WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University baseball team kicks off its conference season at home on Saturday, as the Cardinals host St. Olaf in a 1 p.m. MIAC doubleheader at Max Molock Field.




The Matchup:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (0-0 MIAC, 4-10 Overall) vs.
St. Olaf Oles (0-0 MIAC, 12-3 Overall)

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Last Action:
The Cardinals couldn't overcome surrendering eight walks, as UW-La Crosse handed SMU an 8-2 nonconference loss in La Crosse, Wis., Thursday. …. St. Olaf, meanwhile, has been off since March 25, when the Oles completed an 8-3 spring-trip showing with a 9-2 win over Fontbonne in Auburndale, Fla.

Last Meeting — April 3, 2010:
The Oles outslugged the Cardinals 19-13 in the opener, and then followed that up by handing SMU a 15-1 setback to complete the sweep in the teams' MIAC opener in Northfield, Minn.

Up Next:
The Cardinals are right back in action on Sunday, hosting Finlandia in a 1 p.m. nonconference doubleheader at Max Molock Field. … St. Olaf, meanwhile, remains on the road — and in conference play — as the Oles travel to St. Peter, Minn., for a 2:30 p.m. MIAC doubleheader against Gustavus on Wednesday.

Saint Mary's Cardinals Around The Horn:
2011 Schedule | 2011 Roster | 2011 Overall Statistics
Vince Lulic (Mendota Heights, Minn.) collected a pair of hits against UW-La Crosse, extending his hitting streak to 15 straight — all 12 games he's played this season and the last three games of the 2010 season. … Curt Swanson (Woodbury, Minn.) and Daniel Geraghty (Chicago, Ill.) also had two hits against UW-La Crosse Thursday. Lulic, Swanson and Geraghty accounted for six of the Cardinals' seven hits vs. the Eagles. … With his two hits vs. UW-L, Lulic pushed his team-leading batting average to .457. He is one of four Cardinal regulars hitting above .300. Swanson (.390), Jon Schlemmer (De Pere, Wis. / .364) and Joe O'Neill (St. Paul, Minn. / .333) are the other three. … Lulic and Swanson share the team lead in hits (21), while Schlemmer is the team's RBI leader with 17. … Swanson and Schlemmer have accounted for SMU's two home runs this season. … Cody Pfennig (La Crosse, Wis.) has scored a team-leading 13 runs. He is one of four Cardinals to score 10 or more runs. … With his 2-for-4 showing against UW-L Thursday, Swanson now boasts a team-leading eight multiple-hit games — one more than Lulic — while Schlemmer owns a team-best five multiple-RBI games, including a six-RBI performance during a 4-for-4 showing against Concordia-Wisconsin on March 11. … Like Lulic, Swanson enters Saturday's DH vs. St. Olaf riding a double-digit hitting streak, having hit safely in 10 straight games. … Chris Bogie (St. Paul, Minn.), who tossed his first collegiate nine-inning complete game in SMU's 4-2 win over Marian on March 12, leads the team with a 4.15 ERA, while Andrew Ruf (Chippewa Falls, Wis.) is the team-leader in wins (2) and innings pitched (20.0). … Gary Seifert (Prescott, Wis.) allowed three earned runs in six innings to beat Cornell on March 19 and record his first collegiate pitching win. … Sam Levisen (Rochester, Minn.) struck out two in the seventh inning vs. Cornell on March 19, giving the senior his first collegiate save. … SMU's 4-3, 10-inning loss in the opener vs. Cornell on March 19 was the second extra-inning game of the season for the Cardinals, who dropped an 8-7, eight-inning decision to Presentation on March 10. … The Cardinals have scored in their first at-bat in seven of their 14 games this season. SMU is 3-0 when leading after the sixth inning, but 1-10 when tied or trailing heading into the seventh inning.

St. Olaf Oles Around The Horn:
2011 Schedule | 2011 Roster | 2011 Overall Statistics
The Oles kicked off their 2011 season with seven straight wins, before falling to sixth-ranked UW-Whitewater 7-2 in the second game of their nonconference doubleheader in Leesburg, Fla., on March 19. … St. Olaf added wins in five of their final seven spring trip games and enter today's DH at Saint Mary's with a 12-3 overall record. … Six of St. Olaf's 12 wins have been by two runs or less. … St. Olaf has faced two nationally ranked teams — No. 6 UW-Whitewater and No. 7 UW-Stevens Point — gong 2-1 in those three games. St. Olaf split with the Warhawks, winning 3-2 and losing 7-2, while beating the Pointers 10-6. … St. Olaf plays its first 19 games on the road. The Oles open their home season with an MIAC doubleheader against Saint John's on April 9. … Jim Bllissenbach is hitting a team-best .474, while the Oles also boast six other players — Dan Lee (.385), Sam Maus (.380), Dylan Porter (.368), Sean Dube (.350), Erik Nelson (.327) and Jack Schechlinger (.300) — hitting above .300. … Maus is the team's leader in at-bats (50), runs (15), hits (19), doubles (5), and total bases (26). … Schechlinger owns a team-best 11 RBIs, one more than both Maus and Nelson. … Andy Bartz has accounted for two of the team's three home runs this season. … The Ole pitching staff — led by Brady Sand and Ben Hughes — has compiled a 4.54 ERA through 15 games. … Hughes is 2-0 with a 4.74 ERA and 24 strikeouts in a team-high 19.0 innings, while Sand is 1-0 with a 3.44 ERA in 18.1 innings. … Jake Schmiesing is 3-0 with a 4.30 ERA in 14.2 innings, and Joey Voss and Anders Dzurak have each collected two wins.