WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University baseball team returns to action on Sunday, as the Cardinals host Saint John's in a Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference doubleheader at Max Molock Field. First pitch is set for 1 p.m.
 
The Matchup:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (1-0 MIAC | 5-10 Overall) vs. Saint John's Johnnies (0-0 MIAC | 8-1 Overall)
 
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Last Action:
The Cardinals kicked off conference play on a high note, cruising to a 6-0 Game 1 win over Hamline Wednesday at Max Molock Field. The second game of the MIAC twinbill, however, was suspended due to darkness with the game tied 9-9 after nine innings and will be completed at a later date. … Saint John's has not played since March 7, when the Johnnies closed out their spring trip to Fort Myers, Fla., with a 7-3 win over Cornell (Iowa).
 
SMU vs. Saint John's — A Year Ago:
April 24, 2013: Saint Mary's and Saint John's baseball teams entered their Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference doubleheader in Collegeville, Minn., as mirror images. Both had played 17 games, and both owned an 0-2-conference record and a 9-8 overall mark. And when SMU's Tyler Krysiak (Bloomington, Minn.) retired the Johnnies in order to end the seventh inning of Game 2, that image staring back at the Cardinals looked exactly the same. Saint John's picked up the win in Game 1 6-5, while SMU bounced back in Game 2 with an 11-7 victory.
 
Up Next:
The Cardinals are right back in action on Sunday, as SMU entertains nationally ranked St. Thomas in a 1 p.m. conference twinbill at Max Molock Field. … Saint John's returns home to Collegeville, Minn., on Tuesday, hosting Bethel in a 2:30 p.m. conference doubleheader.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2014 Roster | 2014 Statistics | 2014 Schedule
With their 6-0 win over Hamline on Wednesday, the Cardinals have now won two of their last three games — scoring six runs in both contests. SMU beat Edgewood 6-4 on March 22. … SMU's 6-0 victory vs. the Pipers was its first shutout of the season and first since blanking Augsburg 2-0 in eight innings on May 5, 2013. … With their 6-0 win and nine-run effort in the 9-9 suspended game vs. Hamline Wednesday, the Cardinals have now scored four or more runs in 12 of their 15 games. … Three of SMU's last four losses have been by one run — including 7-6 and 5-4 setbacks vs. Wheaton (Ill.) on March 21-22. … 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 Wednesday. 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. … SMU boasts seven players who are hitting above .300, led by Scatassa (.389), Tommy Merkelis (Calumet City, Ill. / .364) and Ben Buerkle (Roseville, Minn. / .360). … Buerkle — who is riding a 15-game hitting streak — is the team-leader in runs (13), triples (2), RBIs (14), slugging percentage (.560), and is one of three players with a team-high seven walks. … Gannon (.356) owns the team lead in hits (21), while Willie Doll (Amherst, Wis. / .313) tops the team in at-bats (64), doubles (7) and stolen bases (10). … Buerkle also leads the team with five multiple-RBI games, while Doll is the team-leader with six multiple-hit contests. … Doll and Gannon are the only two Cardinals to have played in all 16 games this season. … 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 Wednesday. … 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 six SMU pitchers to have logged 10 or more innings this season. … Scatassa is the team's strikeout leader with 18, one 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 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 five 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 5-0 when leading after the sixth inning, but are 0-9 when trailing after the sixth. … 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.
 
Scouting The Saint John's Johnnies:
2014 Roster | 2014 Statistics | 2014 Schedule
The Johnnies have had their last four playing dates postponed due to weather and poor field conditions. … SJU is riding a five-game winning streak. The Johnnies have outscored their opponents 43-13 during that five-game span. … Saint John's lone blemish this season was an 11-5 loss to Kenyon in the second game of the teams' doubleheader on March 4. … As a team, the Johnnies are hitting .353, led by Joe Lampe (.579) and Brett Becker (.500). … Four of Lampe's team-high 14 hits have been for extra bases — three doubles and a triple. … Lampe also leads the team in RBIs (9), total bases (16), slugging percentage (.842) and on-base percentage (.619). … Becker has collected a team-best 15 hits, while Aaron Pfaff owns a team-best nine runs scored. … Pfaff is a perfect 5-for-5 in stolen bases, while Becker has swiped four bases on four attempts. … Becker has two hits in five of the Johnnies' nine games this season, while Lampe and Josh Groth lead the team with two multiple-RBI games each. … Becker has opened the season with hits in all nine SJU games, while Pfaff and Groth join Becker as players who have reached base safely in all nine Johnnie contests. … Derek Graves owns a team-best 2-0 record, allowing one hit, while striking out five in for innings of relief. … Collin Felhaber (1-0, 1.80 ERA) has thrown a team-leading 10 innings, one more than Joe Stanton (1-0, 2.00 ERA). … Felhaber also leads the team with 14 strikeouts and Justin Thompson has accounted for two of the team's three saves. … SJU has held its opponents to two runs or less five times this season and are 8-0 when allowing five runs or less. … Saint John's is 7-0 when leading after the sixth inning, 5-0 when scoring first and 3-0 when scoring in the first inning. … The Johnnies have out-hit their opponents in seven of their eight wins.