ARDEN HILLS, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University baseball team is right back on the road on Thursday, as the Cardinals head to Bethel for a 2:30 p.m. Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference doubleheader against the Royals.

The Matchup | Thursday, April 25, 2013 | 2:30 p.m.
Saint Mary's Cardinals (1-3 MIAC | 10-7 Overall) at Bethel Royals (3-1 MIAC | 16-5 Overall)

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Last Action:
The Cardinals, playing for the first time since April 7, surrendered a walk-off RBI single in the bottom of the seventh inning in falling to Saint John's 6-5 in the opener of their MIAC doubleheader Wednesday. SMU rebounded in Game 2, using a pair of four-run innings to beat SJU 11-7 to earn the split. … The Royals, whose Wednesday's doubleheader against Augsburg was postponed, have not played since April 7, when they split a conference twinbill against St. Olaf, winning the first game 8-1, before dropping Game 2 8-2 in Arden Hills, Minn.

SMU vs. Bethel — Their Last Meeting:
March 31, 2012: The Cardinals surrendered a three-run home run in the top of the seventh inning in falling to Bethel 4-3 in the teams' MIAC opener at Max Molock Field, and the Royals used that momentum to propel them to a 12-2 victory in the nightcap.

Up Next:
The Cardinals look to kick off their home schedule this weekend, as SMU hosts St. Olaf and Gustavus in back-to-back conference doubleheaders at Max Molock Field Saturday and Sunday. Both twinbills are scheduled to start at 1 p.m. … Bethel is back on its home diamond on Friday, as the Royals host Macalester in a 2:30 p.m. MIAC doubleheader in Arden Hills, Minn.

Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2013 Roster | 2013 Statistics | 2013 Schedule
Heading into Wednesday's games against Saint John's, SMU had not played since April 7 — and in that 17-day span, the Cardinals have had 14 postponements or reschedules. … The Cardinals' 11-7 win in the second game against Saint John's Wednesday snapped their season-high three-game losing streak. … After winning the first game in four of their first five doubleheaders, SMU has lost Game 1 in its last two. … David Berry (Apple Valley, Minn.) and Drew Denning (St. Paul, Minn.) fueled the Cardinals' offensive attack vs. SJU Wednesday. Berry went 4-for-4 to account for four of the team's five hits in the opener, while Denning was 3-for-4 in the nightcap and was the only SMU player with more than one hit. … Gannon had a hit in Game 2 against the Johnnies Wednesday and has now hit safely in 17 of the team's 19 — including a season-opening 10-game hitting streak. … Gannon has reached base safely in all 19 contests this season. … As a team, the Cardinals are hitting .305 and boast seven regulars who are hitting above .300. … Berry owns a team-leading .448 batting average and also leads the team with a .552 slugging percentage. … Gannon — who is hitting .344 — is the team's leader in hits (22), triples (1), RBIs (16) and total bases (32). … Gannon posted his first collegiate six-RBI game against Illinois Institute of Technology on March 8. … Jon Schlemmer (De Pere, Wis.) belted his team-leading seventh double of the season in Game 2 against Wartburg on March 17. The junior has collected eight extra-base hits among his 13 hits this season and is tied with Willie Doll (Amherst, Wis.) for second on the team with 11 RBIs. … Kyle Servais (Westby, Wis.) launched a three-run home run — the first of his four-year collegiate career — to fuel SMU's Game 1 win over UW-Superior on March 28. … Servais' round-tripper was the sixth of the season for the Cardinals, who have also gotten two HRs from Doll and one each from Gannon, Schlemmer and Zach Wolfe (Wabasha, Minn.). … Doll hit his first collegiate round-tripper against Illinois Institute of Technology on March 8. … Doll owns a team-best six multiple-hit games, one more than Wolfe, Paul LaNasa (Mahtomedi, Minn.) and Vince Lulic (Mendota Heights, Minn.), while Schlemmer boasts a team-leading five multiple-RBI games. … Pat Krieger (Mendota Heights, Minn.) set a school record, walking five times in the Cardinals' 12-inning win over Simpson on March 6. … As a team, the Cardinals have swiped 47 bases on 56 attempts — led by Doll with 12 steals in 12 tries. … The Cardinals have six pitchers who have thrown 10 or more innings through the season's first 19 contests — led by Matt Biagini (Maplewood, Minn.) with 22.1 IP. Steph Scatassa (Westchester, Ill.) is second with 19.2 innings, followed by Justin Kronebusch (Lewiston, Minn. / 18.0), Teddy VanRanst (St. Paul, Minn. / 16.1), A.J. Redders (Middleton, Wis. / 14.2) and Sean Minder (Roseville, Minn. / 12.1). … Biagini also leads the team with 22 strikeouts. … Sam Nord (Mendota Heights, Minn.) recorded his first collegiate save, working out of a first-and-third, one-out jam in the bottom of the seventh in SMU's 6-5 Game 1 win over UW-Superior on March 28. … Tyler Krysiak (Bloomington, Minn.) owns a team-best 1.93 ERA in a team-leading eight appearances — all in relief. … Minder recorded his first collegiate complete-game win against Illinois Institute of Technology on March 9. … Scatassa collected his first collegiate win in SMU's 9-4 win over Marian on March 10. … SMU has outscored its opponents 16-3 in the second inning and 25-10 in the sixth. … The Cardinals have been held to two runs or less in six of their nine losses this season. … SMU's 6-5 loss to Saint John's Wednesday marked just the first time this season the Cardinals have lost when scoring in the first inning (7-2). … SMU is 4-2 in one-run games this season. … The Cardinals are 7-0 when outhitting their opponent and 8-0 when leading after the sixth inning. … The Cardinals have played three extra-inning games this season — and have won all three. SMU has now won its last nine extra-inning games, dating back to a 4-3 loss to Cornell on March 19, 2011. … Doll belted a solo home run in the top of the ninth to lift SMU to its 4-3 win over Cornell on March 25. It was the second time in three extra-inning games that Doll has had the game-winning hit — he also drilled a single in the bottom of the 11th to lift SMU past Iowa Wesleyan 4-3 on March 6. …  SMU's early season seven-game winning streak was the longest winning streak since the Cardinals won nine straight during the 2001 season.

