MINNETONKA, Minn. - The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota baseball team makes its third straight appearance in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament on Friday, as the third-seeded Cardinals square off against second-seeded Bethel in a 7 p.m. contest at Veterans Field.

The Tournament Schedule:
Friday, May 9, 2014 - Quarterfinals
Game 1: No. 1 St. Thomas vs. No. 4 Saint John's | 3 p.m.
Game 2: No. 2 Bethel vs. No. 3 Saint Mary's | 7 p.m.
Saturday, May 10, 2014 - Semifinals
Game 3: Loser game 1 vs. Loser game 2 | 11 a.m.
Game 4: Winner game 1 vs. Winner game 2 | 2 p.m.
Game 5: Loser game 4 vs. Winner game 3 | 6 p.m.
Sunday, May 11, 2014 - Championship
Game 6: Winner game 4 vs. Winner game 5 | 11 a.m.
Game 7: Winner game 6 vs. Loser game 6 | 2:30 p.m. (if necessary)
*Winner receives automatic bid to 2014 NCAA Baseball Tournament

GameDay Live On The Web:
Live Stats | Live Video | MIAC Preview | MIAC Tournament Homepage

Ticket Information
Ticket prices for the MIAC Playoffs are $7 for adults and $3 for students with valid student identification. Children ages 5 and under are free, and there are no senior or other discounts. MIAC passes will be honored.

How They Got Here:
#1 St. Thomas: Headlining the field once again is defending champion St. Thomas, which captured its 12th-straight MIAC regular-season championship this season to claim the tournament's top seed. Head coach Chris Olean's club went a near-perfect 18-2 in conference play this season, and the Tommies bring a 30-7 overall record into the 2014 playoffs. A year ago, UST went 2-0 in the single-elimination edition of the tournament, outscoring its opponents 21-5 in the semifinals and championship game to capture the title.
#2 Bethel: Bethel makes its third-consecutive MIAC Playoff appearance in 2014, this time as the tournament's No. 2 seed. This marks the first time the Royals have finished as high as second in the conference's regular season standings just a year after earning their first-ever MIAC Playoff victory. Head Coach Brian Raabe's club went 14-6 in the conference in 2014, and bring an overall record of 21-10 into the MIAC tournament.
#3 Saint Mary's: The Cardinals enter the postseason with some serious momentum after winning their way into the field, and then into the No. 3 seed, on the season's final day. The Cardinals swept Bethel Sunday to stay in the Playoff hunt, then swept St. Olaf Tuesday. Head coach Nick Winecke's club finished the regular season with six-straight victories, and tied for third place at 13-7 (17-21 overall).
#4 Saint John's: The Johnnies also finished 13-7 in the MIAC to match the Cardinals in a tie for third place. The Johnnies enter the MIAC Playoffs with a 21-8 overall record, and one of those wins was the historic 700th victory of Head coach Jerry Haugen's career. SJU won it all the last time these four teams squared off in a four-team, double-elimination tournament, as the Johnnies claimed the MIAC Playoff title in 2012.
Note: The Cardinals and Johnnies split their regular-season doubleheader, so the tiebreaker for the No. 3 seed was decided by the second criteria, which compares each team's record against the other teams in the MIAC Playoffs. Saint Mary's was 2-2 against St. Thomas and Bethel, while Saint John's was 1-3 against the tournament's top two seeds, making SMU the No. 3 seed, and SJU the fourth seed.

MIAC Tournament - A Year Ago:
During the regular season, St. Thomas imposed its will on the MIAC with a 19-1 record in cruising to the conference's regular-season crown -and the 2013 MIAC Baseball Playoffs was no different, as the Tommies added the league's postseason title to its trophy case. UST, the top seed, defeated second-seeded Concordia 11-2 in the championship game at Veterans Field in Minnetonka, Minn. The postseason conference baseball title is the Tommies' ninth after claiming its 33rd regular-season title - and 11th in a row - in 2013. UST has been in the MIAC Playoffs in all 14 years of the event, and they returned to the winner's circle for the first time since 2010, after losing in the title game to Hamline in 2011 and Saint John's a year ago. St. Thomas won both of its playoff games in 2013 by at least seven runs, outscoring its two opponents by a combined score of 21-5, leaving no doubt about its worth as champions | Recap | Tournament Homepage

