NORTHFIELD, Minn. – Trailing 11-2 headed into the bottom of the ninth, the Carleton College baseball team scored eight times, including Cayten Gardner's (Jr./Claremont, Calif./Claremont) first career home run. The rally came up a run short as the Knights lost 11-10 in a non-conference game against visiting Saint Mary's University.
 
The eight-run rally matched the Knights' biggest inning of the season.
 
Carleton (6-21 overall) opened the scoring in the bottom of the first. Jacob Small (Jr./Chappaqua, N.Y./Horace Greeley) beat out an infield single, and Sam Schur (Jr./Calabasas, Calif./Viewpoint) tripled to the right-center gap. Saint Mary's (23-12 overall) immediately responded with a run in the top of the second.
 
The Knights inched back in front during the bottom of the fourth as Paul Hinton (Jr./Omaha, Neb./Millard West) singled, stole second, and scored on Michael Berler's (So./San Francisco, Calif./The Bay School) two-out single to center.
 
The top of the fifth saw the Cardinals plate three runs, two of them coming with two out. That started a stretch where the visitors scored in each of the final five innings. Seven of Saint Mary's 11 runs on the day came with two out.
 
Carleton, playing a tune up game before this weekend's MIAC Playoffs qualifier round, put together one last furious rally in its final turn at bat.
 
Gardner led off the inning with a double, and James Sassi (Jr./Stamford, Conn./Brunswick School) walked with one out. Berler beat out an infield single that loaded the bases. Pinch hitter Blake Anderson (Sr./Alexandria, Minn./Alexandria) coaxed a walk to force home the inning's first run. Matt Stamets (Sr./Bloomington, Ill./University) was walked to add another tally before Schur's RBI groundout made the score 11-5.
 
Vince Cone's (Jr./New York, N.Y./Trinity School NYC) infield single plated another run, and Jacob Smith's (Jr./McKinleyville, Calif./McKinleyville) team-best ninth double of the year made the score 11-7.
 
Saint Mary's made its eighth pitching change of the contest, and Gardner crushed an offering from new reliever Tanner Bauman for a three-run home run to left field. That round tripper made the score 11-10. The Cardinals were finally able to get the last out to secure the victory.
 
Dan Clipper (Sr./Millburn, N.J./Millburn), pitching with a shoulder injury, made the start for Carleton and gutted his way through a career-high 4.1 innings. He was saddled with the loss, however, after yielding three runs.
 
Gardner finished 2-for-5 with a double, home run, and three RBI. Berler collected a career-best three hits, and Schur was 2-for-4 with two RBI.
 
UP NEXT FOR THE KNIGHTS
Carleton now heads into a playoff-like three-game series against No. 2 seed Gustavus Adolphus College. Whichever team wins two or more of those games will advance to the six-team MIAC Playoffs. The Knights will host game one on Friday, May 14 at 4:00 p.m. The other two games will be held at Gustavus beginning at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, May 15.