WINONA, Minn. — After back-to-back nonconference games, the Saint Mary's University baseball team returns to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Saturday, as the Cardinals entertain Gustavus in a doubleheader at Max Molock Field. Game 1 kicks off at 1 p.m.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (4-2 MIAC | 18-5 Overall) vs. Gustavus Gusties (2-4 MIAC | 6-13 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
Live Stats | GameDay Program
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals picked up a pair of nonconference wins on Wednesday, beating Luther 6-3 in the opener, before rallying with 10 runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to post a 13-11, come-from-behind victory over the Norse in the nightcap at Max Molock Field | Recap
• Gustavus: The Gusties dropped a pair of games to St. Thomas at the Gustie Baseball Field in St. Peter, Minn., falling 4-2 in 11 innings in the opener, before dropping a 3-2 decision in the nightcap—a game that was halted after five innings due to darkness on Wednesday and completed on Friday | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Gustavus—A Year Ago:
• April 12, 2014: Tommy Merkelis (Calumet City, Ill.) accounted for the game's only run—without swinging the bat—as the senior's bases-loaded walk in the top of the 11th inning plated Kevin Gannon (Roselle, Ill.) with the game's only run in the Cardinals' 1-0 victory in St. Peter, Minn. Saint Mary's wasn't about to wait another 11 innings to plate its first run in the nightcap, scoring in their first at-bat—on their second bases-loaded walk of the afternoon. Unfortunately, that would be the only run the Cardinals would score in Game 2, as Gustavus used five second-inning singles to score two runs and GAC starter Sam Carlson made it stand up in a 2-1 Gustie victory | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals are now off until next Saturday, when they travel to St. Paul, Minn., for a 1 p.m. MIAC doubleheader against Macalester.
• Gustavus: This Gusties step out of conference play on Monday, entertaining Martin Luther in a 2:30 p.m. nonconference doubleheader in St. Peter, Minn.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2015 Roster | 2015 Statistics | 2015 Schedule
Fueled by their two victories over Luther, the Cardinals pushed their winning streak to four straight and eight of their last 10. … With their 6-3 Game 1, the Cardinals have now won the opening game in nine of their 10 doubleheaders. … The Cardinals have not dropped back-to-back games this season, while putting together a pair of five-game winning streaks, and their current four-game run. … Saint Mary's scored 10 runs in the bottom of the sixth inning en route to its 13-11 Game 2 win over Luther. It was the second time this season the Cardinals have scored 10 runs in an inning—they plated 10 first-inning runs in a 20-2 victory over Hamline on April 1. … Jon Schlemmer (De Pere, Wis.) enjoyed a perfect afternoon against Luther Wednesday, as the senior went a combined 6-for-6 with two doubles, two home runs, five runs scored and a 2.333 slugging percentage. … Schlemmer is now 13-for-23 with three doubles, two home runs, 13 RBIs and nine runs scored in the Cardinals' last six games. … Schlemmer has had three hits in four of the team's last six games. … Saint Mary's uncorked three home runs vs. Luther Wednesday, giving the Cardinals eight home runs in their last four games. … Tyler Lursen (Maple Grove, Minn.) drove in a career-high five runs in the Cardinals' 9-6 Game 2 win over Saint John's last Saturday. … The Cardinals' 20 runs in their 20-2 victory over Hamline on April 1 were the most since 1995, when Saint Mary's beat Graceland 23-3 … Eleven different players had at least one RBI in Saint Mary's 20-2 win over the Pipers last Wednesday. … As a team, the Cardinals are hitting .340 and boast four regulars—Ben Buerkle (Roseville, Minn. / .438), Lursen (.431), Schlemmer (.405), Willie Doll (Amherst, Wis. / .400), and Steph Scatassa (Westchester, Ill. / .400)—who are hitting above .400. … Along with his team-best batting average, Buerkle also leads the team in runs (32), hits (35), triples (2), home runs (4), total bases (59), slugging percentage (.738), and on-base percentage (.500). … Schlemmer owns a team-best eight doubles and 32 RBIs. … Doll, who has induced a team-best 11 walks, has stolen a team-leading 12 bases, one more than Buerkle. … Buerkle, who had his season-opening 15-game hitting streak snapped in Game 1 vs. St. Thomas on March 30, has had at least one hit in 21 of the team's 23 games this season. … Buerkle has reached base safely in 22 of the Cardinals' 23 games this season and 61 times in 63 games as a Cardinal. … In his first two seasons, Buerkle has now put together season-opening hitting streaks of 20 and 15 games, respectively, and has had at least one hit in 58 of the 63 games he's played in a Cardinal uniform. … With their three round-trippers against Luther Wednesday, Saint Mary's has belted 16 home runs this season, led by Buerkle with four and Schlemmer