Despite six strong innings from Carson Johnson, St. Ambrose dropped the first game of a four-game set at Viterbo 3-1 Thursday afternoon. The Bees bounced back to claim the second game 12-6.

Johnson went the distance in the opener, striking out five while only allowing two hits. All three Viterbo runs were unearned. The only hits he surrendered came in the third inning. The two hits plus a pair of Bee errors led to all three V-Hawk runs.

SAU got its run in the fifth when reigning CCAC Player of the Week Brandon Matias launched his seventh home run of the season to lead off the inning.

Jake Pauley, Jeremy Conforti and Filip Milatovic each had a single for St. Ambrose's only other hits.

The offense came to life in the second game. SAU pounded out 18 hits, with seven different Bees collecting multiple hits in the 12-6 win.

Conforti retook the team lead in homers with his seventh and eighth blasts of the season. His two-run homer in the first opened the scoring and his three-run shot in the sixth pushed the lead to 10-0. Conforti also had an RBI double in the fourth as part of a three-hit, six-RBI performance.

Quinn Flanagan matched Conforti with three hits. Pauley, Matias, Milatovic, Brandon Roth and Kevin Niedzwiedz each had two hits. Bryce Vorwald and Daniel Laughery had the other SAU hits.

Niedzwiedz, Vorwald and Pauley drove in runs before Conforti's run-scoring double in the fourth. Pauley had an RBI single right before Conforti's three-run homer in the sixth. Milatovic drove in a run in the eighth and Matias knocked in one in the ninth.

Jacob Bosse earned the win after striking out seven over five innings. He allowed three hits and only one earned run. Sergio Marchizza pitched the sixth inning before Nathaniel Johnson picked up a three-inning save.

The two teams will complete their four-game series with another doubleheader in La Crosse, Wis., Friday afternoon.