Pipers lose two in MIAC tournament

Hamline scored the first run of their opener against St. Olaf on the first day of the 2008 MIAC baseball tournament, as Andrew Bennett (Sr., St. Paul, Minn.) hit a sacrifice fly to centerfield that scored the leadoff hitter, Dan Kaczrowski (Jr., St. Anthony, Minn.). Kaczrowski became a baserunner when he doubled to right field to start the game.

St. Olaf answered back immediately in the bottom half of the opening inning, and then took a 2-1 lead in the fourth on an RBI single.

The next time the game was tied, it was the Pipers scoring to even it, as Tony Rogers (Fy., Elk River, Minn.) hit a sacrifice fly to score Andrew Seymour (Sr., Sandstone, Minn.). Seymour was pinch running for JD Modrynski (Fy., Lakeville, Minn.), who got on base with a single.

St. Olaf once again responded in the bottom half on an inning in which the Pipers scored, putting up four runs on four hits and two Piper errors to win the game.

The end result of game two against the Gusties looked very similar for the Pipers.

After two scoreless innings, Gustavus put three runs on the board in the top of the third on three hits, including a two-run triple. The Pipers kept with the pattern established in game one of evening the score, and scored three of their own runs in the bottom half of the frame.

Skip Fuller (Sr., Minneapolis, Minn.) became the first Piper baserunner in the third on a leadoff single to right field. Kaczrowski followed that up with a single to left field, putting Pipers on first and second.

A sacrifice fly by Rogers advanced Fuller and Kaczrowski, setting up a two-RBI triple from Bennett.  Ben Smith (Jr., Orono, Minn.) drove in Bennett for the third run on a ground out.

With the game tied at 3-3 in the seventh, Gustavus, much like St. Olaf did late in the game earlier in the day, added four runs on four hits and one Hamline error for the 7-3 win.

Hamline completes their 2008 campaign with an overall record of 23-18, with a conference record of 12-8 that gave them a third place finish in the regular season.