St. Ambrose University | Baseball Schedule

A conference-high eight St. Ambrose players were named to the all-Midwest Collegiate Conference Baseball team as the league announced its post-season awards today. Freshman Matt Rosenberger won an MCC Gold Glove at first base and Jim Callahan was honored as the MCC Coach of the Year after leading the Bees to the regular season conference title.

The eight all-conference picks, including four first-teamers, are the most for St. Ambrose since the 2008 squad had 10 on the all-MCC team.

First Team All-MCC
Alex Behling (3B)	Scott Blanchette (C)	Jonathan Golden (IF)	Bryan Hennessy (P)

Honorable Mention All-MCC
Jake Fields (DH)	Tyler Gilles (OF)	Zach Rohlf (P)	Matt Rosenberger (1B)

MCC Coach of the Year - Jim Callahan

MCC Gold Glove - Matt Rosenberger (1B)

Leading the first team selections was the left side of the infield - shortstop J. Golden (left) and third baseman Alex Behling (right).

Their seasons nearly mirrored each other. Golden was 66-for-172 to finish second in the MCC with a .384 batting average, and was second in the conference with 42 runs scored. Behling finished 67-for-175 for a .383 average (third in the MCC) and matched his teammate by also scoring 42 runs. Thanks to the two, the Bees finished with a .309 team batting average, the top mark in the MCC.

Golden, a junior from Davenport, Iowa, also collected 13 doubles, three triples, four home runs and 31 RBIs, and finished second in the MCC with a .473 on-base percentage and fourth in the MCC with a .564 slugging percentage.

Behling, a senior from Belvidere, Ill., added 17 doubles, one triple and team highs of six homers and 41 RBIs. The honorable mention all-conference pick in 2011 led the conference with a .594 slugging percentage and was sixth in the league with a .455 on-base percentage.

Scott Blanchette (left) was named a first team all-MCC catcher after batting .283 with 21 RBIs and 10 runs scored. The senior from Manteno, Ill., also threw out 18-of-71 potential base stealers from behind the plate.

After winning his first six decisions and finishing 8-1 overall, Bryan Hennessy (right) was one of four pitchers named to the first team. The sophomore from New Lenox, Ill., led the Bees with a 3.51 ERA and struck out 49 over 66.2 innings. He went the distance in four of his 10 starts and threw two shutouts.

Fellow starter Zach Rohlf (bottom) was one of four Bees to earn all-conference honorable mention. The junior lefthander from Davenport, Iowa, was 6-4 overall with a 3.81 ERA. Rohlf struck out 81 over 78 innings and tossed six complete games, including one shutout.

The other three SAU players to receive honorable mention were outfielder Tyler Gilles, designated hitter Jake Fields and first baseman Matt Rosenberger (all pictured, bottom).

Gillis, a senior from Roscoe, Ill., hit in the No. 3 hole and finished with a .280 average, 36 RBIs and 29 runs scored. He was second on the team with 14 doubles and added three triples and four home runs.

Fields, from North Hollywood, Calif., was third on the team and ninth in the conference with a .353 batting average. The junior picked up 13 doubles, 30 RBIs and 25 runs scored.

Rosenberger, a freshman from Frankfort, Ill., recovered from a slow start that saw him hitting just .176 through February, to finish with a .321 batting average. He scored 36 runs and knocked in 27. Rosenberger also did the job in the field, finishing with just five errors in 344 total chances to win the Gold Glove.

In his 17th year as head coach, Callahan led the Bees to a bounce-back 2012 campaign. A year after finishing last in the MCC, the Bees went 16-8 in league play this year to win their ninth conference title since 1996.

Although the Bees gave a great effort they were not able to defeat Mount Mercy in their second and final matchup in the Midwest Collegiate Conference Tournament with Mustangs winning by a score of 6-1.

With their ace Zach Rohlf on the mound, the Bees were primed to beat Mount Mercy and move on to the next round of the conference tournament. However, Mount Mercy would take a two-run lead in the top of the first and would not look back.

St. Ambrose would score a run as Tom Prior would score on a throwing error making the game close. Yet Mount Mercy would go on to score at least one run in the last three innings, scoring two in the top of the eighth. The Bees were unable to rally in the late innings.

Rohlf gave a strong performance pitching eight innings giving up five runs on eight hits while striking out 11.

St. Ambrose finishes their season 24-26 after finishing first in Midwest Collegiate Conference during the regular season.

The Bees were not able to get the win in their first matchup of the Midwest Collegiate Conference Tournament as Iowa Wesleyan would come out on top 7-6.

After Iowa Wesleyan took an early 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first St. Ambrose came back to take the lead in the top of the fourth scoring four runs in part to a weird inning that included a few walks, a hit by pitch, a fielders choice and an error.

Iowa Wesleyan would take the lead once again scoring three runs in the bottom of the fifth. Still, the Bees would not go away as they would rally again to score two in the top of the eighth on a wild pitch and a Nate Schmitt single.

However, it was not meant to be for St. Ambrose as Iowa Wesleyan scored twice in the bottom of the ninth inning to defeat St. Ambrose 7-6.

