ST. PETER, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University baseball team hits the road on Saturday, squaring off against Gustavus in a 1 p.m. Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference doubleheader at the Gustie Baseball Field.
 
The Matchup:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (2-1 MIAC | 6-13 Overall) at Gustavus Gusties (1-3 MIAC | 4-8 Overall)
 
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Last Action:
The Cardinals dropped a pair of nonconference games to Cornell Thursday, falling 6-4 in the opener, before suffering an 11-3 setback in the nightcap at Max Molock Field. … Gustavus split its Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference twinbill against Augsburg Wednesday in St. Peter, Minn., winning Game 1 5-3, only to fall 10-2 in Game 2.
 
SMU vs. Gustavus — Their Last Meeting:
April 28, 2013: SMU put up three runs in both of its Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference games against Gustavus at Max Molock Field. In the opener, three runs was more than enough, as starter Steph Scatassa (Westchester, Ill.) and reliever Tyler Krysiak (Bloomington, Minn.) combined on a five-hit shutout in leading SMU to a 3-0 victory. In the nightcap, however, three runs wasn't quite enough, as Gustavus earned the conference split scoring four runs in the first two innings combined and holding off an SMU rally for a 5-3 win.
 
Up Next:
The Cardinals are right back in action on Sunday, as SMU returns home to host St. Thomas in a 1 p.m. conference doubleheader at Max Molock Field. … Gustavus is also back in action on Sunday, traveling to St. Paul, Minn., for a 1 p.m. MIAC twinbill against Hamline at Midway Stadium.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2014 Roster | 2014 Statistics | 2014 Schedule
After four straight home games — back-to-back doubleheaders against Saint John's and Cornell (Iowa) — SMU will play four of its next six contests on the road. … Willie Doll (Amherst, Wis.) swung the hot bat for SMU against Cornell Thursday, going 4-for-6 with two doubles and a pair of RBIs. … Ben Buerkle (Roseville, Minn.) picked up three hits in seven at-bats and also drove in two runs against the Rams on Thursday. … With his third-inning Game 1 single and his RBI single in the first inning of the nightcap against Cornell (Iowa), Buerkle extended his hitting streak to 19 straight — the longest consecutive hit streak since Brady Knudsen hit safely in 21 straight games during the 2008 season. … With his three hits vs. Cornell, Buerkle pushed his team-leading batting average to .365. The freshman also leads the team in RBIs (17) and slugging percentage (.556). … Doll (.329) is the team-leader in at-bats (76), hits (25), doubles (9), total bases (38) and stolen bases (11). … Buerkle and Doll share the team lead in runs (15) and triples (2). … Kevin Miley (St. Paul, Minn.) collected SMU's fourth four-hit game of the season, going 4-for-4 in the nine-inning 9-9 suspended Game 2 against Hamline on April 2. Kevin Gannon (Roselle, Ill.), Pat Krieger (Mendota Heights, Minn.) and Steph Scatassa (Westchester, Ill.) have also put together single-game 4-for-4 performances this season. It was the first collegiate 4-for-4 showing for all four. … Miley also launched his first collegiate HR in that Game 2 contest against Hamline. … Zach Wolfe (Wabasha, Minn.) owns the Cardinals' other home run this season, a three-run shot against Concordia-Chicago on March 6. … With his two hits in each game against Cornell (Iowa) Thursday, Doll pushed his team-leading multiple-hit games total to eight. … Buerkle is the team's leader in multiple-RBI games with six. … Doll and Gannon are the only two Cardinals to have started all 20 games this season. … Scatassa picked up his first pitching win of the season against Saint John's on April 6, going 5 2/3 innings, allowing two runs on four hits. … Ben Johnson (Brooklyn Park, Minn.) recorded his team-leading second win of the season, tossing 5 1/3 innings of five-hit shutout ball against Hamline on April 2. … Johnson, who owns a 2-1 record and a 4.07 ERA, has tossed a team-high 24 1/3 innings. … Johnson is one of eight SMU pitchers to have logged 10 or more innings this season. … Scatassa is the team's strikeout leader with 21, four more than Johnson. … Johnson, Chris Bartosz (Woodridge, Ill.) and Ben Dobosenski (Westmont, Ill.) all recorded their first collegiate pitching wins during SMU's spring trip to Tucson, Ariz. … SMU's 6-0 victory vs. Hamline on April 2 was its first shutout of the season and first since blanking Augsburg 2-0 in eight innings on May 5, 2013. … The Cardinals have scored four or more runs in 14 of their 19 games. … SMU scored a season-high 10 runs in its 10-2 Game 1 win over St. Olaf on March 7. … The Cardinals have scored first in five of their six wins. … SMU is 6-0 when leading after the sixth inning. … The Cardinals have played five doubleheaders this season — splitting four of them. SMU won the opener in splits vs. Morningside, St. Olaf and Saint John's, while rallying from a 9-3 Game 1 loss to Bethany Lutheran for a 7-2, split-clinching win.
 
Scouting The Gustavus Gusties:
2014 Roster | 2014 Statistics | 2014 Schedule
The Gusties' 5-3 Game 1 win over Augsburg on Wednesday snapped their five-game losing streak. … Augsburg's 10 runs in its 10-2 Game 2 win over the Gusties marked the fourth time in their eight losses that GAC has surrendered 10 or more runs. … GAC gave up a season-high 19 runs in a 19-9 loss to Buena Vista on March 23. … On the flip side, GAC scored a season-best 24 runs in routing Wesleyan (Conn.) 24-0 on March 21. It was the first time in more than 20 years that the Gusties had eclipsed the 20-run plateau. … Taylor Bigandt enters GAC's doubleheader against Saint Mary's owning a team-leading .442 batting average, while also owning team highs in hits (19), triples (2), total bases (26) and slugging percentage (.605). … Bigandt is one of six Gusties with more than 10 hits on the season — Garrett Fuchs (17), Scott Benjamin (17), Max Fidler (15), Sam Warner (14) and Danny Carlson (13) are the others. … Benjamin also owns a team-leading 11 RBIs, one more than Fuchs. … GAC is still searching for its first home run of the season. … Gustavus boasts four pitchers who have logged 10 or more innings through 12 games, led by Christopher Kelly (14.0 IP), Sam Carlson (13.0 IP) and Grant Soderberg (13.0 IP). … Soderberg and Carlson each enter GAC's DH vs. Saint Mary's with 2.08 ERAs, while Kelly has tossed a team-high two complete games and has a team-high 11 strikeouts. … The Gusties have not allowed a fifth-inning run this season, outscoring their opponents 6-0. … GAC has been outscored 15-3 in the seventh inning, while outscoring its opponents 10-3 in the ninth. … Gustavus is winless (0-8) when a run is scored in the first inning — the Gusties are 0-2 when they score in their first at-bat and 0-6 when their opponent does.