Pipers nip Tommies for MIAC baseball title

Hamline used a three-run eighth inning to rally for a 7-5 victory over St. Thomas to win the MIAC baseball tournament on Sunday in Minnetonka.

Down 5-4 in the eighth, the Pipers' Cory Miller and Ryan Hackel scored on a wild pitch and an error to give Hamline a 6-5 lead. Ben Richardson's RBI single added an insurance run.

Earlier Sunday, the Tommies beat the Pipers 5-1.

Hamline (28-13) earned a spot in an NCAA Division III regional at Wisconsin-Whitewater. St. Thomas (27-16) must wait until Monday to see whether it receives an at-large NCAA bid.

Etc. • Joey Althoff hit a two-run homer and Phil Imholte drove in two runs as St. Cloud State defeated Winona State 5-3 in Mankato in the NSIC baseball tournament final.

Later Sunday, the Huskies (42-9) learned they will be host and top seed of the NCAA Division II Central Regional on Thursday through Sunday at Joe Faber Field. The six-team field has St. Cloud State vs. Augustana (S.D.), Mesa (Colo.) State vs. Winona State, and Minnesota State Mankato vs. Nebraska-Kearney.

• Melanie Upchurch went 3-for-4 with two runs scored to lead Minnesota State Mankato to a 6-2 victory over Winona State in the final of the NCAA Division II Central 2 Regional in Mankato. The Mavericks (51-13) advance to next weekend's best-of-three Super Regional against Augustana in Sioux Falls, S.D. Augustana (49-9) advanced by defeating Minnesota Duluth 3-1 and 1-0 in the Central 1 Regional in Sioux Falls.

• St. Thomas lost 4-3 to fourth-ranked Luther (Iowa) in the championship game of the NCAA Division III softball regional in Eau Claire, Wis.

• Brandon Tripp went 3-for-5 and drove in two runs as the St. Paul Saints defeated the Sioux Falls Pheasants 12-6 at Midway Stadium. The Saints took advantage of six Pheasants errors to take three of four in the series.