The loss puts the Bees' season on the line in the double-elimination tournament. SAU (24-25) will play Wednesday night against either Mount Mercy or William Penn in an elimination game. The Mustangs and Statesmen will meet at 12 p.m. Wednesday.

After pulling out a dramatic 10-9 win over Mount Mercy in 10 innings Saturday, St. Ambrose will enter the Midwest Collegiate Conference Baseball Tournament as the top seed.

SAU, 16-8 in league play, tied Grand View for the regular-season conference crown, but the Bees received the top seed in the tournament thanks to sweeping a three-game series from the Vikings during the year.

St. Ambrose will play Tuesday at 7 p.m. against the winner of the Iowa Wesleyan-William Penn game. All MCC Tournament games will be played at A.J. Spiegel Park in Peosta, Iowa, and live stats for all the games will be available online.

The five-team, double-elimination tournament will run through a possible final game Friday. The MCC Tournament champion advances to the NAIA Tournament, which opens May 11 at campus sites with nine five-team regionals. The winners of the regionals advance to the NAIA World Series May 25-June 1 in Lewiston, Idaho.

Matt Rosenberger scored on Tom Prior's sacrifice fly in the bottom of the 10th inning to lift St. Ambrose to a come-from-behind 10-9 win over Mount Mercy, giving the Bees a share of the Midwest Collegiate Conference regular season championship.

SAU (24-24, 16-8 MCC) had to rally from deficits of 5-0 and 7-2 to claim the conference title. Tyler Gilles hit a home run to right in the bottom of the eighth to finally pull the Bees even at 8-8.

Mount Mercy (26-24, 15-9) pushed across a run in the top of the 10th before SAU again rallied. Connor Kretz drew a lead-off walk and moved to third on Rosenberger's one-out double to deep right. Scott Blanchette bounced a single through the left-side to bring home Kretz with the tying run. Prior followed by lifting a fly ball to left-center, bringing home Rosenberger with the game-winner.

It capped a tremendous day for Rosenberger. The freshman first baseman finished a perfect 6-for-6 with four runs scored.

It is the Bees' first MCC regular season championship since 2008. Thanks to sweeping the season series from co-champion Grand View, SAU will now enter the MCC Tournament as the top seed. The conference tournament, played in Peosta, Iowa, begins Tuesday and runs through Friday.

Mount Mercy 2, St. Ambrose 0 - Box Score
Mount Mercy 5, St. Ambrose 1 - Box Score

St. Ambrose needed one game on Friday to take first place outright in the Midwest Collegiate Conference regular season and the #1 seed in the conference tournament. However, they would have to wait until Saturday to do it because Mount Mercy took both on Friday.

The story for the first game on Friday was that they just could not get the bats going. The Bees would only record one hit in seven innings.

The hit would come off a bunt single by Jonathan Golden as he beat out throw from the third basemen. Still, St. Ambrose could not put anything together.

Zach Rohlf pitched a great game for the Bees and gave them a good chance to win throughout the game as he only gave up two runs on six hits and struck out six as he completed all seven innings for St. Ambrose.

Game two would not fair any better for St. Ambrose as they would drop game two 5-1.

The offense for SAU did not do much better than in game one as this time they were only able to record three hits and did not record a hit until the fifth inning.

Two of those hits did come in the fifth inning as an Alex Behling double would lead to a Nate Schmitt single that would drive in Ambrose only run of the game.

At the end of the day St. Ambrose had only one more chance to take first place outright and they would have to do it on Saturday at Modern Woodmen Park.

St. Ambrose wins season series against William Penn University on the heels of a two run blast from Tyler Gilles.

The Bees snapped a three game losing streak against William Penn on Tuesday night, winning the season series against the Statesmen 2-to-1.

SAU came up with their only runs of the game in the fourth inning after a Sam Parsons double and a Jonathan Golden sacrifice bunt put Parsons on third. Gilles then stepped up to the plate and hit a bomb to right field which would give Ambrose all they would need to get the win.

Bryan Hennessy threw nine scoreless innings scattering seven hits and striking out seven. The Bees defense was also spectacular making a number of great plays in the field to help Hennessy.

St. Ambrose is now tied in the Midwest Collegiate Conference with Grand View after a surprising double-digit loss to Iowa Wesleyan Monday night.

SAU had no answer for Iowa Wesleyan as the Tigers scored at least a run in the first six innings of the game. The Ambrose bullpen combined to allow 15 runs on 21 hits and surrendered six walks as well.

The Tigers of Iowa Wesleyan were able to hold the Bees to only one hit through the first five innings of play. SAU could not put a run together until the sixth when an Alex Behling double would drive in two runs.

Behling was accountable for all three Ambrose runs and one of only four total hits by the Bees.

St. Ambrose moves to an even 22-22 overall, and 14-6, which is good for a tie with Grand View (16-8), for the lead in the MCC. However, St. Ambrose did sweep Grand View which gives the Bees the tiebreaker.

Game two was delayed after four innings because of weather and moved to Sunday as Ambrose led 13-4.

However, that lead was not a sure thing for the Bees as they would go on to drop the game 15-13.

