ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University baseball team is back in action — both conference and nonconference — on Friday, as the Cardinals complete their suspended MIAC game against Hamline, then square off against the Pipers in a non-league game at Midway Stadium.
 
The Matchup:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (7-6 MIAC | 11-19 Overall) at Hamline Pipers (5-8 MIAC | 11-12 Overall)
 
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Last Action:
The Cardinals battled Augsburg to a split on Tuesday, as SMU opened the teams' conference doubleheader with an 8-2 Game 1 win, but dropped a 1-0 heartbreaker in the nightcap on a walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth at Parade Stadium in Minneapolis, Minn. … Hamline split its home MIAC twinbill against Carleton on Tuesday — winning 5-4 and losing 3-1.
 
SMU vs. Hamline — Earlier This Year:
April 2, 2013: The Cardinals rode the right arms of Ben Johnson (Brooklyn Park, Minn.) and A.J. Redders (Middleton, Wis.) to a 6-0 victory over the Pipers in the opening game of their twinbill with the Pipers at Max Molock Field, but Game 2 was deadlocked at 9-9 after nine innings, when play was suspended due to darkness.
 
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 entertains Concordia in a 1 p.m. MIAC doubleheader at Max Molock Field. The showdown with the Cobbers will be the final collegiate home game for SMU's six graduating seniors — Kevin Gannon (Roselle, Ill.), Taylor Thelemann (Bloomington, Minn.), Pat Krieger (Mendota Heights, Minn.), Paul LaNasa (Mahtomedi, Minn.), Tommy Merkelis (Calumet City, Ill.) and Zach Wolfe (Wabasha, Minn.). … Hamline is also back in action on Saturday, as the Pipers travel to Collegeville, Minn., for a 1 p.m. conference twinbill against Saint John's.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2014 Roster | 2014 Statistics | 2014 Schedule
Friday's games against Hamline mark the third straight road date for the Cardinals, who close out their home schedule on Saturday against Concordia. … The Cardinals picked up their first conference sweep of the season with their 13-3, 10-5 wins over Macalester on April 19. … SMU has won the first game in six of its seven conference doubleheaders this season — including Tuesday's 8-2 Game 1 win over Augbsburg.. … The Cardinals' 13 runs in Game 1 against Macalester were a season high, while the 13 runs in the opener and 10 runs in Game 2 marked the first time since beating Illinois Institute of Technology 12-4 and 15-4 on March 8, 2013 that SMU has scored 10 or more runs in both games of a doubleheader. … The Cardinals head into Friday's showdown with Hamline having won four of their last seven games. … Taylor Thelemann (Bloomington, Minn.) recorded his first collegiate four-hit game in the opener against Augsburg Tuesday, going 4-for-4. … David Barry (Apple Valley, Minn.) Jon Schlemmer (De Pere, Wis.) and Willie Doll (Amherst, Wis.) chipped in two hits each in the opener vs. Augsburg Tuesday, while Kevin Miley (St. Paul, Minn.) accounted for three of SMU's Game 2 hits vs. the Auggies, going 3-for-3. … Thelemann's 4-for-4 showing against Augsburg on Tuesday was the Cardinals' seventh four-hit game of the season. Buerkle, Miley, Gannon, Pat Krieger (Mendota Heights, Minn.) and Steph Scatassa (Westchester, Ill.) have also put together four-hit single-game performances this season. It was the first collegiate four-hit game for all seven. … Ben Buerkle (Roseville, Minn.), who had his season-opening 20-game hit streak snapped in Game 2 against Gustavus on April 12, was held off the base paths for the first time this season Tuesday's opener against Augsburg, snapping the freshman's 28-game streak of reaching base safely. … Buerkle has had at least one hit in 27 of the 30 games he's played in. … Buerkle's 20-game hit streak was SMU's longest since Brady Knudsen hit safely in 21 straight games during the 2008 season. … Buerkle owns a team-leading .368 batting average among SMU regulars. The freshman also leads or shares the team lead in runs (22), triples (2), RBIs (23) and slugging percentage (.528). … Doll, who is second to Buerkle with a .333 batting average, is the team-leader in at-bats (123), hits (41), doubles (13), triples (2), total bases (63) and stolen bases (17). … Doll belted his first home run of the season — and fifth of his career — in the sixth inning against Luther Monday. … Doll became the fifth different Cardinal to hit a home run this season. Buerkle, Lursen and Miley have all collected Game 2 home runs this season — Buerkle against St. Thomas, Lursen against Carleton and Miley vs. Hamline — while Zach Wolfe (Wabasha, Minn.) delivered a three-run shot against Concordia-Chicago on March 6. … Doll leads the team with 13 multiple-hit games this season. … Buerkle is the team's leader in multiple-RBI games with seven, one more than Miley … Doll and Gannon are the only two Cardinals to have started all 31 games this season. … Ben Johnson (Brooklyn Park, Minn.) collected his team-leading third pitching win of the season with a seven-hit, complete-game performance against Macalester last Saturday. … The complete game was Johnson's team-high second of the season. … Johnson has compiled a 3-2 record and 3.86 ERA in 37 1/3 innings. … Ben Dobosenski (Westmont, Ill.) — who pitched eight scoreless innings in getting a no-decision in Game 2 against Augsburg Tuesday — tossed his first collegiate complete game against Gustavus on April 12. … Scatassa earned his second win of the year with a complete-game effort against Augsburg in the opener Tuesday. … Scatassa (2-2, 4.69 ERA) is the team-leader in innings pitched with 40 1/3, while also leading the team with 30 strikeouts. … Johnson, Dobosenski and Chris Bartosz (Woodridge, Ill.) all recorded their first collegiate pitching wins during SMU's spring trip to Tucson, Ariz. … SMU's Game 1 win over the Gusties on April 12 was its second shutout victory of the season — the Cardinals also blanked Hamline 6-0 on April 2. On the flip side, Tuesday's 1-0 loss to Augsburg marked the first time this season the Cardinals have been held scoreless. … The Cardinals have scored four or more runs in 21 of their 30 games. … The Cardinals have scored first in 10 of their 11 wins. … SMU is 9-0 when leading after the sixth inning.
 