How They Fared -Earlier This Year:
Saint Mary's vs. St. Thomas | April 15, 2014 | St. Paul, Minn.
St. Thomas entered its MIAC doubleheader against Saint Mary's with a rather impressive pedigree. The Tommies, who have won or shared conference's regular-season title in each of the last 11 seasons, squared off against the Cardinals owning a No. 14 ranking in the latest D3baseball.com Top 25, were riding an eight-game winning streak, and were averaging seven runs, 10 hits and four walks a game this season. SMU opening-game starter Ben Johnson (Brooklyn Park, Minn.) and reliever Pat Regan (Mound, Minn.), however, were unimpressed, as the Cardinal duo limited the high-powered Tommies to just four runs on eight hits in Game 1 of their MIAC twinbill at Koch Diamond. Unfortunately, four runs proved to be one too many, as the Tommies held off a seventh-inning SMU rally to beat the Cardinals 4-3 in Game 1. And the Tommies were just getting warmed up. UST erupted for four runs in the top of the first inning in the nightcap and never relinquished the lead, completing the sweep with a 13-5 victory | Recap

Saint Mary's vs. Bethel | May 4, 2014 | Arden Hills, Minn.
With four games remaining in the regular season, Saint Mary's found itself battling Carleton for the fourth and final Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference post-season tournament invitation. To oust the Knights from the No. 4 spot, the Cardinals needed at least three wins in its final four games. In other words, the Cardinals had to win at least one of its two contests against Bethel - or their regular-season finale against St. Olaf would mean nothing. Mission accomplished - times two. Kevin Miley (St. Paul, Minn.) delivered a two-run, sixth-inning single to break a 1-1 tie, and a double dose of Ben -Ben Johnson (Brooklyn Park, Minn.) and Ben Dobosenski (Westmont, Ill.) - on the mound proved to be the perfect combination for Saint Mary's coach Nick Winecke, as the Cardinals collected a 3-1 victory in Game 1 of the teams' MIAC doubleheader. And the Cardinals had so much fun recording a two-run win in the opener, they decided to do it again in the nightcap, scoring four runs in the sixth inning to erase a 4-2 Bethel lead and lift Saint Mary's to a 6-4 victory | Recap

Saint Mary's vs. Saint John's | April 6, 2014 | Winona, Minn.
The first game of Saint Mary's Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference doubleheader against Saint John's took a page out of the classic children's story, The Tortoise and the Hare. Fortunately for coach Nick Winecke, his Cardinals were the tortoise. SJU jumped out to a quick 2-0 first-inning lead on a two-run home run by Josh Groth -that, however, would be the extent of the Johnnies' offense SMU, on the other hand, took the more slow-and-steady-wins-the-race approach, scoring single runs in the first and second innings, before adding a pair of runs in the third to seal the 4-2 Game 1 victory. It was more of the same in Game 2 -only this time, the hare not only started fast, but had something left in the tank down the stretch. The Johnnies scored single runs in both the first and second innings, and erased a 3-2 SMU lead with two runs in the sixth and single runs in the eighth and ninth en route to a split-clinching 6-3 victory | Recap

St. Thomas vs. Bethel | April 22, 2014 | Arden Hills, Minn.
Mike Schultz's walk off home run against highlighted Bethel's split with the visiting Tommies at Hargis Park. Schultz's one-out, towering blast lifted the Royals to a 5-4 Game 1 win against St. Thomas, while the Tommies bounced back to hand BU an 11-4 setback in the nightcap to earn in the split. Joe Zorn went the distance on three days rest in the opener, allowing four runs and 10 hits, but his complete-game effort included zero walks - Bethel's third straight game without giving up a walk - and three strikeouts. Mike Schultz made the most noise at the plate for the Royals. Schultz belted the game-winning home run in the opener, then went 2-for-5 in Game 2 to improve his consecutive hit streak to 11 games. He also added two runs and two RBIs | Recap

St. Thomas vs. Saint John's | May 1, 2014 | Collegeville, Minn.
No. 12 St. Thomas batted .408 (29-for-71) with eight extra-base hits in handing the Johnnies a pair of conference setbacks, beating SJU 13-6 in the opener and 10-4 in the nightcap. The Tommies rallied from a 4-2 deficit with 11 straight runs in the Game 1 win, then scored five runs in the final three innings to pull away in Game 2.Fueled by a two-out, bases-clearing double from Logan Hershey, SJU gained a 4-2 lead in the bottom of the second inning in opener, only to have UST answer with three runs in the third inning, five in the fourth and three in the fifth. JoeLampe cut UST's Game 2 lead to 2-1 with a solo homer in the second inning. UST added three runs in the top half of the fifth, but SJU answered with three runs of its own in the bottom half. Aaron Pfaff drew a two-out, bases-loaded walk to plate the first run before Hershey drove in two with an RBI single. St. Thomas pulled away late with two unearned runs in the seventh and three more, two earned, in the ninth | Recap