St. Ambrose had a commanding 13-4 lead after scoring in each of the first four innings before the game was delayed until Sunday because of weather. Which turned out to be a bad sign as SAU would not score another run when the game was continued.

Waldorf would go on to score three runs in the fifth and then eight runs in the sixth to complete their comeback as the Bees were held to one hit and a walk from the fifth inning on.

Despite the loss Tyler Gilles would have a successful game as he went 2-for-5 with four RBIs and a run scored.

The story of the game for the Bees turned out to be the St. Ambrose bullpen which came in for Robert Copley in the second part of the game on Sunday and gave up 11 runs on eight hits in the loss.

Game three would not go the Bees' way as they would fall short in a close one 6-5.

SAU would trail by three in the early going until they tied it up in the top of the fourth with help from Alex Behling as he hit his team-leading sixth home run of the season. Then St. Ambrose was able the lead in the top of the sixth on Scott Blanchette's first home run of the season.

Still, Waldorf would score three runs in the bottom of the seventh to take a 6-4 lead and they would hold the Bees to one run in the eighth to complete their comeback.

The three-game series would move St. Ambrose to 22-21 overall and 14-5 in conference.

St. Ambrose, 14, Waldorf 3 - Box Score
Waldorf 15, St. Ambrose 13 - Box Score
Waldorf 6, St. Ambrose 5 - Box Score

St. Ambrose would take game one against Waldorf on Saturday before game two would be delayed in the fourth inning because of weather.

In game one everything went Ambrose way offensively as they put up 14 runs on 14 hits. The bees posted a five run second inning and would not look back as they would tack on nine more runs and would be led by yet another great outing by Zach Rohlf.

Rohlf would go all seven innings giving up three runs on five hits to go along with three strikeouts. Rohlf did not allow Waldof's offensive to get on a roll as he continued to get big outs.

Offensively every bee starter contributed in some way with either a hit, run scored, or RBI. Tom Prior had a big day at the plate going 3-for-4 with four RBIs and three runs scored. Sam Parsons and Matt Rosenberger drove in three runs a piece to give SAU its third largest runs scored on the season and a 14-3 win.

St. Ambrose was able to come up with yet another late inning rally to beat Ashford University.

After continuing to play a close game St. Ambrose found themselves down by a run after the sixth inning of play. Even after they could not put a run up in the seventh or eighth inning the Bees kept their composer and did not panic.

Instead, they kept cool and were able to post three runs, two of which came off an Alex Behling single, in the top of the ninth and hold Ashford in the bottom of the inning to win their fourth straight and keep a game and a half lead in the conference.

Behling and Tyler Gilles would each record two RBIs with a hit, while Jake Fields and Matt Rosenberger would each drive in a run.

Bryan Hennessy had a good start for the Bees going six innings and giving up four runs on eight hits while striking out four. Brandon Duplessis was able to come in and get the win by giving up only one hit in his three innings of work to go along with two strikeouts.

The win moves to bees to 21-19 overall and 13-3 in the MCC. The Bees are in first place in conference and have a game and a half lead over Grand View.

St. Ambrose 1, Grand View 0 - Box Score
St. Ambrose 16, Grand VIew 4 - Box Score

St. Ambrose toughed out a big win in the second game of three against Grand View. SAU was able to do just enough to beat the Vikings in a one-run game on the heels of a Jonathan Golden home run.

The close win for the Bees was due in large part to their pitching. Bryan Hennessy gave four outstanding innings, giving up only three hits and striking out two. Brandon Duplessis then stepped in for the final three innings, not giving up a hit or a walk and struck out two in order to get the save.

The offense for the Bees came in the top of the very first inning as Jonathan Golden hit his fourth home run of the year to give the Bees an early lead and they would not look back.

In game two, the offenses exploded to combine for 20 runs. Luckily for St. Ambrose they would score the majority in the 16-4 win.

The Bees would put up runs in six of the nine innings and would put up multiple runs in five of those innings. Every starter recorded a hit and either an RBI or a run scored.

Nate Schmitt lead the Bees offensively with five RBIs on three hits. Also, Alex Behling and Jake Fields each had three RBIs as the Bees would total 17 hits in all to go with their 16 runs.

The win was also anchored by a strong pitching performance by Robert Copley, who went seven innings and only gave up three runs while striking out seven.

The Bees moved over .500 with the sweep to 20-19 overall and 12-3 in conference.

St. Ambrose got back to its winning ways as the Bees defeated Grand View in game one of a three-game series before inclement weather caused the last two games to be postponed.

The Bees looked like they were in trouble once again as they trailed 5-3 after three innings of play.

Zach Rohlf got off to a rough start giving up five runs in the first three innings. However, he would settle down and not give up another run in his six innings of work.

SAU was able to rally late in the top of the seventh and score four runs to take the lead. Alex Behling got the rally started with a lead off home run, his fifth on the season. A Tom Prior sacrifice fly and a Jonathan Golden two-run single would complete the Ambrose comeback as the Bees would close out the game 9-5.

The offensive leaders for St. Ambrose included Tyler Gilles who went 3-for-5 with four RBIs and one run scored. Jonathan Golden also had two hits, two RBIs, and a run scored.