with three. Lursen, Drew Denning (St. Paul, Minn.), and Kevin Miley (St. Paul, Minn.) have all launched two HRs, while Doll, Jake Barry (Tinley Park, Ill.) and Cale Pieczynski (Plover, Wis.) hit Saint Mary's other three round-trippers. The home runs by Denning, Jake Barry and Pieczynski were collegiate firsts. … Buerkle and Doll have each put together a team-high 12 multiple-hit games, while Schlemmer leads the team in multiple-RBI games with nine each. … Scatassa tossed his second straight four-hit, complete game in the Cardinals' 7-2 win over Saint John's last Saturday. … Scatassa tossed his first collegiate shutout with a complete-game four-hitter against nationally ranked St. Thomas on March 30, before notching complete game No. 2 of the season—and No. 4 of his career—with another four-hit gem in a 7-2 Game 1 win over Saint John's last Saturday. … Scatassa boasts a perfect 4-0 record with a team-best 2.53 ERA in 32.0 IP. … Jacob Dawson (Oakdale, Minn.) notched his team-leading fifth win of the season with a Game 2 win vs. Saint John's last Saturday. … Dawson (5-1, 2.86 ERA) has logged a team-best 34.2 IP in six starts. … Scatassa owns a team-high 28 strikeouts, three more than Dawson. … Dawson had his season-opening 17-inning scoreless streak snapped in the second inning against Aurora on March 21. … Dawson hurled his first collegiate complete game in a three-hit, seven-strikeout 1-0 shutout of Loras on March 5. … Ryan Fejt (Westchester, Ill.) and Nathan Mathwig (Woodbury, Minn.) both picked up their first collegiate pitching wins for the Cardinals during their 10-game spring trip. Feit did not allow a run, scattering two hits and striking out two in three innings to earn the win vs. Lyndon State on March 3, while Mathwig got the win in relief against Concordia on March 2. … Fejt picked up his first collegiate save in Game 2 vs. Luther Wednesday, while Mathwig owns the Cardinals' other two saves. … The Cardinals have scored 179 runs this season—including seven games of 10 or more runs. … The Cardinals have outscored their first 23 opponents 179-101—including 35-4 in the first inning and 30-8 in the fifth. … Saint Mary's is 15-1 when holding its opponent to five runs or less. On the flip side, the Cardinals are also 15-1 when plating six or more runs. … The Cardinals are 17-0 when leading after the sixth inning. … The Cardinals' 3-0 win in Game 1 vs. St. Thomas on March 30 was their third shutout of the season—Saint Mary's also blanked Loras 1-0 on March 5 and Milwaukee School of Engineering 11-0 on March 1. … The Cardinals snapped three streaks with their 3-0 Game 1 win over St. Thomas on March 30. Saint Mary's ended a four-game losing streak vs. the Tommies—dating back to 4-2 win in the opening round of the 2013 MIAC Tournament. It was also the Cardinals' first regular-season victory over UST since a 5-4, Game 2 win on April 29, 2009—snapping a 10-game losing streak—while also ending the Tommies' 54-game home winning streak. … The Cardinals' 7-5 win over Wheaton on March 20 was coach Nick Winecke's 100th collegiate coaching victory.
 
Scouting The Gustavus Gusties:
2015 Roster | 2015 Statistics | 2015 Schedule
The Gusties' losses to St. Thomas pushed their losing streak to five straight. … GAC's last four games have all been decided by two runs or less. … Gustavus has scored just 14 runs in their last five games, while the Gusties' opponents have plated 35 during that same span. … Dalton Mattson enters the Gusties' twinbill against Saint Mary's boasting a team-best .386 batting average. Mattson is one of three GAC players hitting above .300—Garrett Fuchs (.365) and Josh Chatfield (.353) are the others. … Chatfield owns a team-high 24 hits, one more than Fuchs and two in front of Mattson. … Chatfield also leads the team in doubles (6), triples (2), total bases (34), and slugging percentage (.500).  Fuchs has driven in a team-leading 13 runs, with Mattson second with 10. … Fuchs and Mattson have each induced a team-leading eight walks. … Gustavus has stolen 17 bases this season, led by Fuchs, who is a perfect 8-for-8. … The Gusties boast five pitchers who have logged 10 or more innings this season, led by Grant Soderberg (26.0) and Christopher Kelly (20.2). … Soderberg (1-2, 1.04 ERA)  and Michael Strelow (2-2, 3.38 ERA) have made a team-high four starts, while Kelly leads the team with seven appearances and two of GAC's three saves. … Soderberg has tossed three complete games in his four starts—with one shutout. … Strelow owns team-high 23 strikeouts and opponents are hitting just .159 off him. … The Gusties are winless (0-8) when held to two runs or less, while going 4-1 when limiting their opponents to under three runs. … GAC is unbeaten (6-0) when leading after six innings. … Gustavus' 10-inning loss to St. Thomas on Wednesday was its second extra-inning game of the season—the Gusties also dropped a 1-0, eight-inning decision to Mount Marty on March 7. … Gustavus has scored 10 or more runs twice this season, including a season-high 19-run effort in a 19-10 win over Oberlin on March 22.