MINNEAPOLIS — The Bearcats traveled back to Minneapolis April 21 to finish their second game against the Lions which was postponed due to lightning April 14.

The game resumed in the top of the third inning with bases loaded and one out with the Cats up 11-0. They finished the game in 12 minutes as they hit the run rule to end the game with a 15-0 victory.

“We got down there and took care of business,” Head Coach Jason McWilliams said. “It’s kind of the expectation, but (we) still have to get better on all sides. We have to hit the ball better and field the ball better, and we have to quit extending innings.”

On April 18, the Bearcats played at home against the Sacred Heart Knights. It was a difficult night as the Cats lost both games.

The Bearcats took the lead in the second inning when senior Cade Gwinner hit a single. The Knights responded quickly as they tied the score up 5-5 in the top of the third inning.

The Knights took the lead for good with 9 runs in the fourth inning.

“We just didn’t finish well and made errors that let them get ahead,” sophomore Aidan Johnson said. “We need to learn from our mistakes and get on to the next one.”

“We got off to a bad start and got behind and it’s hard to catch up,” McWilliams said. “We keep making errors that extend innings and it hurts the pitch count.”

The Cats scored 5 runs in the bottom of the sixth inning. Sophomores Gavin Moyer, Daxton Leiker and Johnson and Gwinner all got RBIs in the inning that helped bring runners in.

Junior pitcher Ben Hipp started the game for the Bearcats. Hipp gave up 5 runs on 1 hit over three innings, striking out six.

Junior Wyatt Bohnen pitched two-thirds of an inning, allowing four hits and 9 runs while striking out one.

Juniors Lane Rolfs and Cole Webber each managed multiple hits to lead the Cats.

The Cats lost the first game 17-7.

During the second game, the Bearcats had a difficult time defensively controlling Sacred Heart and had trouble scoring runs.

Gwinner opened up the scoring in the second inning when he hit a solo homerun.

When Moyer hit into a fielder’s choice in the bottom of the first, the Cats evened the score at 3-3.

The Knights took the lead in the fourth inning when they scored 7 runs.

Junior Lane Rolfs pitched for the Bearcats. Rolfs went three and two-thirds innings. Allowing nine runs on five hits and striking out seven.

In the bottom of the seventh inning, sophomore Gavin Moyer hit a homerun.

The Cats racked up 10 hits during the game. Gwinner and Leiker each had multiple hits for the Bearcats. Gwinner led the Cats with 3 hits in five at bats.

The Cats were defeated 17-7 by the Sacred Heart Knights.

“We have to keep working to get better,” McWilliams said. “I’m very proud of how the guys responded. It can be very easy to give up and shut down shop, but they didn’t and kept battling. It just didn’t work out in our favor in both games.”

The team is now 5-7 this season. The Bearcats’ next game is a doubleheader tomorrow at Little River at 3 p.m.