The St. Paul Saints’ troubles in Columbus, Ohio, continued on Wednesday night as they blew a three-run lead late and lost to the Clippers 7-6 at Huntington Park.

Trailing 6-3 into the bottom of the eighth inning, the Clippers got a three-run homer from MIcah Pries to tie the game and then a solo shot by Johnathan Rodriguez to win it in the ninth.

The Saints have now lost 27 of their past 38 games in the Ohio capital.

St. Paul took the lead in the fourth inning on a solo homer by Carson McCusker. Then they padded the lead to 5-0 in the fifth with a three-run homer by Diego Castillo, then a run-scoring single by Rylan Bannon.

Columbus came back with three in its half of the fifth thanks to an RBI single by Christian Cairo and a two-run homer by Esteven Florial.

The teams meet again at 5:15 CDT in the third game of their six-game series.

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For a moment, it looked like Royce Lewis, Mr. Grand Slam himself, had done it yet again.

The Twins third baseman lasered a Hunter Strickland pitch to left-center field that was initially ruled a home run, one that would have been the sixth grand slam of his young career.

Upon review, the call was overturned. The ball had hit off the top of the wall and Lewis had to settle for a two-run double. But Lewis and the Twins, who beat the Angels 6-4 on Wednesday night at Target Field, will sure take it.

Lewis, who at one point earlier this season declared he didn’t “do that slump thing,” entered the night hitless since last Wednesday. He tried to break that up with a bunt in the first inning but was unsuccessful, and he was 0 for his last 22 before ending the hitless streak with a sixth-inning single. An inning later, Lewis’ double helped provide insurance in the series-finale win over the Angels.

In the fourth, shortstop Brooks Lee broke out of his 0-for-19 slump with a double bringing home a pair of runs and putting the Twins on top for good.

Lewis and Lee provided much of the offense for the Twins in what was clearly an important game. Twins manager Rocco Baldelli pulled starter Zebby Matthews early, the short hook a sign of the urgency the Twins now have in their postseason push.

Matthews, to that point, had given up a pair of solo home runs, and the Twins were trailing 2-1 in the fourth inning. After Matthews issued a one-out walk, Baldelli summoned for Cole Sands. Reliever after reliever followed — Caleb Thielbar, Jorge Alcala, Griffin Jax and Jhoan Duran —  as the Twins emptied their bullpen to secure a win.

Jax pitched two scoreless innings on a special night for him and his family. Most of Jax’s family was in attendance, and his twin brothers participated in the pregame ceremonies — both Air Force captains, one piloted a fighter jet as part of the pregame flyover and the other threw out the ceremonial first pitch to Griffin.

Jax threw a clean seventh inning when the Twins were up by just a run, keeping the Angels in check before Lewis’ late offense helped give the Twins a more comfortable lead.

Bella McCauley is feeling “really good” on the course right now, and it’s showing in the results. A week after placing third in the Boilermaker Classic, the Gophers junior finished in a tie for fourth at the ANNIKA Intercollegiate after carding a final-round 71 Wednesday at The Royal Club in Lake Elmo.

“It’s really a day-to-day basis, though. It just comes and goes. Some days it’ll feel really good, and some days it won’t,” said McCauley, who was 5-under-par for the tourney after rounds of 67, 73 and 71. “So, honestly, I’m just playing it on a day-to-day basis, but I’ve been really happy with the past two weeks. It’s been a lot of fun golf and it’s been a great team dynamic this year.”

Gophers junior Isabella McCauley takes a practice swing before hitting a chip on No. 9 — her final hole of the third round of the ANNIKA Intercollegiate on Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024 at The Royal Club in Lake Elmo. McCauley finished the tournament at 5-under par, good for a tie for fourth overall. (Jace Frederick / Pioneer Press)

Part of that team dynamic is a sibling reunion. Bella’s sister, Reese, is a freshman with the Gophers. The Simley siblings are back together and helping drive team success.

Reese shot three straight rounds of 74 to finish at 6-over and in a tie for 34th at the ANNIKA, one of the most difficult fields in women’s college golf. She’s adjusting to college golf, the balance of academics and athletics and the additional travel.

“I think having both is a little bit more of a challenge,” she said. “But it hasn’t been going too bad so far. Ask me again in three weeks.”

The Gophers were 13-over par in the three-round tourney, putting them in a tie for ninth with Clemson. For reference, Clemson was one of eight teams to reach the match-play portion of the NCAA Championships in the spring.

Minnesota went shot for shot with many of the country’s top teams. It finished just six strokes back of UCLA, last season’s national runner-up. It was eight shots better than Purdue, who reached the NCAA Championships last season.

South Carolina ran away with the team title with a score of 31-under par — 27 shots better than second-place Oregon. The Gamecocks sported the tournament’s top two finishers in Hannah Darling (14 under) and Louise Rydqvist (13 under).

The Gophers appear to be entering a higher tier of teams.

“It’s so fun. I think that was a huge reason I really wanted to even come to Minnesota in the first place is I knew that we were going to be trending, and I really wanted to be a part of it,” Bella said. “There’s so many good programs out there, but I know Minnesota is just getting started and is going to be really amazing and up there with all of them, so I’m excited to be on the team that’s starting the trend. So we’re excited.”

Minnesota received a strong injection of talent this season, with Reese coming in as a freshman and Mariana Mesones — who finished in a tie for 16th at 1-over for the tournament — returning after a year away from the program. Bella said the “sky is the limit” for the Gophers.

“I’m just really excited,” Reese said. “I feel like being able to do it with my sister and stuff, too, it’s super exciting and definitely an honor to be a part of it and contribute to our team kind of going up.”

Bella is starting the season on a high note. This week marked her best performance in three tries at the ANNIKA.

“Being able to come here and play well — and obviously play at our home event with all my family watching, that was just so special,” Bella said. “The last couple years I wouldn’t even say have been that bad, but definitely not the top finish we wanted, so it was really cool to come out here and be able to pull that one out.”

“She has been playing amazing,” Reese said.