Saint John's vs. Bethel | April 8, 2014 | Collegeville, Minn.
Saint John's recorded its second consecutive MIAC split against Bethel in its home opener. The Johnnies committed three errors and surrendered five unearned runs in a 7-1 loss to the Royals in the opener.Five different Johnnies collected a hit against BU's Matt Herringshaw, who went the distance. Nine of the 21 SJU outs recorded were on the first or second pitch of the at-bat. The Johnnies found a way to bounce back in Game 2, erupting for 12 hits -including a 3-for-4 performance from Luke Larson -in a 6-3 victory to earn the split.Bethel took advantage of a leadoff double and an SJU error to post two runs in the first inning of Game 1. The Royals added to their lead with a single run in the second, before SJU answered with a run of its ow - on an RBI double from Justin Thompson - in the bottom half. BU broke the game open with four unearned runs in the top half of the seventh and final inning to end the scoring at 7-1. SJU broke open a 2-1 contest with four runs in the bottom of the seventh of Game 2 to earn the split | Recap

Scouting the St. Thomas Tommies
2014 Roster | 2014 Statistics | 2014 Schedule
The Tommies are in the MIAC playoffs for the 15th time in the 15-year history of the format, with nine championships in the first 14 seasons. ... UST has won either the MIAC regular-season or playoff title in each of the last 19 seasons. ... The Tommies have won or shared 12 consecutive conference baseball regular-season titles. ...UST is looking to make the NCAA playoff field for the 19th time in 20 seasons. ... The Tommies have been ranked in the D3Baseball.com Top 20 all season and climbed to No. 8 this week. They have split two games with top-five ranked UW-Whitewater and Concordia-Chicago, and two games with top-20 Buena Vista. ...Reigning MIAC Player of the Week Tyler Peterson went 12-for-18 last week with seven RBIs and eight runs in four wins. Peterson came back on Monday against Northwestern and drove in five runs - all in the third inning on a homer and a double - in a 3-for-3 day. He leads the Tommies, and all conference players, in batting average (.468), RBIs (48) and home runs (7). ...Peterson has amassed 100 total bases for a .775 slugging percentage this season. ...Tim Kuzniar, the 2013 MIAC Player of the Year, has 208 career hits in 168 games. That's second on the UST list and sixth all-time among MIAC players. ...J.D. Dorgan has 185 hits, 142 RBIs and 19 home runs in 167 career games. He has started 108 consecutive games at catcher. ...Ben Podobinski has 180 career hits in just 122 games over three seasons. Podobinski's nine triples this season set a season record for conference players, although teammate Tim Kuzniar now has eight with a chance to match or exceed his total. Podobinski and Kuzniar share the school career triples record with 14 apiece. ...Kuzniar has had a hit or RBI in 20 games in a row; Podobinski has a hit or a run in 15 games in a row; Dorgan has a hit, walk or RBI in 18 games in a row. ...Podobinski leads the Tommies in at-bats (144), runs (52), hits (61) and stolen bases (24). ...Eric Veglahn has the lowest ERA among conference starters at 2.01. His 10-0 career record includes a 6-0 mark this season. He missed throwing UST's first no-hitter in 18 seasons by one batter on April 26, when he gave up a triple with two outs in the seventh inning. ... Colin Wendinger is 6-0 with a 2.78 ERA this season after going 5-1 with a 1.83 ERA last season. ...Tommy Danczyk is 4-1 with six saves this season. He pitched in 11 of the Toms' 20 MIAC games, 10 in relief. ...UST collected seven one-run wins during its 12-0 MIAC start this season. ...UST coach Chris Olean has a 168-51 record (.767) and five MIAC championships in his first five seasons, plus a third-place NCAA finish in 2012. As a Tommie player (1996-99), he was an All-America pitcher. His senior class was the first in 80 years of MIAC baseball to win four consecutive MIAC baseball titles.