Scouting The Bethel Royals:
2013 Roster | 2013 Statistics | 2013 Schedule
Bethel's 8-2 Game 2 loss to St. Olaf on April 7 snapped its season-high five-game winning streak. … The Royals have dropped back-to-back games just once this season, falling to the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford 6-3, 5-4 to end their spring trip to Fort Myers, Fla., on March 16. … Bethel's 3-4-5-6 batters in the lineup collectively hit 7-for-12 (.583) with four RBIs and five runs scored in the Royals' 8-1 win over St. Olaf in Game 1 on April 7. … Joe Zorn (So., Stillwater, Minn.) pitched a complete-game, seven-strikeout performance against the Oles in the opener, allowing just five hits and one walk for his first win of the season. … As a team, the Royals are hitting .305 through 21 games, and boast five players hitting above .300. … Matt Rowley boasts a team-leading .389 batting average, while also leading the team in hits (28) and total bases (50), and sharing the team lead in triples (4) and home runs (2). … Bethel has seven players who have scored at least 10 runs, led by David Freed (23) and Rowley (19). … Rowley and Mike Schultz have each hit two home runs to account for four of the team's five round-trippers. Luke Schultz belted the other. … Mike Schultz has collected 15 extra-base hits — including nine doubles, four triples and two home runs — and owns a team-best .716 slugging percentage. … David Freed, Luke Schultz and Mike Schultz have all recorded four-hit games this season, while Nik Anderson scored a season-high four runs against Drew University on March 10. … Along with his prowess at the plate, Rowley leads the BU pitching staff with a 4-0 record and a 1.80 ERA in 35.0 innings pitched. … Rowley is one of six Royal pitchers to have logged 10 or more innings this season. … Matt Pryor (4-1, 2.76 ERA) and Keaton Schut (1-0, 5.40 ERA) have made a team-high nine appearances. … Rowley has struck out a team-leading 32 batters, while Joe Zorn, Pryor and Jake Hanzalik are all second with 21 Ks. … Bethel scored a season-high 19 runs  against North Central on March 26, while also scoring in double figures against Edgewood on March 11, plating 10 runs.