Tyler Jones watches his RBI sac fly in the fourth inning. Jones' walk-off single in the 11th gave the Oles a 2-1 win.
St. Olaf 2, Beloit 1 (Box)

Jones' single lifts Oles over Beloit in 11th

Mike Ludwig
May 13, 2009

OSHKOSH, Wis. - Tyler Jones' walk-off single in the 11th inning lifted the St. Olaf baseball team past Beloit College, 2-1, in the first round of the NCAA's Division III Midwest Regional on Wednesday afternoon.

Jones had each of the Oles' RBIs, as he had a run-scoring sacrifice fly in the fourth inning. His brother, Carson Jones, scored on each play.

Carson finished the game with two of the Oles' six hits, going 2-for-5. Pat Wadzinski added a 2-for-4 game in the victory, which was anything but easy.

Beloit starter Rick Krajewski stymied the Oles' lineup, allowing only four hits over 8 1/3 innings. He retired the first nine St. Olaf hitters and walked only one before giving way to Chris Welborn in the ninth.

Welborn worked out of a jam in the ninth and set the Oles down in order in the tenth. In the 11th a leadoff walk, stolen base by Carson Jones and Wadzinski single set up Tyler's heriocs.

St. Olaf starter Brandon Agneberg had a solid outing as well, going 7 1/3 shutout innings. He struck out six before being spelled by Erik Olson.

Olson worked out of a mess in the eighth before seemingly doing the same in the ninth. After Beloit loaded the bases with one out, he got Scott Slubowski to hit him a grounder. Olson fired to Wadzinski at home to get the first out, but Wadzinski's throw to first sailed high and the Buccaneers tied the game on the play.

The error was the Oles' third of the game.

After Olson, St. Olaf turned to Pete Loizzo and Todd Mathison for 1 2/3 innings of near-perfect work. Mathison earned the win after retiring each of the three hitters he faced.

The Buccaneers (28-8), who are making their first appearance in the NCAA's, were led by Hunter Nelson's 3-for-5 effort and a 2-for-2 game from reserve Jake Majeski.

The win gives top-seeded St. Olaf (30-12) a date on Thursday with the loser of the regional's third game between St. Scholastica and St. Norbert, which begins around 4 p.m. on Wednesday.

The Oles' 30-win season is the fifth in school history with 1987 (30-7), 2000 (36-7), 2006 (30-10) and 2007 (32-10).

Contact media relations specialist Mike Ludwig at (507) 786-3834 or ludwigm@stolaf.edu.