ELLENSBURG, Wash. – After falling in the opening set of the doubleheader, the Saints exploded and outlasted the Wildcats of Central Washington, 13-to-11 to split series on Saturday.
 
His second home run in as many days, Aaron Renaud gave SMU (2-2) a late 3-to-2 lead in opener; however, the Wildcats (2-2) managed to clutch out a two RBI double in the bottom of the sixth to comeback for the 4-to-3 victory. In the second game, the Saints' offense capitalized on Central Washington errors, scoring eight runs in the second, then another five in the third. Despite being up 13, the game was far from over as Central Washington scored 11 unanswered runs but falling short in the end.
 
The Saints only collected four hits in the first game, and their first didn't come until out in the sixth, when Scott Gunther broke up the no-hitter. With two outs, the Saints drove in all three runs, highlight by the two run blast as SMU raced back into the lead. It was back-to-back doubles by the Wildcats in the bottom half of the inning that allowed Central Washington to score the tying, and go-ahead run.
 
Derek Alumbaugh got the start, going two innings before Cole Hatton (0-1) made his collegiate debut, throwing four strong relief innings. However, the righty picked up the loss after allowing the two runs in the sixth.
 
In the second game, SMU wasted no time to find their offense, hanging eight runs on the board in the second. On five walks, and four singles, and an error, SMU jumped out to an early lead. In the third, the Saints continued to pile on, adding five more and coasting to a 13-0 lead.
 
However, Wildcats began chipping away, scoring three in the fourth, six in the fifth, and a final two in the sixth, cutting the lead down to two. But the Saints managed to close out the game and clinch the series split.
 
Saint Martin's travels to Western Oregon on Thursday before returning home on Friday against WOU for their upcoming series.