WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University baseball team returns to action on Wednesday, hosting Hamline in a Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference doubleheader at Max Molock Field. First pitch is set for 2 p.m.
 
The Matchup:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (0-0 MIAC | 4-10 Overall) vs, Hamline Pipers (0-0 MIAC | 6-4 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
Live Stats (Live Stats are unavailable for this DH) | GameDay Program
 
Last Action:
The Cardinals finished 1-3 in its nonconference games against Edgewood and Wheaton (Ill.) on March 21-22 in Carol Stream, Ill. SMU split its two games vs. Edgewood — falling 10-2 and winning 6-4 — while dropping both contests vs. Wheaton, losing 7-6 and 5-4. … Hamline closed out its spring trip to Tucson, Ariz., on March 26, falling to Buena Vista 6-5.
 
SMU vs. Hamline — A Year Ago:
April 30, 2013: SMU entered its MIAC showdown against Hamline having split their last four conference doubleheaders. But after dropping the opener 6-4 and trailing 8-2 after the Pipers' half of the fifth inning in Game 2, it appeared that streak would be coming to an end — and not in a positive way. Fortunately for the never-say-die Cardinals, things aren't always as they appear, as SMU scored six runs in the bottom of the fifth to tie the game 8-8, then got a game-winning sacrifice fly off the bat of Vince Lulic (Mendota Heights, Minn.) in the bottom of the sixth to complete the 9-8, come-from-behind victory at Midway Stadium in St. Paul, Minn.

Up Next:
The Cardinals return home on Saturday, as SMU hosts Saint John's in a 1 p.m. conference doubleheader at Max Molock Field. … Hamline hits the road on Saturday, as the Pipers head across town to St. Thomas for a 1 p.m. MIAC twinbill against the Tommies at Koch Diamond.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2014 Roster | 2014 Statistics | 2014 Schedule
The Cardinals have scored four or more runs in 10 of their 13 games this season. … Three of SMU's last four losses have been by one run — including 7-6 and 5-4 setbacks vs. Wheaton (Ill.) last weekend. … The Cardinals have played three nonconference doubleheaders this season — splitting all three of them. After winning the first game in DHs against Morningside and St. Olaf, SMU rallied from a 9-3 Game 1 loss to Bethany Lutheran for a 7-2, split-clinching win. … David Barry (Apple Valley, Minn.) collected four hits in seven at-bats against Edgewood and Wheaton on March 21-22 — including a 3-for-3, 2 RBI showing against the Thunder last Saturday. … Ben Buerkle (Roseville, Minn.), who went 5-for-15 with three doubles, three runs and three RBIs last weekend, enters SMU's games against Hamline hitting .381, while also leading the team in RBIs (12) and slugging percentage (.595). … Buerkle has collected at least one hit in all 13 games he's played in this season, including three games with at least two hits. … Buerkle also leads the team with four multiple-RBI games, while Willie Doll (Amherst, Wis.) is the team-leader with six multiple-hit contests.  Doll, who is hitting .321 through 14 games, leads the team with 18 hits, 11 runs, seven doubles, two triples and nine stolen bases — including three against Wheaton (Ill.) on March 22. … Doll and Kevin Gannon (Roselle, Ill.) — who is batting .360 and shares the team lead in hits wit Doll — are the only two Cardinals to have played in all 14 games this season. … Zach Wolfe (Wabasha, Minn.) owns the Cardinals' lone home run this season, a  three-run shot against Concordia-Chicago on March 6. … The Cardinals boast three players — Gannon, Pat Krieger (Mendota Heights, Minn.) and Steph Scatassa (Westchester, Ill.) — who have put together single-game 4-for-4 performances this season. It was the first collegiate 4-for-4 showing for all three. … Jake Merkle (Mahtomedi, Minn.) picked up his first pitching win of the season against Edgewood on March 22, tossing the first seven innings of the 6-4 victory. … Chris Bartosz (Woodridge, Ill.), Ben Johnson (Brooklyn Park, Minn.) and Ben Dobosenski (Westmont, Ill.) all picked up their first collegiate pitching wins during SMU's spring trip to Tucson, Ariz. … Johnson has thrown a team-leading 18.2 innings, while Bartosz boasts a team-low 2.35 ERA and Scatassa has fanned a team-high 18 batters. … SMU scored a season-high 10 runs in its 10-2 Game 1 win over St. Olaf on March 7. On the flip side, the Cardinals have surrendered 10 or more runs four times this season and are winless (0-9) when allowing six or more runs in a game. … The Cardinals have scored first in all three of their wins. SMU is 0-7 when its opponent scores first and 1-7 when its opponent scores in the first inning. … SMU is 4-0 when leading after the sixth inning, but are 0-9 when trailing after the sixth.
 
Scouting The Hamline Pipers:
2014 Roster | 2014 Statistics | 2014 Schedule
The Pipers enter their showdown with Saint Mary's having dropped each of its last two games. … Hamline has won back-to-back games three times en route to its six wins this season — sweeping Iowa Wesleyan (13-1, 11-0), taking two from Lawrence (16-9, 27-3), and beating Williams (14-7) and Oberlin (10-5). … Hamline ha scored 10 or more runs in all six of its wins — including a season-high 27 in a 27-3 rout of Lawrence on March 21. … As a team, the Pipers are batting .368 — and boast seven players hitting .333 or better. … Evan Cordell leads the team with a .606 batting average, while also leading the team in hits (20), triples (1), RBIs (18), total bases (27), slugging percentage (.818) and on-base percentage (.615). … Matt Connell (.442) and Chris Zeller (.414) are also hitting above .400 for HU, while Dan Moro (.355), Cam Smith (.343), Harley Thompson (.333) and Collin Olstad (.333) also own batting averages at .333 or higher. … Smith has scored a team-leading 21 runs, while also sharing the team lead in doubles (4) with Thompson. … Zeller and Moro have each induced a team-best 10 walks in 10 games. … Connell owns seven multiple-hit games, while Cordell has put together the team's only five-hit performance — a 5-for-5, four RBI showing against Williams on March 23. … Cordell is also the team-leader in multiple-RBI games with six. … Cordell enters HU's DH against Saint Mary's riding a nine-game hitting streak. Connell had his nine-game hit streak snapped in the Pipers' 6-5 loss to Buena Vista on March 25. … Hamline boasts four players — Connell, Zeller, Moro and Thompson — who have all reached base safely in all 10 Pipers games this season. … Hamline has gone 16-for-17 in stolen base attempts, led by Cordell and Smith, who are both a perfect 5-for-5. … Zack Brautigam owns a team-best 2.08 ERA, while going 1-0 in two starts with seven strikeouts and just two walks. … Matt Eickman has thrown a team-high 9.2 innings — one inning more than Brautigam and Michael Robohm — and boasts a 2-1 record in three starts. … Robohm is the team leader in strikeouts with eight and has appeared in a team-high four games — three in relief.