Scouting The Hamline Pipers:
2014 Roster | 2014 Statistics | 2014 Schedule
Hamline's Game 1 win over Carleton on Tuesday snapped the Pipers' two-game losing streak. … Hamline's last three conference games have all been decided by two runs or less. … HU's 14-3 loss to Bethel on April 18 marked the fourth time the Pipers have surrendered 10 or more runs. Hamline gave up a season-high 19 runs in a 19-14 loss to Williams on March 23. … The Pipers erupted for a season-best 27 runs on March 21, routing Lawrence 27-3. HU had beaten the Vikings 16-9 in the first game of their nonconference doubleheader. … Evan Cordell is hitting a team-leading .458 and is one of five Pipers who owns batting averages above .300. … Cordell has also driven in a team-high 23 runs, while boasting a .681 slugging percentage. … Matt Connell (.366) is the Piper leader in at-bats (93), hits (34) and home runs (3). … Harley Thompson and Cam Smith have delivered a team-high eight doubles, while Cordell and Connell share the team lead in triples with two each. … Connell (3), Thompson (2) and Cordell (2) have accounted for Hamline's seven home runs. … Connell has put together 11 multiple-hit games — one more than Cordell — while the two share the team lead with six multiple-RBI games. … Hamline has seven pitchers who have logged 10 or more innings, led by Matt Eickman (36 2/3) and Connell (22.0). … Eickman and Rob Miler lead the pitching staff with three wins each, while Miller and Rannon Arch have both made a team-high 10 appearances. … Miller enters HU's showdown with Saint Mary's with a 3-2 record and a 3.48 ERA, while Eickman is 3-4 with a 4.17 ERA. … Connell (1-3, 4.91) has fanned a team-high 20 batters. … HU owns a 4-5 record at home, while going 7-7 on the road.