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Baseball, having compiled an overall record of 21-12 and a MIAC record of 10-6, is continuing this trend in the spring, in this, the head coach Jason Verdugo’s fifth year. The 21 victories ties a school record for wins in a single season. With six games to go on the schedule, it’s a safe bet that the Pipers will break the benchmark that Verdugo set in his second year here, when the club went 21-19.

“We’re on pace to break the school record and have a historical year,” said Verdugo.

The latest win for the Pipers wasn’t an easy one, as it came against the nationally ranked St. Thomas Tommies. On Tuesday, April 25, the Pipers welcomed the Tommies to Midway stadium for a doubleheader.

The Tommies scored the first run of the two-game contest in the fourth inning after a Mike Moran double. The Tommies got him to third on a sacrifice bunt. The next batter hit a double down the right field line off Piper pitcher Anders Kronberg. The next two batters flied out and grounded out. The real damage against Hamline came in the fifth inning. A batter that Kronberg beaned got to third after some strategic hitting from the Tommies. The beaned batter later scored on an RBI double that cleared the bases after an overthrow. Moran hit a single that scored another run. Kronberg gave up another two runs after a homerun.

Kronberg pitched all seven innings for Hamline but the Tommies were too much. He accumulated four strikeouts walked two batters and gave up eight hits while absorbing the loss.

St. Thomas is second in the MIAC in hitting. They are batting .308 as a team and have hit 24 homeruns. Hamline scored two more runs in the bottom of the seventh, but the team was unable to muster enough strength for a comeback. The game was too far gone. The Pipers lost 6-2.

The second game was a different story. Utility man Josh Roiger started the game for the Pipers. Hamline was down 2-0 until the bottom of fourth when they scored one run on two hits. Before the Tommies could retaliate, the Pipers scored again in the fifth. After a walk, Hamline shortstop Andrew Bennett hit an RBI double to tie the game. The Pipers got the lead in the sixth and the Tommies never came back. Roiger pitched well for seven innings and got the victory. He struck out six Tommies and walked none.

Though the Pipers are having a superb season and are in fourth place in the conference, there is still a lot of baseball left to be played. With doubleheaders scheduled against St. Mary’s and Concordia and single games left between Northwestern and Crown, the Pipers aren’t content to stay in fourth.

If the playoffs started today, the Pipers would play the first place team in the MIAC, and St. Thomas and St. Olaf are tied for first place. The way the last two weeks play out in the MIAC will be very interesting.

“As funny as it sounds we could end up in the two seed. We’ll see with these last four games,” said Verdugo.

The sports scene is changing at Hamline. Piper baseball is giving people a reason to pay attention. Hamline sports enthusiasts should pull there heads out from the sand and come out of their caves and Piper baseball fans should start clearing their schedules because the MIAC Tournament starts Friday, May 12.