Scouting the Bethel Royals:
2014 Roster | 2014 Statistics | 2014 Schedule
Bethel enters MIAC Tournament play on the heels of their most successful conference season in program history. The second-place Royals -one of just two MIAC teams to beat regular-season champion St. Thomas this season -had never finished higher than third in the conference standings. ...With their 22-14 overall record, the Royals have now eclipsed the 20-win plateau in each of their last five seasons. ...After opening conference play 12-2, the have gone 2-4 in their last six games. ...Bethel, batting .293 as a team, boast three players hitting above .300, led by Matt Conrad at .409. Grant Anderson is second at .398, while Bryce Marquardt is hitting at a .345 clip. ...Marquardt is the team-leader in at-bats (119), runs (25) and hits (41). ...Bret Neuville has belted a team-best six doubles and owns a team-leading 22 RBIs, while Mike Schultz has accounted for three of the team's five triples and leads the squad with three home runs and a .445 slugging percentage. ...BU has seven players with 10 or more RBIs, including three -Neuville (22), Schultz (21) and Jared Watts (21) - with 20 or more. ...Bethel has stolen 41 bases this season, led by Marquardt, who has swiped 20 bases in 23 attempts. ... Marquardt has compiled 12 multiple-hit games, two more than Grant Anderson, with Watts and Neuville owning a team-leading six multiple-RBI games. ...Schultz has reached base safely in each of the team's last 21 games. ...Joe Zorn owns owns a team-high five pitching wins, going 5-2 with a 4.04 ERA. ...Zorn has tossed a team-best 55 2/3 innings in 11 appearances, including two complete games. ...Jake Hanzalik (4-2, 3.53 ERA) is second to Zorn in innings pitched (43 1/3). ...Matt Herringshaw is unbeaten (4-0) with a 2.97 ERA in seven starts, while Tyler Heitmann (2-3) has a team-low 2.35 ERA. ...Chris Hall (2-0) has picked up four of the team's five saves, not allowing a run in 13 innings. ...Zorn has struck out a team-high 37 batters, two more than Heitmann. ...Bethel closed out the regular season 5-3 at home, while going 16-7 away from Hargis Park.

Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2014 Roster | 2014 Statistics | 2014 Schedule
The Cardinals are making their third straight appearance in the MIAC Tournament. ...With their sweep of St. Olaf Tuesday, the Cardinals head into post-season play riding a season-high six-game winning streak. ...With their 6-2, 8-2 victories over St. Olaf, the Cardinals closed out the regular-season having swept four of their last five conference doubleheaders. ...Saint Mary's has won the first game in nine of its 10 conference doubleheaders this season. ...Ben Buerkle (Roseville, Minn.) enters MIAC Tournament play as the Cardinals' hottest hitter, having gone 6-for-8 with a pair of RBIs in Saint Mary's sweep of St. Olaf on Tuesday. ...Buerkle has had at least one hit in 33 of the 37 games he's played in -and has reached base safely in 36 of 37 contests. ...Buerkle kicked off his freshman campaign with the Cardinals putting together season-opening 20-game hit streak - the longest consecutive-game hitting streak since Brady Knudsen hit safely in 21 straight games during the 2008 season. ...With his 3-for-3 and 3-for-5 performances against St. Olaf Tuesday, Buerkle now owns 13 multiple-hit games -including six games with three or more hits. ...The Cardinals boast seven players -Buerkle, Taylor Thelemann (Bloomington, Minn.), Kevin Miley (St. Paul, Minn.), Kevin Gannon (Roselle, Ill.), Pat Krieger (Mendota Heights, Minn.) and Steph Scatassa (Westchester, Ill.) - who have recorded four hits in a game this season. It was the first collegiate four-hit game for all seven. ...Buerkle owns a team-leading .393 batting average. The freshman also leads or shares the team lead in runs (30), home runs (2), RBIs (30), slugging percentage (.556) and on-base percentage (.457). He has also recorded 12 doubles, two triples and has walked 15 times. ... Willie Doll (Amherst, Wis.), who is second to Buerkle with a .353 batting average, is the team-leader in at-bats (156), hits (55), doubles (17), triples (4), total bases (83) and stolen bases (22). ... The Cardinals' six home runs have come from five different players - Buerkle has two, while Doll, Miley, Tyler Lursen (Maple Grove, Minn.) and Zach Wolfe (Wabasha, Minn.) have recorded the other four. ...Both of Buerkle's home runs have been inside-the-parkers. ...Doll leads the team with 19 multiple-hit games this season. ... Doll and Gannon are the only two Cardinals to have started all 38 games this season. ... Gannon has started every game during his three years as a Cardinal -a span of 115 straight games. ...Ben Johnson (Brooklyn Park, Minn.), Ben Dobosenski (Westmont, Ill.) and Steph Scatassa (Westchester, Ill.) have all logged more than 45 innings on the mound for the Cardinals. Johnson has thrown a team-best 49 1/3 innings, followed by Scatassa (49 1/3) and Dobosenski (47). ...Johnson boasts a team-leading five wins, going 5-2 in nine starts, while compiling a 3.62 ERA. The sophomore also notched his first collegiate save with 2 1/3 innings of scoreless relief in Saint Mary's 6-2 win over St. Olaf in Game 1 Tuesday. ...Scatassa (4-2, 4.74 ERA) is the team-leader with 35 strikeouts. ...Dobosenski, who tossed his first collegiate complete game against Gustavus on April 12, notched his first collegiate save with two innings of one-hit ball against Bethel in Game 1 last Sunday. ... A.J. Redders (Middleton, Wis.) picked up his team-leading fifth save of the season in Game 2 against Bethel last Sunday. ... Johnson, Dobosenski and Chris Bartosz (Woodridge, Ill.) all recorded their first collegiate pitching wins during Saint Mary's spring trip to Tucson, Ariz. ...The Cardinals' 13 runs in Game 1 against Macalester on April 19 were a season high, while the 13 runs in the opener and 10 runs in Game 2 vs. the Scots marked the first time since beating Illinois Institute of Technology 12-4 and 15-4 on March 8, 2013 that Saint Mary's has scored 10 or more runs in both games of a doubleheader. ... Saint Mary's Game 1 win over Gustavus 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, Saint Mary's 1-0 loss to Augsburg on April 22 marked the only time this season the Cardinals have been held scoreless. ...The Cardinals have scored four or more runs in 26 of their 38 games. ...The Cardinals have scored first in 16 of their 17 wins. ... SMU is 15-2 when leading after the sixth inning.