The Bees may have suffered their worst loss of the season as Clarke University got the shutout 6-0.

The story of the game for St. Ambrose was a lack of offense. The mid-week game forced SAU to use several pitchers, none throwing more than two innings. The staff combined to give up six runs on 11 hits and also allowed five walks.

On the other side, the Bees offense could only muster six hits and was not able to string together any of those hits to drive in some runs.

William Penn 5, St. Ambrose 1 - Box Score
St. Ambrose 5, William Penn 2 - Box Score

St. Ambrose squared off against William Penn in an important conference matchup. The Bees took the second game to keep a small one game lead in conference play.

In game one, SAU got off to a good start taking a 1-0 lead after the second inning. Still, they failed to put anymore runs up on the board and keep pace with the statesmen.

William Penn put together a few timely hits to score five runs in the final four innings and would not let St. Ambrose get into any kind of rhythm offensively.

Connor Kretz would drive in the only run the Bees who could not put up any more runs on their combined seven hits.

Even though William Penn took an early 1-0 lead in the first the Bees did not get rattled as they maintained their composure and went on to score five runs in the final four innings.

Jonathan Golden had an RBI single in the third to tie the game. Alex Behling and Jake Fields hit back-to-back doubles to put the Bees ahead and they would not look back adding three more runs to their total to win 5-2.

Robert Copley had another excellent outing giving out only two runs on six hits to go along with seven strikeouts to move to 2-1 on the year. Brandon Duplessis came in the ninth to record his second save of the year.

The split of the two games moves SAU to 17-18 overall and 9-3 in the Midwest Collegiate Conference.

The outcome of the St. Ambrose versus Western Illinois game will have to wait as the game was called after six innings due to lightning in the area.

The game got off to a rough start for the bees as WIU took a 2-0 lead after just one inning. The leathernecks held on to the lead until the bees began to battle back in the fourth.

A Nate Schmitt RBI triple gave SAU their first run of the game and they added three more to that in the fifth from a Jonathan Golden single, throwing error and a sacrifice fly by Tyler Gilles.

The Bees were glad to see Griffin Paulson return from injury to have a good performance on the mound giving up four runs on six hits in his six innings of work.

However, the bees rally could not be seen to completion as lighting forced the game to be called with the score at a 4-4 tie. The teams hope to complete the game at a later date.

St. Ambrose looks to improve its conference record as they face William Penn in a doubleheader on Wednesday, Apr. 4.

Brett Newsome (pictured right, taken from Washington Nationals website), a former St. Ambrose baseball player, made an appearance for the Washington Nationals in a March 24 Spring Training game against the Baltimore Orioles.

Newsome, who spent his junior year at St. Ambrose in 2008, signed as a free agent with the Washington Nationals as part of the 2008 MLB draft.

As for his appearance, it occurred in the top of the sixth after the Nationals first baseman Chad Tracy drew a walk. Newsome came in as a pinch runner. He would eventually score in the inning on a throwing error by Orioles third baseman Mark Reynolds.

Newsome's big moment in the game was his plate appearance in the top of the eighth. He faced Orioles reliever Luis Ayala. Newsome would fly out to left, but the day was still a big one for the former Bee.

Newsome hopes to continue to get appearances and move his way up the Nationals organization and Bees fans hope for the best as well.

Once again the bees proved that their never say die attitude paying of as they get the victory in dramatic walk-off fashion.

Viterbo University took an early 3-0 lead on the bees. It seemed like a re-run of the first game on Saturday.

However, the bees battled as a team as five different players each drove in a run as a part of their six run total.

Yet, none would be more important than when Jake Fields stepped up to the plate with runners on the corners in the bottom of the ninth. Fields drove deep to right center field which was more than enough to bring Tyler Gilles from third.

The bees then went on to celebrate their second walk-off win of the week and the series win.

After a solid start in conference play. The encountered an unexpected loss to last place Viterbo in game one of the three game series against Viterbo.

SAU splits the first two games of their three game series against Viterbo University.

The first game of the doubleheader did not go as planned for St. Ambrose against Viterbo.

St. Ambrose took an early game lead of 4-2 after two innings and seemed to be in control with Bryan Hennessy on the bump. However, a few bad hops and some timely hits by Viterbo would lead to them scoring 7 runs in the last four innings.

Offensively the Bees got off to a good start in the early innings with Jon Mahay driving in two runs on a hit and scoring a run and Jonathan Golden driving in a run on a hit. Still, as the game went on the bees could not put anything together at the plate as they would drop the game 9-4.

St. Ambrose made sure that the second game of the twin bill would not go as the first one did. They would do this by shutting the V-hawks out.

Robert Copley played a major role in the shut out by going all seven innings and only allowing three hits and a walk while striking out four. This would earn him his first win of the season.

The Bees would score one run in both the fourth and fifth inning with Scott Blanchette driving in the only earned run for St. Ambrose to give them the 2-0 victory.

The split of the two games would put St. Ambrose at 15-17 overall, and 7-2 in the Midwest Collegiate Conference.

After a tough set of games against Missouri Baptist on Tuesday. St. Ambrose looked to improve their status in conference play as they set out to play two against Ashford University.

