The St. Thomas baseball team rallied in the first inning but was unable to maintain the lead as its short-lived MIAC Baseball Playoff appearance came to an end Friday afternoon in Cold Spring with a 4-7 loss to Hamline.
The top-seeded Tommies (25-15 overall, 14-6 conference) watched as their losing streak extended to six games going 0-2 during the weekend.
“We came out ready to play. We came out energized and excited. The first couple innings we put up three, and then they matched our energy,” centerfielder Jake Smith said. “They matched our level to compete at the plate. They had good at bats and made our pitchers throw a lot of pitches.”
St. Thomas started strong, putting three runs on the board in the first inning and capitalizing on four walks by Hamline’s starting pitcher Nolan Schoonveld.
Schoonveld was retired to the bench after only one inning of work, allowing three runs on two hits.
Hamline’s relievers were lights out, surrendering only one run on three hits. Pitcher Nate Rubbelke picked up the win increasing his record to 1-2 on the season. He went three innings, allowing no runs on one hit. Zack Smith replaced Rubbelke on the mound and lasted five innings, giving up one run on two hits and striking out seven.
St. Thomas rattled off five hits at the plate. Shortstop Brady Johnson and first baseman Cory Quinlan both contributed two hits. Johnson went 2-for-3 with a walk and two RBIs, while Quinlan went 2-for-4. Outfielder Waylon Bemboom had the only other St. Thomas hit, going 1-for-4 with two RBIs.
Hamline (28-14 overall, 13-7 conference) threatened in the bottom of the third inning with a tying run on second and the go-ahead run at the plate, but the Tommies escaped the inning with a ground out to third, still holding onto their lead.
But the fourth inning proved to be problematic for St. Thomas. The Tommie offense was retired three up, three down in the top of the inning. Hamline tied the game 3-3 with a sac fly to centerfield and continued to rally for three more runs in the bottom of the fourth, changing the momentum and the score of the game.
“I was proud of our team’s effort … you can’t really argue against going out and playing hard,” Smith said. “We gave up a six spot, and that is tough to come back from, especially in a playoff atmosphere, but we definitely battled every out ‘till the end. It was a game of baseball, and it doesn’t always go your way.”
St. Thomas pitcher Dominic Reed picked up his third loss of the season. He allowed six runs on four hits, striking out two and walking four while committing two errors before being replaced with reliever Ryan Zimmerman, who gave up one run on four hits in his 4 ⅔ innings of relief.
The Tommies earned one run in the top of the eighth but would fall short of the win.
Smith said even with Friday’s loss, the team is still hopeful for a chance at regionals.
“It was definitely a game that we needed to win and couldn’t find a way to do so,” Smith said. “We still have a possibility for an at-large bid for regionals … not a very likely one, but still a possibility nonetheless.”
Carolyn Meyer can be reached at cameyer@stthomas.edu.