Sarto for the Storm to take a 1-0 lead. In the second inning, first-year Mason Brock doubled to score Spencer Lilienthal, Sarto singled to score Brock, Schroedle doubled to score Sarto and Betts, and Schroedle stole home to go up 8-1. Next was the third inning, where the Storm added another run as Betts doubled to score Lilienthal. After another run scored for the Cardinals, the Storm still held a 9-2 lead. 

Shoemaker singled to score Schroedle in the fourth inning, and Chad Herrera scored on a Cardinal balk, extending their lead to 11-2. Saint Mary's began to rally, and Betts hit a triple to score Brock for an extra insurance run in the top of the seventh. The Cardinals kept up their offense and nearly completed the comeback with the go-ahead run on deck during the final inning. Unfortunately for Saint Mary's, two straight outs ended the contest with the Storm ahead in the book.

Pitching the second contest was senior Seth Betts, who paced himself well as he went the distance, ending with seven innings pitched, five strikeouts, and 39 batters faced. Even more impressive was his complete line, which included three hits, a double, a triple, a run, and two RBIs. Betts ended up with a fantastic offensive day for an athlete grueling through a lengthy pitching performance. 

The Storm have their first break of the season, with a whole week off before facing the Martin Luther Knights in a non-conference matchup on Monday.