Game one was a tight one in the early going as both teams scored two runs in the first inning and the game remained tied until Ambrose broke the tie by scoring three runs in the bottom of the fourth and added one more run in the sixth.

On the offensive side for Ambrose it seemed like everyone was chipping in as Sam Parsons, Jonathan Golden, Jake Fields, Nate Schmitt, and Jon Mahay each drove in a run.

However, the highlight of the game was the outstanding pitching performance of Brandon Duplessis and he continued to work out of his pitching slump by getting his first win of the year. He went all seven innings giving up only two runs, one earned, on nine hits while striking out seven.

The second game would prove to be a long one for both teams but a fruitful game for the Bees.

St. Ambrose seem to have a firm grasp on the game scoring two runs in the first three innings and then built a two run lead going into the top of the seventh.

A major highlight in the early part of the game was another home run bomb by Alex Behling which was his second in four games and as many days. He would end the game a perfect 3-for3- with 3 RBIs and two runs scored.

However, Ashford would battle back to score two runs in the top of the seventh to tie the game at eight. Then a pitching duel ensued as neither team could get that winning run home.

Until the bottom of the tenth when with one out Jonathan Golden got a walk putting him on first. Then Tyler Gilles stepped up to the plate and hit a liner to left center that got in the gap and bounced of the wall. Golden got on his horse and would score then game winning run of the Gilles double as Ambrose would pull of the walk of victory by a score of 9-8.

Missouri Baptist 16, St. Ambrose 1 - Box Score
Missouri Baptist 11, St. Ambrose 4 - Box Score

St. Ambrose was riding pretty high off their three game sweep of Clarke over the weekend and came into the doubleheader against Missouri Baptist University looking for more. However, it was not to be the case.

Game one did not go well for the Bees as the Missouri Baptist Spartans went on to score at least one run in the first six innings of the seven inning game to put it out of reach early for SAU.

St. Ambrose looked like they were in the fight after Tyler Gillies hit an RBI double in the bottom of the first to put the Bees within one after the first. Still, Missouri Baptist continued to put runs as the Ambrose bullpen could not stop the bleeding.

Missouri Baptist continued to put up runs scoring in every inning but the fourth to build an eventual seven run lead that Ambrose would not be able to overcome.

Even a towering home run to left field by Alex Behling would not be enough to rally the bees back in the late innings. Behling would go 2-for-4 with and RBI and two runs scored while Nate Schmitt would go 2-for-3 with two RBI's

The St. Ambrose baseball team was able to right themselves after the tough loss on Wednesday to UW-Platteville. The Bees did this by sweeping Clarke over the weekend in a three-game series.

On Saturday, St. Ambrose played two games against the Crusaders. Both games would prove to have the same outcome

In game one, SAU got right to it scoring three runs on three hits in the very first inning. Alex Behling blasted a three-run bomb that would be the signature moment of the game and put St. Ambrose in front, and they would not look back as they tacked on one more run on Behling's single down the left field line.

The game was anchored on defense by another outstanding pitching performance by Zach Rohlf, who yet again went all seven innings and gave up only one run while striking out six to bring his record to 3-1 on the season.

Game two on the day would be closer yet the result would be the same as the Bees edged Clarke 7-6.

Again St. Ambrose would pull to the early lead driving in runs in the first three innings to take a 5-0 lead. However, the Crusaders of Clarke would make it a game by scoring three runs in the bottom of the sixth and seventh innings. Still, SAU would shut the door on Clarke and win by one.

The offense was led by Jonathan Golden who went 2-for-2 with two RBIs and two runs scored. Scott Blanchette would also drive in two runs with a hit and Jake Fields, Nate Schmitt and Matt Rosenberger would each drive in a run.

St. Ambrose also pitched a solid game as Bryan Hennessy and Brandon Duplessis would combine to give up six runs on seven hits and strike out six.

After the first two games in the series, St. Ambrose moved to 11-14 overall and 3-1 in the Midwest Collegiate Conference.

On Sunday, St. Ambrose was looking for the sweep against Clarke and they would find it as they beat the Crusaders 10-8.

Game three got off to a slow start as only one run would cross the plate through the first four innings. However, after that a combined 17 runs would be scored.

St. Ambrose would add to their one-run lead by scoring three in the top of the fifth with RBI singles by both Tyler Gillies and Alex Behling. However, Clarke would strike back by scoring two runs in the bottom of the fifth and then would take the lead by scoring five runs in the bottom of the sixth.

The resiliency of the Bees was tested but they struck back scoring four runs in the top of the seventh on a two-run double by Behling, then Jake Fields would drive in a run with a groundout and Behling would later score on a wild pitch.

SAU would tack on two more insurance runs in the top of the ninth on RBI singles from Nate Schmitt and Matt Rosenberger.

The St. Ambrose pitching and defense would hold Clarke to only one run in the bottom of the ninth to complete the sweep of the Crusaders.

St. Ambrose moved to 12-14 overall and 4-1 in the Midwest Collegiate Conference.

St. Ambrose suffered a heartbreaking loss to the University of Wisconsin at Platteville on Wednesday night. Ambrose had a commanding lead on the Pioneers until the top of the ninth when it all fell apart.

