Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

Wednesday afternoon the Yellowjackets baseball team welcomed rival St. Scholastica to Ted Whereatt Field in a battle of the top two teams in the UMAC. The Yellowjackets were looking to prove that they were the ones that belonged on top as they took on the Saints.

St. Scholastica 9, Yellowjackets 0

The first matchup of the day started out as a pitcher duel, before everything unraveled for the Yellowjackets in the fourth inning.

Heading into the top of the fourth, Yellowjacket starter Grant Schneider (Circle Pines, Minn./Centennial) was cruising, having allowed only one unearned run through three innings. Unfortunately, the Saints were able to figure out Schneider in the fourth. By the time the half inning had ended, the Saints had hit a pair of 3-run home runs to extend their lead to 7-0.

The Saints would score once more in the sixth and ninth as they defeated the Yellowjackets 9-0.

Schneider ended up pitching six innings in this matchup, allowing eight runs (seven earned) on eight hits while walking four and striking out two. Boone Elkins (Riverside, Calif./Arlington) came in to relive Schneider, giving up one run on five hits while striking out one in the final three innings.

Schneider took the loss to fall to 3-1 on the season.

The Yellowjackets offense was unable to find their stroke in the first game as they were held to five hits.

St. Scholastica 6, Yellowjackets 3

With the first game in the books, the Yellowjackets were looking to rally back for the series split on their home field.

Just like in the first game, the Yellowjackets were ultimately undone by a big inning from the Saints.

After a quick first inning, Yellowjackets starter Jake Lewis (Proctor, Minn./Proctor) quickly struck out the first batter in the second. It all went downhill for their however, as the next Saints batter would reach on an error by first baseman Travis Miller (Whittier, Calif./La Serna). St. Scholastica then hit a single and a double to take a 1-0 lead. Following a foul out, the Saints strung a single, a double, and another single together to score three more runs and take a 4-0 lead after the top of the second.

The Saints would score one more in the third before the Yellowjackets started their rally. Chad Patko (Stone Lake, Wis./Hayward) drew a walk to start the bottom of the fifth. Nick McNosky (Minneapolis, Minn./DeLaSalle) then got hit by a pitch to put runners on first and second with no outs. Greg Pitts (Chicago, Ill./Mount Carmel) then laid down a bunt that the St. Scholastica third baseman overthrew, allowing Patko to score and McNosky to advance to third. Kyle Bellin (Kimberly, Wis./Kimberly) then hit a single to the left side to score McNosky. After Elvis Artiles Cuello (Domincan Republic/Colegio Dominicano DeLaSalle) moved both runners over with a sacrifice bunt, Drew Thomas (Chicago, Ill./Gordon Tech) drove in the third run of the inning on a deep fly ball to the center fielder to score Pitts.

The rally ended somewhat controversially, as Travis Miller (Whittier, Calif./La Serna) was hit by a pitch and then, with Jake Irlbeck (Centerville, Minn./Centennial) batting, was picked off of first. The problem was that Miller was initially called safe by the umpire in the field, before the home plate umpire overruled him to end the Yellowjacket rally.

St. Scholastica would score one more run in the top of the sixth as the Yellowjackets were unable to rally, ultimately falling to the Saints 6-3.

Lewis ended up allowing six runs (one earned) on 11 hits while walking two and striking out five in six innings pitched. Brady Stocker (River Falls, Wis./River Falls) came on in relief of Lewis, allowing one hit while walking one and striking out one in three shutout innings of relief.

The Yellowjackets (10-10, 6-2 UMAC) will be back in action Saturday, April 23 when the travel to Waconia, Minn. to take on Crown College. First pitch is set for 1:30 p.m.