MINNETONKA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University baseball team kicks off Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament play on Friday, as the Cardinals square off against Augsburg at 7 p.m. at Veterans Stadium.

GameDay Live On The Web:
Tournament Preview | Tournament Program | Tournament Homepage

The MIAC Tournament Schedule:
Friday, May 10, 2012 - Quarterfinals
No. 4 Bethel 4, No. 5 Saint John's 2 | Box Score
No. 3 Augsburg 5, No. 6 Saint Mary's 4 (11) | Box Score
Saturday, May 11, 2012 - Semifinals
No. 1 St. Thomas 10, No. 4 Bethel 3 | Box Score
No. 2 Concordia 7, No. 3 Augsburg 5 | Box Score
Sunday, May 12, 2012 - Championship
No. 1 St. Thomas 11, No. 2 Concordia 2 | Box Score

A 2013 MIAC Tournament Twist:
Because all 11 conference teams were not able to complete their full 20-game conference schedule, the MIAC Tournament was switched from a four-team, double-elimination tournament to a six-team, single-elimination tournament — for the 2013 season only. The proposal to alter the tournament if all games were not played was put forth and approved by the coaches, and also approved by the MIAC Athletic Director's council | MIAC Release

The MIAC Tournament — How They Got Here:
The one predetermined seed prior to Thursday's final-day regular-season drama was St. Thomas' spot atop the tournament field. The Tommies rolled to the MIAC regular-season championship with a 19-1 league record (31-5 overall), and with it, the No. 1 seed in the MIAC Playoffs. Head Coach Chris Olean and his team are ranked No. 2 in the nation heading into the postseason, where they seek their first conference postseason title since 2010 after falling in the championship game each of the past two seasons. Concordia started the final day of the regular season unsure of its postseason status, and ended with the No. 2 seed and the other first-round bye. Head Coach Bucky Burgau's team engineered a sweep of Saint Mary's Thursday to finish 11-9 (18-14 overall) in the league and tied for second with Augsburg. The Auggies got a split with St. Olaf in Thursday's other impactful doubleheader to also finish 11-9 in the league. Concordia got the No. 2 seed on tiebreaker criteria — the two co-runners-up split their regular-season series, so criteria No. 2 was needed. Once the full six-team playoff field was established, the Cobbers' and Auggies' combined record vs. the rest of the tournament field was needed to break the tie. Concordia is 3-5 vs. the other Playoff teams, while Augsburg went 2-6, slotting the Cobbers at No. 2 and Augsburg at No. 3. The final three seeds weren't nearly as simple. Five teams all tied with .500 records for fourth place. Saint Mary's (19-16 overall), Bethel (23-14 overall) and Gustavus (13-22 overall) were all 10-10, and St. Olaf (20-15 overall) and Saint John's (18-15 overall) were both 9-9 since they were unable to make up their regular-season doubleheader. A number of tiebreakers were needed to sort things out, and because all teams tied did not play all other teams tied, the first criteria couldn't be used in the initial breakdown. Bethel was 3-3 vs. the other MIAC Playoff teams, while the Johnnies, Cardinals and Oles were 2-4 and Gustavus was 0-6, the Royals were in as the No. 4 seed, and the Gusties were eliminated from the field. That left three teams - Saint John's, Saint Mary's and St. Olaf - for the final two spots. Since Saint John's and St. Olaf didn't play, criteria No. 1 was skipped. In criteria No. 2 — record vs. other Playoff teams (with Bethel now included in that group), Saint John's emerged as the No. 5 seed thanks to its 4-4 record. Saint Mary's and St. Olaf were still tied at 3-5 in that scenario, and those two went back to the first criteria to determine the final spot. The two split their regular-season series, 1-1, and criteria No. 2 could not be used because St. Olaf did not play Saint John's, which was now one of the Playoff teams. Criteria No. 3 is record vs. teams not in the Playoffs in descending order, with Gustavus as the first opponent for comparison. Since SMU was 1-1 vs. the Gusties and St. Olaf was 0-2, Saint Mary's claimed the sixth and final seed in the 2013 tournament.