Someone who had watched the first eight innings of the game and left would have told you that SAU was in total control. St. Ambrose put up six runs in the first six innings.

The Bees offense was holding up their side with Sam Parsons two-run single in the bottom of the second as well as Tom Prior who had an RBI single in the second. The offense continued to roll in the sixth as Alex Behling added a two-run single to Ambrose tally.

St. Ambrose being up 6-1 through eight was in large part to a strong pitching performance by Brandon Duplessis, who broke out of his pitching slump going five strong innings giving up only four hits and striking out three while not giving up a run and keeping UW-Platteville from getting into any kind of rhythm offensively.

Still, all it took all of about eight minutes for it to all fall apart for Ambrose. The SAU bullpen combined to give up eight runs on five hits and two walks before getting the third out. The seemingly broken Bees squad was unable to mount a rally in the bottom of the ninth to suffer the devastating loss 9-6.

SAU will look to bounce back this weekend by playing a three-game series at Clarke.

Zach Rohlf was named Midwest Collegiate Conference player of the week on Monday, March 19, after getting two wins last week, over Valley City State (N.D.) and Iowa Wesleyan.

Both of Rohlf's outings were complete games. He has three complete games in five starts on this season.

Against Valley City State, Rohlf gave up three runs on four hits while striking out 10 batters in the process to get the win and the sweep for St. Ambrose in the doubleheader on March 13.

His next start against Iowa Wesleyan went even better as he threw a two-hit shutout while striking out seven batters in a 2-0 win over the Tigers of Iowa Wesleyan on March 18.

In his two starts, Rohlf struck out 17 total batters while only giving up one walk. He had a combined 1.93 ERA over the two-game span while averaging only one and a half runs and three hits given up per game. He is 2-1 on the season.

Behind a strong pitching performance and a timely hit, St. Ambrose was able to win the first game of a doubleheader against Iowa Wesleyan Sunday afternoon at Modern Woodmen Park. The Bees were unable to complete the sweep, falling 8-1 in the second game, in the team's first home games of the year.

The first game of two against Iowa Wesleyan got off to a slow start as neither team was able to put any kind of offense together. The pitchers' dual carried all the way through to the bottom of the sixth when Ambrose finally got on the board.

St. Ambrose pulled ahead on a two-out two-run single by Matt Rosenberger which broke up a scoreless tie.

The shutout victory was made possible in large part by Zach Rohlf, who gave up only two hits and struck out seven batters, going the full seven innings in the 2-0 victory.

The second game did not go as well for SAU as they had a hard time rattling the bats. Although St. Ambrose was able to tally nine hits, the Bees only ended with one run to show for it.

Meanwhile St. Ambrose pitching was unable to hold of the opposing Tigers as the Ambrose pitching staff combined to give up eight runs, seven of them earned, on 12 hits. The game ended with Iowa Wesleyan taking it 8-1.

St. Ambrose went 4-6 on its annual Spring Break trip, this year competing in the Tucson Invitational. The Bees are 8-12 overall.

Jamestown 9, St. Ambrose 6 - Box score
St. Ambrose 18, Jamestown 12 - Box score

St. Ambrose got off to a slow start on the first day of the Tucson Invitational against Jamestown College (N.D.), dropping the first game of the doubleheader 9-6.

Jamestown took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first and would never look back. The bright spot for St. Ambrose was they continued to battle back throughout the game as they put up runs in four of their seven at bats.

Jake Fields went a perfect 3-for-3 with an RBI and two runs scored. Nate Schmitt went 1-for-3 with a big two-run double in the fourth inning that would tie the game up for St. Ambrose. Jamestown went on to score five runs in the bottom of the fifth to seal the victory.

Game two would go SAU's way as they would put up 18 runs to beat Jamestown 18-12 to get the doubleheader split.

St. Ambrose would scored at least one run in each of their six at bats in the game, scoring four runs twice and as much as six in one inning.

The offense was led by Jake Fields who went a perfect 4-for-4 with four RBIs and two runs scored. Tyler Gillies and Connor Kretz each chipped in with three RBIs of their own. St. Ambrose totaled 25 hits to go along with their 18 runs as they spilt the twin bill with Jamestown College.

Southwest Minnesota State 13, St. Ambrose 3 - Box score
Concordia-St. Paul 13, St. Ambrose 12 - Box score

Day two of the Tucson Invitational would be a tough one for the Bees as they would drop both games.

The first game of the day, against Southwest Minnesota State, would be a tough one as the St. Ambrose would go down 13-3.

St. Ambrose would take the lead in the bottom of the second on RBI doubles by Matt Rosenberger and Fields to go along with an RBI single by Scott Blanchette. However, SMSU would put up runs in five of the next seven innings to put the game out of reach for the Bees.

The downside of the game for St. Ambrose was the pitching as it combined to give up 18 hits to go along with 10 of the 13 total runs being earned.

The second game of the day against Concordia-St. Paul (Minn.) would not fair much better for the Bees as they lost a close one 13-12.

