SAINTS PICK UP EXHIBITION WIN

The St. Joseph Saints got in the win column for 2008 with a 14-9 exhibition win over the Farming Flames in Farming on Wednesday night.  The game was called in the 7th inning due to darkness after the Saints had broken open a 9-9 tie.  The Saints pounded out a season-high 12 hits in the game, two each by Michael Carr, Brent Schloe, Aaron Hellem, Steve Newman, and Tom Kemper.  Schloe finished with three RBIs, Newman scored three times, and Carr, Schloe, Hellem, and Kemper scored twice.  Jason Wald also added a two run single.  Hellem picked up his first win as a Saint on the mound with one inning for work, striking out three.

The Saints jumped out to a 3-0 lead after the first inning.  Michael Carr doubled, went to third on a passed ball, scored on a single by Schloe, Hellem doubled home Schloe, and later scored on an error.  The Saints added a run in the second after Kemper singled, Paul Schumer singled, and Carr singled home Kemper.  The Flames added a run in the bottom of the inning to make the score 4-1, but the Saints got that run right back in the third.  Hellem singled, moved to second on a fielder's choice error, went to third on a sacrifice bunt, and scored on a single by Schumer.  In the bottom of the third, the Flames struck for five runs with the help of three hits and two Saints errors to take a 6-5 lead.  The Flames added three more in the fourth to go up 9-5, but the Saints tied the game with three in the fifth and one in the sixth.  In the fifth, Newman reached on an error, Wald walked, Kemper singled to load the bases, all runners advanced a base on a wild pitch with Newman scoring, and both Wald and Kemper scored on an error.  In the sixth, Newman singled, stole second, went to third on a wild pitch, and scored on an error to tie the game at 9-9.  The Saints took the lead in the seventh with five runs before the game was called due to darkness.  Newcomer Roy Wald reached first on an error, Dan Scholand walked, Carr walked to load the bases, Schloe singled home Wald and Scholand, Carr stole third and scored on an error with Schloe moving to second, Newman singled Schloe to third and eventually stole second, and Jason Wald singled home Schloe and Newman to make the score 14-9.

The Saints will next be in action on Saturday, May 10th, when they host the Class A Minneapolis Rocks in an exhibition game at Schneider Field.  The game time has been switched to 4:30 pm to accommodate a high school tournament earlier in the day.  The Saints also play on Sunday, May 11th, at 1:30 pm in Lakewood League action when they host the Sauk Rapids Cyclones at Schneider Field.  The Cyclones finished 2nd in Class C in 2007.

The Saints would like to welcome Joe Prom, Roy Wald, and Matt Blackmore to the roster.  Joe and Matt have never played amateur baseball and Roy played one year with the Ultimate Sports in 2003.

Over the off-season, several Saints players and volunteers from the St. Joseph community chipped in time, effort, equipment, and money to build new dugouts at Schneider Field.  The new concrete dugouts are 40 feet long and 10 feet at the peak.  New benches as well as helmet and bat racks have also been installed.  Check out some pictures of the project here.  A big "Thank You!" goes out to all who helped in any way.