Scouting the Saint John's Johnnies:
2014 Roster | 2014 Statistics | 2014 Schedule
Saint John's is making its fifth consecutive trip to the MIAC Tournament in 2014. ...
The Johnnies head into post-season play having won six of their last eight games - including a regular season-ending 6-5, 10-0 sweep of Gustavus last Saturday. ...SJU's 13-6, 10-4 losses to regular-season champion St. Thomas on May 1 marked the only time this season the Johnnies were swept in a doubleheader. ...Saint John's has won the first game in seven of its last eight twinbills. ...The Johnnies' 10 runs in Game 2 against Gustavus last Saturday marked the fourth time this season SJU has plated 10 or more runs. Saint John's scored a season-high 12 runs twice - beating Northland 12-4 on March 5 and Bluffton 12-3 a day later. ...The Johnnies have surrendered 10 or more runs in a game four times, including a season-high 13 in their 13-6 Game 1 loss to St. Thomas on May 1. ...The Johnnies head into post-season play hitting .322 as a team, led by Brett Becker's .413 batting average. ... Becker also leads the team in at-bats (92) and hits (38). ...Joe Lampe (.378 BA), second to Becker in hits with 34, tops the team in runs (18), doubles (7), triples (6), home runs (3), RBIs (22), total bases (62) and slugging percentage (.689). ...Lampe has accounted for three of the team's six home runs and six of its eight triples. ... Lampe is one of seven Johnnies with 10 or more RBIs. ...Aaron Pfaff is a perfect 13-for-13 in stolen bases, while Becker is second with 12 steals. ... Becker boasts a team-high 13 multiple-hit games, two more than Dylan Graves and three better than Lampe, while Lampe and Logan Hershey share the team lead with four multiple-RBI games -including a six-RBI effort by Lampe against Bluffton on March 6. ...SJU has three pitchers - Collin Felhaber, Joe Stanton and Patrick Strey - who share the team lead with four wins. ...Felhaber (4-1, 3.35 ERA) has logged a team-high 43 innings, while Stanton (4-1, 3.51 ERA) is second in innings pitched with 33 1/3) and Strey (4-2, 3.51 ERA) is third with 31 1/3. ...Justin Thompson is a perfect 2-0 with a 0.62 ERA in 14 appearances -12 in relief -and has accounted for 10 of the team's 11 saves. ...Thompson two starts were both complete-game wins. ...Felhaber enters postseason play with a team-leading 40 strikeouts, five more than Thompson. ...Saint John's has held its opponents to five runs or less in 20 of its 21 wins this season. The Johnnies are 14-0 when holding their opposition to less than three runs. ...SJU is 16-0 when leading after the sixth inning. ...The Johnnies have not been shut out all season, while SJU pitchers have collected three shutout wins -a 4-0 win over Dominican, a a 7-0 victory vs. St. Olaf and last Saturday's 10-0 triumph against Gustavus. ...Saint John's owns a 16-3 record in road and neutral-site games this season.