Concordia-St. Paul would take the early lead in the bottom of the first inning, but St. Ambrose continued to battle back throughout the game eventually tying the game up in the top of the eighth inning after collecting four runs on four hits. A wild pitch plated Fields to tie the game at 12-12.

However, Concordia-St. Paul would break the stalemate with what would turn out to be the game winning single in the bottom of the eighth as St. Ambrose would not be able to rally after that.

Dakota Wesleyan 15, St. Ambrose 13 - Box score
Dakota Wesleyan 5, St. Ambrose 4 (8 inn.) - Box score

Day three of the Tucson Invitational would prove to be another tough one for the Bees as they faced a doubleheader against Dakota Wesleyan (N.D.).

Game one looked like it was going to be all Dakota Wesleyan as they garnered a 14-3 lead after six innings of play.

Still, true to form St. Ambrose battled back in the bottom of the seventh to put up 10 runs on seven hits. They would be helped out by an error and three hit batsmen by DWU. However, St. Ambrose also put the bat on the ball as Golden, Gillies and Schmitt would each have an RBI single and Kretz would have a two-run double.

However, St. Ambrose would come up short in their rally as the game would end 15-13 in favor of Dakota Wesleyan.

SAU took a 4-2 lead going into the fifth inning off strong pitching from Robert Copley, who would go six and a third innings, giving up four earned runs on five hits.

Fields, Rosenberger, Golden and Sam Parsons would each drive in a run for the Bees to go along with at least one hit.

Still, Dakota Wesleyan would tie it in the bottom of the seventh to send it to extra innings and then score in the bottom of the eighth to win the game to the tune of 5-4.

St. Ambrose 6, Valley City State 5 - Box score
St. Ambrose 15, Valley City State 3 - Box score

On the fourth day of the Tucson Invitational, St. Ambrose would get back to their winning ways taking both games against Valley City State (N.D.)

After being all tied up through three innings, Valley City State took the lead after five innings 5-2. Still, St. Ambrose would not give up as they rallied in the bottom of the sixth to score four runs on three hits.

Gillies had a two-run double and Behling had an RBI double in the inning to go along with a Golden sacrifice fly to pull ahead and close out the game 6-5.

SAU had a strong pitching performance from Brian Hennessey, who went all seven innings giving up five runs, four of which were earned, and five hits with five strikeouts.

The second game was a blowout for St. Ambrose as they beat Valley City State 15-3 to complete the doubleheader sweep.

Golden would have another standout game at the plate going 4-for-6 with two RBIs and three runs scored. Behling also had a standout game going 3-for-3 with three RBIs and three runs scored. Fields and Parsons drove in two while Rosenberger drove in three runs himself.

Zach Rohlf would have one of his best performances so far this year, going all seven innings giving up only three runs on four hits and tied his season high with 10 strikeouts.

Dickinson State 8, St. Ambrose 4 - Box score
St. Ambrose 6, Dickinson State 5 - Box score

St. Ambrose would end the spring trip on a positive note as they would win the second of two games against Dickinson State University (N.D.) to split the day.

The opener would be a tough one for the Bees as they fell in an early 2-0 hole after three innings before trimming the lead to a single run in the bottom of the fourth.

Still, Dickinson State would score six runs in the top of the sixth and a small three-run rally by St. Ambrose would not be enough to bring them back losing the game 8-4.

Rosenberger would lead the Bees on offense with a hit and two RBIs to go along with a run scored.

The second game would end the trip on a good note for St. Ambrose as they would pull out the 6-5 victory over Dickinson State.

St. Ambrose took the lead and never looked back especially after a four-run, seven-hit sixth inning.

Fields had a hit, a run scored and two RBIs while Schmitt, Kretz, Blanchette and Rosenberger each drove in a run to power the Bees offense.

As for pitching, Matt Runge and Brendon Shine combined to give up five runs on 10 hits to go along with five strikeouts in the 6-5 win.

St. Ambrose ended their spring trip to the Tucson Invitational 4-6 and moved to 8-12 overall.

St. Ambrose went on to take 2-of-4 against its two opponents in Jacksonville, Ill. over the weekend. St. Ambrose lost the first game against University of Illinois Springfield, but would then go on and win 2-of-3 against Culver-Stockton College.

Game one against U of I Springfield saw another late inning rally by St. Ambrose but it would come up just short. U of I Springfield scored 10 runs in the first six innings, while St. Ambrose would only score one run in six which would come off an Alex Behling double.

The nine-run lead would hold up until the bottom of the eighthinning when Ambrose made its charge. The comeback would be led by Jonathan Golden who would have two triples in the inning to go along with four RBIs as well as Sam Parsons who had a triple and two RBIs in the inning. However, the comeback fell short as St. Ambrose failed to score any more runs in the game.

The second game of the weekend and the first against Culver-Stockton College faired a lot better as St. Ambrose would come away with the 3-0 shutout.

The shutout was led by another outstanding performance by Bryan Hennessy as he went seven innings giving up no runs on three hits including five strikeouts. The offensive side of the game for St. Ambrose included Jake Fields who went 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored and Scott Blanchette who went 2-for-3 with an RBI.

The third game of the weekend and second against Culver-Stockton was a close one as St. Ambrose fell 8-7.