Saint Mary's vs. The MIAC Tournament Field — Earlier This Year:
SMU vs. St. Thomas | April 7, 2013 | St. Paul, Minn.
After a change of venue and a postponement due to inclement weather, SMU finally got to play its Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference-opening doubleheader against seventh-ranked St. Thomas. The Tommies, however, made coach Nick Winecke and the Cardinals wish there could have been another postponement, as UST rode the complete-game pitching of Colin Wendinger to a 7-0 win in Game 1, then completed the conference sweep with an 11-2 victory in Game 2 at Koch Diamond | Recap
SMU vs. Augsburg | May 5, 2013 | St. Paul, Minn.
SMU scored a pair of runs in the top of the eighth inning in both games, as the Cardinals earned a Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference sweep of the Auggies, winning 7-5 and 2-0 at St. Thomas' Koch Diamond | Recap
SMU vs. Concordia | May 9, 2013 | Moorhead Minn.
Concordia used a pair of big innings — a six-run third inning in the first game, and a three-run fourth inning in the nightcap — as the Cobbers swept the Cardinals, 10-5 and 5-4, in the teams' Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference finale | Recap
SMU vs. Saint John's | April 24, 2013 | Collegeville, Minn.
Saint John's picked up the win in Game 1, as the Johnnies took advantage of an SMU fielding error in the bottom of the seventh inning to score the game-winning run and secure a 6-5 victory. The Johnnies' picked up where they left off in the nightcap, taking leads of 2-0 and 3-1, but the Cardinals bounced back, rallying from both deficits to beat SJU 11-7 and earn the conference split. | Recap
SMU vs. Bethel | April 25, 2013 | Arden Hills, Minn.
The Cardinals were held to just three runs — combined — in their conference doubleheader against Bethel. Thanks to the efforts of starting pitcher Teddy VanRanst (St. Paul, Minn.) and three Cardinal relievers, however, two runs was more than enough, as the quartet blanked the Royals on five hits in leading SMU to a 2-0 Game 1 victory. Unfortunately for the Cardinals, the offensive power outage continued in Game 2 — and this time the SMU pitching staff couldn't bail them out — as Bethel scored three runs in the second and two more in the third in handing Saint Mary's a 5-1 setback | Recap

The MIAC Tournament — A Year Ago:
Second-seeded Saint John's had one chance at the title slip through its fingers, but the Johnnies redeemed themselves with a stirring performance in the winner-take-all final game to claim their first-ever MIAC postseason title. No. 1-seeded St. Thomas (34-8) forced the second and final game between UST and SJU with a 6-3 victory, but the Johnnies erupted for seven runs in the third inning en route to a 10-5 victory at Veterans Stadium in Minnetonka, Minn. | Recap

The MIAC Tournament A Year Ago — By The Numbers:
2012 MIAC Tournament Homepage
Friday, May 11, 2012 | Minnetonka, Minn.
No. 4 Saint Mary's, No. 1 St. Thomas 2 (10) | Box Score
No. 2 Saint John's 7, No. 3 Bethel 3 | Box Score
Saturday, May 12, 2012 | Minnetonka, Minn.
No. 1 St. Thomas 7, No. 3 Bethel 0 | Box Score
No. 2 Saint John's 4, No. 4 Saint Mary's 2 | Box Score
No. 1 St. Thomas 10, No. 4 Saint Mary's 2 | Box Score
Sunday, May 13, 2012 | Minnetonka, Minn.
No. 1 St. Thomas 6, No. 2 Saint John's 3 | Box Score
No. 2 Saint John's 10, No. 1 St. Thomas 5 | Box Score

The Cardinals at the MIAC Tournament — A Year Ago:
SMU vs. St. Thomas | Friday, May 11, 2012 | Minnetonka, Minn.
The Cardinals, making their first post-season berth since 2002, battled the high-powered and top-seeded Tommies to a 2-2 stalemate through the first nine innings, then scored twice in the top of the 10th — the first on an RBI single by Paul La Nasa (Mahtomedi, Minn.) and the other on an RBI groundout by Danny Geraghty (Park Ridge, Ill.) — as Saint Mary's stunned heavily favored St. Thomas 4-2 in the first game of the three-day, double-elimination tournament | Recap
SMU vs. Saint John's | Saturday, May 12, 2012 | Minnetonka, Minn.
For the second game in a row, the Cardinals headed into the eighth inning having managed just two hits — but were again in the midst of a 2-2 stalemate. Unfortunately for the Cardinals, Saint John's scored two runs in the top of the eighth and did not allow any late-inning Cardinal heroics, handing SMU a 4-2 setback in the double-elimination tournament | Recap
SMU vs. St. Thomas | Saturday, May 12, 2012 | Minnetonka, Minn.
SMU recorded its biggest win of the season with its 4-2, 10-inning victory over top-seeded St. Thomas in the opening round of the MIAC Tournament at Veteran's Stadium. When the two teams met again in a win-or-go-home elimination game, the Cardinals were poised to write another chapter in their Cinderella story. St. Thomas, however, had other ideas, as the Tommies — fueled by back-to-back three-run innings in the sixth and seventh innings — cruised to a 10-2 victory, ousting the Cardinals from post-season play | Recap

Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2013 Roster | 2013 Statistics | 2013 Schedule
SMU is making its second straight MIAC Tournament appearance. The Cardinals knocked off regular-season champion St. Thomas in their tournament opener a year ago, before falling to Saint John's and the Tommies. … The Cardinals' last six wins have all been by two runs or less. … Last Monday's 2-1, 10-inning win over Macalester was the Cardinals' third straight extra-inning game. SMU had beaten Augsburg 7-5 and 2-1 last Sunday. … With their 10-inning win over the Scots, SMU improved to 6-0 in extra-inning games this year, while running their extra-inning winning streak to 12, dating back to a 4-3 loss to Cornell on March 19, 2011. … SMU split six of its 10 conference doubleheaders. The Cardinals recorded sweeps against Augsburg and Carleton, and were swept by St. Thomas and Concordia — both playoff qualifiers. … David Barry (Apple Valley, Minn.) enters tournament play swinging a hot bat, collecting five hits — including a 3-for-4, 3-RBI Game 2 effort — against Concordia in the teams' regular-season finale. … With the five hits, Barry pushed his team-leading batting average to .393. … Kevin Miley (St. Paul, Minn. / .359), Steph Scatassa (Westchester, Ill. / .316), Kevin Gannon (Roselle, Ill. / .308), Willie Doll (Amherst, Wis. / .308), Drew Denning (St. Paul, Minn. / .304) and Kyle Servais (Westby, Wis. / .303) are also hitting above .300 for the Cardinals, who enter tournament play with a .293 team batting average. … Doll and Gannon share the team lead in hits with 36 hits — three more than Paul LaNasa (Mahtomedi, Minn.). … Doll also leads the team in runs (25), home runs (4) and total bases (55). … Gannon — who was named to the Capital One Academic All-District Team — owns a team-best 23 RBIs and 14 walks. … The Cardinals have hit nine home runs this season — including a pair of HRs in Thursday's Game 1 loss to Concordia. Along with Doll's team-high four, Zach Wolfe (Wabasha, Minn.) has hit three, and Gannon, Servais and Jon Schlemmer (DePere, Wis.) have accounted for the Cardinals' other three. … Servais' home run — a three-run bomb against UW-Superior on March 28 in the Metrodome — was the first of his four-year collegiate career. Doll, meanwhile, hit his first collegiate round-tripper against Illinois Institute of Technology on March 8. … Gannon— who had reached base safely in the Cardinals' first 20 games — has now been on base in 32 of the team's 35 games. … Gannon has also had a hit in 27 of the team's 35 contests. … Barry recorded the first four-hit game of his collegiate career against Saint John's on April 24 — it is the Cardinals' only four-hit effort this season. Barry went 4-for-4 to account for four of the team's five Game 1 hits vs. the Johnnies. … Gannon posted his first collegiate six-RBI game against Illinois Institute of Technology on March 8. … Doll owns a team-best 10 multiple-hit games, while Barry, Servais and Schlemmer boast 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 57 bases on 74 attempts — led by Doll with 14 steals in 15 tries and Gannon, who is a perfect 10-for-10. … Tyler Krysiak (Bloomington, Minn.) became the single-season and career record-holder with his two saves against Carleton last Wednesday. Krysiak has recorded saves in each of his last five appearances and is now the single-season (7) and career (13) saves leader. … The Cardinals have seven pitchers who have thrown 20 or more innings through the season's first 35 contests — led by Scatassa (34.2 IP), Justin Kronebusch (Altura, Minn. / 32.2 IP) and Teddy VanRanst (St. Paul, Minn. / 31.2 IP). … Krysiak owns a team-best 2.45 ERA, while A.J. Redders (Middleton, Wis.) and Sam Nord (Mendota Heights, Minn.) have made a team-leading 17 appearances — all in relief. … The Cardinals have been held to two runs or less in nine of their 15 losses this season. … SMU is 7-3 in one-run games this season. … The Cardinals are 12-2 when outhitting their opponent and 13-0 when leading after the sixth inning. … SMU's 2-0 shutout win over Augsburg last Sunday was its third shutout win in a one-week span — the Cardinals also blanked Gustavus 3-0 on April 28 and Saint John's 2-0 in the opener of their MIAC DH on April 24. … SMU's early season seven-game winning streak was the longest winning streak since the Cardinals won nine straight during the 2001 season.