Dan Ellefson knocked in Ben Richardson with the winning run in the top of the 13th inning as Hamline finally put away St. Scholastica, 3-2, on Wednesday in the first round of the NCAA Division III baseball tournament in Whitewater, Wis.
The third-seeded Saints (35-6) rallied to tie the fourth-seeded Pipers (29-13) twice but were shut down in order in the bottom of the 13th inning.
The loss spoiled a gutsy pitching performance for St. Scholastica senior Matt Lewis, who struck out four, scattered nine hits and allowed only one earned run. His counterpart, Cass Kreitlow, was equally as strong, allowing six hits and striking out five in 12 innings.
St. Scholastica, ranked sixth in DIII, trailed 1-0 before tying it 1-1 on Brian Marshik's RBI single in the bottom of the ninth inning to force extra innings for the Saints for the first time this season.
After Lewis allowed a run in the top of the 12th inning, St. Scholastica came back to tie it 2-2 when Kyle Moody beat out an infield single to score Andy Manos with two outs in the bottom half of the inning.
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Jake Nystrom relieved Lewis and got the first two runners out before Richardson got on a base with a single, moved up to second on a wild pitch and scored on Ellefson's single.
Marshik had two hits to lead the Saints, who play Wisconsin-Stevens Point at 1 p.m. today in the second round of the double-elimination regional tournament.