Once again St. Ambrose had to play catch up as Culver-Stockton scored five runs in the first three innings to go up 5-2 after three innings.

St. Ambrose would come back to take the lead in the top of the sixth as Tyler Gilles would hit a double that would drive in three runs to bring the score to 7-6 St. Ambrose. However, Culver-Stockton would get two runs in the bottom of the sixth and would hold St. Ambrose in the top of the seventh to win the game.

Stars of the game for St. Ambrose would include Golden who would go 1-for-3 with two RBIs and two runs scored, Gilles who went 3-for-4 with three RBIs and two runs scored.

St. Ambrose would end the weekend on a high note with an 8-5 win that took eight innings to decide.

The score was all tied up 5-5 after seven and St. Ambrose held Culver-Stockton in the top of the eighth. Then after back -to-back singles by Golden and Gilles it would be Behling who would drive in the winning runs with a walk-off three-run homerun to win the game for St. Ambrose.

Big games for St. Ambrose would include Behling who would go 2-for-4 with four RBIs and two runs scored as well as Tom Prior who went 2-for-4 with one RBI and one run scored.

The weekend�s games brought St. Ambrose to 4-6 as they go on to play 10 games in five days at the Tucson Invitational March 9-14.

St. Ambrose 6, Missouri Baptist 4 - Box Score
Missouri Baptist 2, St. Ambrose 1 - Box Score

St. Ambrose split the doubleheader with Missouri Baptist on Tuesday. St. Ambrose took the first game 6-4 and then lost the second game in a close 2-1 final.

In the first game St. Ambrose trailed most of the game as Missouri Baptist took a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the third.

St. Ambrose started to rally in the top of the fourth as Scott Blanchette got hit by a pitch with the bases loaded driving in St. Ambrose's first run of the game. Missouri Baptist tacked on another run in the bottom of the fourth to make it a three run lead again.

Then in the top of the seventh St. Ambrose completed the rally by scoring five runs on four hits. The late game rally was led by Jonathan Golden who hit a two run double followed by two RBI singles by Matt Rosenberger and Nate Schmitt. Another run would score on a fielding error.

The stars of the comeback included Jonathan Golden who went 2-for-4 with two RBI and a run scored as well as Matt Rosenberger who went 1-for-3 with an RBI and two runs scored.

The second game of the twin-bill did not go so well for St. Ambrose. Missouri Baptist put up runs in the bottom of the second and third inning to get all they would need to the victory.

St. Ambrose attempted another late inning rally with an Alex Behling double to lead off the inning followed by two ground outs which would drive him in. However, the rally was not meant to be as St. Ambrose fell short.

The bright spot for the second game was an outstanding combined pitching performance of Brandon Duplessis and Robert Copley who combined for six hits and two runs, only one of which was earned to go along with nine strikeouts.

St. Ambrose moves to 2-4 and will play U of I Springfield and Culver-Stockton College over the weekend.

Morningside 11, St. Ambrose 4 - Box Score
St. Ambrose 7, Morningside 6 - Box Score
Morningside 4, St. Ambrose 3 (8 inn.) - Box Score
Morningside 4, St. Ambrose 3 - Box Score

The St. Ambrose baseball team collected their first win of the season over the weekend against Morningside College (Iowa). The two teams squared of in a four game series at the Metrodome. SAU got their first win in the second game of the first of two doubleheaders against the Mustangs by a score of 7-6.

The Bees got the win of a strong performance by Bryan Hennessy who went all seven innings giving up six runs on five hits to go along with six strikeouts. Seven SAU players drove in runs including Kale Kauppi who went 2-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored.

The first game of the doubleheader did not go so well for the Bees as they lost 11-4. Kauppi, Connor Kretz, and Nate Schmitt each drove a run in for the Bees, but the pitching did not hold up as it gave up 11 runs on 12 hits from the Mustangs.

The second doubleheader proved to be an exciting one as St. Ambrose lost the first game 4-3 in extra innings. It took until the bottom of the eighth for the Mustangs to drive in the winning run. The highlight of the game for Ambrose was a three-run homerun by second basemen Schmitt in the top of the fourth to give SAU a 3-1 lead at the time. However, Morningside would rally in the late innings to tie and eventually win the game.

The second game of the doubleheader was exciting as well. Morningside took a 4-0 in the top of the first. St. Ambrose battled back with the help of a strong performance by Jake Fields who 2-for-3 with two RBIs. Matt Rosenberger also drove in a run as the Bees got to within one in the bottom of the eighth but could not pull out the win.

St. Ambrose moves on to play a doubleheader against Missouri Baptist University on Feb. 28.

The season will start with four games against Morningside College at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, in Minneapolis, Minn., on Feb. 18-19. The Bees will then travel to Tucson, Ariz., for their annual spring trip to play in the Tucson Invitational from March 9-14.

The first home doubleheader, and the Midwest Collegiate Conference opener, for the Bees will be played on Mar. 17 at Modern Woodman Park against Iowa Wesleyan College.

Post-season play will begin for SAU with the MCC tournament, which runs from May 1-4.

2012 Baseball News