ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University baseball team returns to action on Tuesday, squaring off against Northwestern in a pair of nonconference games. First pitch for Game 1 is set for 2:30 p.m.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (8-2 Overall) at Northwestern Eagles (5-5 Overall), 2:30 p.m.
 
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Last Action:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals closed out an 8-2 showing during their spring trip to Winter Haven, Fla., with 12-3 and 8-4 wins over Gordon College on March 6 | Recap
• Northwestern: The Eagles concluded their spring trip to Fort Pierce, Fla., last Friday, splitting a nonconference doubleheader with Westminster (Pa.) College. UNW dropped the opener 2-0, but rebounded with a 7-6 Game 2 victory
 
Saint Mary's vs. Northwestern — Their Last Meeting:
• March 27, 2007: The Cardinals entered their nonconference doubleheader against Northwestern averaging more than nine hits and nearly four runs a game—and exited with just 10 hits and four runs in the two games, combined. Northwestern pitcher Josh Peterson held Saint Mary's to one run on three hits, and the Eagles finally got to Cardinal pitching in the bottom of the seventh, scoring two runs to beat the Cardinals 2-1 in the opener. In the nightcap, the Eagles scored a pair of runs in each of the first three innings, then topped it off with a solo run in the fourth en route to a 7-3 victory and the nonconference sweep | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals are back in action this weekend, heading to Wheaton, Ill. three nonconference games. Saint Mary's squares off against Buena Vista (11 a.m.) and Wheaton (5 p.m.) on Friday, before taking on Aurora (11 a.m.) on Saturday.
• Northwestern: The Eagles are off until March 27-28, when they host in a trio of UMAC games. The teams will play a 3 p.m. nine-inning game on Friday, before returning to the Reynolds Diamond in St. Paul, Minn., for a pair of seven-inning games on Saturday beginning at noon.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2015 Roster | 2015 Statistics | 2015 Schedule
The Cardinals enter this weekend's action riding a three-game winning streak and have won eight of their first 10 games. … The Cardinals' 8-2 start to the season is their best since 1995, when Saint Mary's opened the year 10-2. … Saint Mary's scored 79 runs during its 10 games in Winter Haven, Fla., last week—including four games of 10 or more runs. … The Cardinals scored a season-high 13 runs in a 13-2 win over Lyndon State last Tuesday. … Ben Buerkle (Roseville, Minn.), one of five Cardinals to start all 10 games this season, owns a team-leading .471 batting average, while also boasting team highs in runs (13), hits (16), triples (2), home runs (2), RBIs (12), total bases (27), slugging percentage (.794) and on-base percentage (.513). … Buerkle had at least one hit in all 10 games for the Cardinals, and was one of three players to reach base safely in all 10 contests—David Barry (Apple Valley, Minn.) and Jon Schlemmer (De Pere, Wis.) were the other two. … Fueled by his 10-game hitting streak, Buerkle has now had at least one hit in 46 of the 50 games he's played in a Cardinal uniform—and has reached base safely in 49 of 50 contests. … Saint Mary's belted eight home runs during its 10-game spring trip, led by Buerkle with two. Tyler Lursen (Maple Grove, Minn.), Jon Schlemmer (De Pere, Wis.), Willie Doll (Amherst, Wis.), Kevin Miley (St. Paul, Minn.), Drew Denning (St. Paul, Minn.), and Cale Pieczynski (Plover, Wis.) hit Saint Mary's other six round-trippers. The home runs by Denning and Pieczynski were collegiate firsts. … Pieczynski's home run was a pinch-hit, three-run, walk-off shot in the bottom of the eighth inning to give Saint Mary's a 10-8 win over Concordia. … Doll has put together a team-high six multiple-hit games, while Schlemmer owns four multiple-RBI performances. … Jacob Dawson (Oakdale, Minn.) tossed 12 scoreless innings in his two spring trip starts last week. Dawson, who won both of his starts, allowed just six hits, while walking three and striking out eight. He hurled his first collegiate complete game in a three-hit, seven-strikeout 1-0 shutout of Loras last Thursday.
 
Scouting The Northwestern Eagles:
2015 Roster | 2014 Final Statistics | 2015 Schedule
Tuesday's games against Saint Mary's are the first of six straight home games for the Eagles. … Northwestern was tabbed to finish second in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) Preseason Coaches' Poll—finishing nine points shy of first-place St. Scholastica and four points ahead of third-place Bethany Lutheran. … Northwestern reached the UMAC Tournament championship game for the third straight season a year ago—falling to St. Scholastica  14-4 in the title game. … UNW finished 20-19 overall in 2014—recording its sixth 20-win season under coach Dave Hieb. … Three of Northwestern's five losses during their recent spring trip were by two runs or less. … The Eagles scored seven or more runs in four of their five spring-trip wins—including a season-high 15 runs in a 15-1 win over Hilbert College last Tuesday. … UNW returns the majority of its 2014 rosters, but the Eagles will be without UMAC Player and Co-Pitcher of the Year Andy Peterson. Peterson finished his career with a .385 batting average and a 1.55 ERA, leaving a hole in both the Eagles' lineup and pitching rotation.