MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. - On Tuesday afternoon, the Hamline baseball team (2-4) took on St. Olaf (2-0) in a non-conference series, falling 5-2 in game one and 7-1 in game two at U.S. Bank Stadium in downtown Minneapolis.
 
The Pipers will have a chance to return to the win column this weekend, heading to Decorah, Iowa to face Luther College in a Sunday doubleheader.
 
GAME 1: ST. OLAF 5, HAMLINE 2
The Hamline bats were relatively quiet in game one, tallying only four hits in the 5-2 loss. Sophomore Ian Sandbo had two of those four hits, singling in both the third and fourth innings.
 
The first two and half innings were scoreless, although the Pipers loaded the bases with two outs in the top of the third, with Sandbo singling and first years Tyler Johnson and Matt Rusch walking. St. Olaf starter Sam Westermeyer forcing a fly out to get out of the inning with the zero to zero tie intact.
 
In the bottom of the inning, the Oles used two walks, a double, a sac bunt, and a sacrifice fly to score three runs off of HU starter Zach Branson.
 
The Pipers would get two of those runs back in the top of the fourth with first year Mac Enlow and Sandbo each singling with two outs. First year Braeden Bourne then came up with a clutch double to right field to score them both. This made it a one-run game with St. Olaf still holding a 3-2 lead.
 
The Oles would add an additional insurance run in the fifth, using three singles to get a run across. Reliever Elijah Erickson then came in for Hamline, forcing a groundout to strand two runners. St. Olaf tacked on another in the sixth and would hold the HU offense silent for the final three innings to claim game one.
 
Branson would take the loss on the mound after giving up three runs in his four innings pitched.
 
GAME 2: ST. OLAF 7, HAMLINE 1
Hits proved just as hard to come by in game two as well for the Pipers, as they once again had four throughout the game. HU was unable to string any of them together with each hit coming in a different inning.
 
St. Olaf wasted no time in getting ahead, hitting a double down the left field line to get a runner home in the top of the first inning.
 
The Pipers would answer with a run of their own in the bottom of the second, though, as sophomore Avery Nelson singled to centerfield and eventually took two bases on a passed ball to score to tie it up.
 
In the third, the Oles strung together a rally that produced two more runs with two hits and two walks, allowing them to take over a 3-1 lead.
 
Hamline had a hit in each of the fourth and fifth innings with senior Zack Langton doubling in the fourth and sophomore Stephen Schmidt singling in the fifth, but both were stranded on base, keeping the game at 3-1.
 
The Oles, who had 10 hits in each contest, kept their offense going late in the game, scoring two runs in both the sixth and seventh innings to make the final 7-1.
 
Enlow, who had one of the team's four hits in the game (hitting a double in the sixth), started on the mound for the Pipers. He gave up a run on two hits before being relieved by sophomore Jake Millard in the second inning. Millard would end up with the loss, giving up two runs on two hits and two walks in his two innings pitched.
 
Sophomores Hayden Ring and Jonah Smallfield each pitched an inning of scoreless relief and first year Xavier Bembnister finished out the game, pitching the final two innings, giving up four runs on five hits and two walks.