WINTER HAVEN, Fla.—A strong Saint Mary's (Minn.) team took a doubleheader from Gordon College in the season opener for the Fighting Scots. Mark Fitzgerald (Camarillo, Calif.) homered in a 12-3 loss in game one, while Travis Pullen (Las Vegas, Nev.) raked in three of Gordon's four runs in an 8-4 loss in the second game. The Fighting Scots fall to 0-2 on the season, while Saint Mary's wrap up a successful 8-2 trip in Orlando.
 
The Fighting Scots took an actual baseball diamond for the first time in 2015 after spending the winter months cooped indoors due to the extreme amounts of snow. Saint Mary's feel for the game after spending an entire week in the Florida sunshine was an advantage in the first game with the Cardinals jumping to a 6-0 lead after two innings of play. The Cardinals hit two long balls during the second inning, a solo shot from Tyler Lursen (Maple Grove, Minn.) before Ben Buerkle connected on a two-run jack later in the frame.
 
Gordon got two runs back in the third and fourth innings between a RBI-single by Jesse Amaya (South Gate, Calif.) and the homer by Fitzgerald.
 
However, a five-run fifth inning by the Cardinals broke the game open and the Fighting Scots fell behind by 10 runs. Alan Nahigian (Saugus, Mass.) singled a run in for the Scots in the sixth inning, but that was the last of the offense Gordon could muster in game one.
 
Gordon starter Scott Hall (Weymouth, Mass.) took the loss, surrendering eight earned runs in four innings of work. The junior struck out four batters.
 
In game two, the Fighting Scots found the sticks early. Pullen poked a single into the outfield to score Addison Tarr (Oxnard, Calif.) in the bottom of the first inning. After Saint Mary's scored the next three runs in the second and third innings, Pullen tied the game at three with one swing of the bat. The senior first baseman launched a double to the gap to score Alex Smith (Wethersfield, Conn.) and Tarr. Amaya's second RBI-single of the day eventually escorted Pullen home to reclaim a Gordon lead at 4-3.
 
Gordon held the lead into the fifth inning when the Scots' pitching staff got into a bit of trouble. A few errors prolonged the inning, allowing Saint Mary's to regain a 5-4 advantage—one they would never relinquish.
 
The Cardinals added three more runs to the board in the sixth to double up the Scots.
 
Senior starter Wes Arning (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) pitched well for the Scots, surrendering only two earned runs. Errors kept innings running too long and Arning had six total runs attributed to him over five and a third frames pitched.
 
Gordon will be back in action on Saturday for a historic matchup with sister institution Wheaton (Ill.) beginning at 12:30 p.m.