WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota baseball team closes out the home portion of its 2015 season Saturday—bidding farewell to its six graduating seniors in the process—as the Cardinals entertain Bethel in a 6 p.m. MIAC doubleheader at Winona State's Loughery Field.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (9-7 MIAC | 24-10 Overall) vs. Bethel Royals (13-3 MIAC | 27-6 Overall)
 
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Last Action:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals came up empty in its conference doubleheader against Concordia on Tuesday in Moorhead, Minn., as the Cobbers dealt Saint Mary's a 7-3 setback in Game 1, then completed the sweep with a 14-9 win in the nightcap | Recap
• Bethel: The Royals stepped out of conference play on Tuesday, cruising to a 5-0, 15-1 sweep of Marian in Fond du Lac, Wis. | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Bethel—A Year Ago:
• May 4, 2014: 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, as the Cardinals collected a 3-1 victory in Game 1 of the teams' MIAC doubleheader in Arden Hills, Minn. 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
• May 9, 2014: After earning a third straight MIAC Tournament berth—thanks in part to some late-inning heroic in a sweep of Bethel a week earlier—the Cardinals were in dire need of some more of those late-game heroics in their conference playoff opener, staring at a five-run, 11-6 deficit heading into their final two at-bats against second-seeded Bethel. Unlike those regular-season victories, however, Saint Mary's late-game rally came up three runs short, as the Cardinals—leaving the tying run at the plate — fell to Bethel 11-8 | Recap
• May 10, 2014: After disposing of Saint John's 4-2 in a win-or-go-home showdown earlier in the day, the Cardinals got another shot at No. 2 seed Bethel in the second day of the MIAC Tournament. Unfortunately, the rematch ended in much the same way, as Bethel scored six unanswered runs—erasing an early, 2-0 first-inning Saint Mary's lead, and handing the Cardinals a season-ending 7-4 setback | Recap
 
MIAC Playoff Chase:
• The Cardinals head into Saturday's matchup with the Royals sitting in fifth place, one game behind Concordia and St. Thomas in the battle for one of the four MIAC Playoff berths. At least split against the Royals—and some outside help—will earn Saint Mary's its fourth straight post-season appearance. Bethel, meanwhile, has already locked up the No. 1 seed for the upcoming four-team conference tournament, and can win the regular-season title outright with one win against the Cardinals.
• If the Cardinals sweep Bethel: With two wins over the Royals, Saint Mary's would also need St. Thomas to split or be swept in its DH against Augsburg on Sunday; or Concordia (vs. Carleton) or Saint John's (vs. Gustavus) must lose twice on Saturday.
• If the Cardinals split vs. Bethel: With a 1-1 showing vs. the Royals, the Cardinals' lone hope of making post-season play would be if  St. Thomas is swept by Augsburg on Sunday.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2015 Roster | 2015 Statistics | 2015 Schedule
The Cardinals head into their MIAC regular-season finale against Bethel boasting a 24-10 overall record—it's the most wins in a season since the Cardinals went 24-11 in 1995. The last time Saint Mary's won more than 24 games in a season was in 1993, when the Cardinals finished 26-7 and placed second in the NCAA Midwest Regional. … The Cardinals have now won 20 or more games twice under coach Nick Winecke—Saint Mary's finished 22-20 in 2012. … With their 17- and 13-run outbursts vs. Carleton on April 25, the Cardinals have now scored 10 or more runs in each of their last four wins—having also beaten Winona State (10-9) and Macalester (16-3). … With their 10-9 win over Winona State on April 23, the Cardinals snapped a 13-game losing streak against their NCAA Division II cross-town rivals—dating back to a 3-2, 12-3 Saint Mary's sweep during the 1992 season. … The Cardinals enter their final MIAC doubleheader of the regular-season against Bethel having won 14 of their last 21 games. … The Cardinals' 7-3 and 14-9 losses to Concordia on Tuesday marked just the second time this season Saint Mary's has dropped back-to-back games. … Saint Mary's has won Game 1 in 11 of its 15 doubleheaders this season. … The Cardinals own two, five-game winning streaks and a four-gamer this season. … Saint Mary's belted five home runs in its doubleheader against Concordia on Tuesday, giving the Cardinals 11 home runs in their last five games—and 22 in their last 15 contests. … Ben Buerkle (Roseville, Minn.) hit a home run in both games against Concordia Tuesday—in his last at-bat in Game 1 and his first at-bat in Game 2—and has now hit a home run in three straight games. … Kevin Miley (St. Paul, Minn.), Tyler Lursen (Maple Grove, Minn.), and Willie Doll (Amherst, Wis.) accounted for Saint Mary's other three round-trippers against the Cobbers. … Miley launched the Cardinals' second grand slam of the season in the first inning of the opener against Carleton on April 25—Jake Barry (Tinley Park, Ill.) delivered the Cardinals' first grand slam of the season in their six-run ninth inning against Macalester on April 18. … Jake Barry's grand slam was the Cardinals' first since Jon Schlemmer (De Pere, Wis.) hit one vs. Viterbo on April 5, 2012. … Miley hit a pair of home runs against Winona State on April 23, becoming the first Cardinal to hit two home runs in a game since Jon Schlemmer (De Pere, Wis.) did it—twice—during the 2012 season. … Jake Barry finished the second game of the Cardinals' sweep of Macalester on April on April 18 with seven RBIs—marking the second time this season Saint Mary's has had a player drive in seven runs in a game. Schlemmer achieved the feat against Hamline on April 1. … Buerkle hit for a doubleheader cycle vs. Carleton on April 25—recording two singles, a double, a triple and a home run, not to mention nine RBIs. … As a team, the Cardinals are hitting .340 and boast two regulars—Buerkle (.456) and Lursen (.426)—who are hitting above .400. … Buerkle leads the team in runs (46), hits (57), doubles (10), triples (4), home runs (7), total bases (96), RBIs (45), slugging percentage (.768), and on-base percentage (.510). … Buerkle's 46 runs and 45 RBIs are single-season school records. … Doll enters the Cardinals' DH vs. Bethel with a team- and conference-leading 21 stolen bases, three more than Buerkle. … Doll's 21 stolen bases this season rank second all-time—two back of his school-record 23 set a year ago, while his 58 career stolen bases are the most in program history. … Buerkle—who went 5-for-8 with four runs scored against Concordia Tuesday—has had at least one hit in 32 of the team's 34 games this season. … Buerkle has reached base safely in 33 of the Cardinals' 34 games this season and 72 times in 74 career games. … In his first two seasons, Buerkle has put together season-opening hitting streaks of 20 and 15 games, respectively, and has had at least one hit in 69 of the 74 games he's played in a Cardinal uniform. … Saint Mary's has belted 31 home runs this season—with Jake Barry, Drew Denning (St. Paul, Minn.) and Cale Pieczynski (Plover, Wis.) all hitting their first collegiate round-trippers. … Buerkle has now put together a team-high 19 multiple-hit games, two more than Doll. … Buerkle also owns a team-best 13 multiple-RBI games. … Steph Scatassa (Westchester, Ill.) enters the Cardinals' showdown vs. Bethel with a team-best 3.86 ERA in 10 appearances—including eight starts. … Scatassa, who collected his first collegiate save in Saint Mary's 7-5 Game 1 win over Macalester on April 18, has thrown a pair of complete-game four-hitters this season—beating Saint John's 7-2 on April 4 and St. Thomas 3-0 on March 30. … The 3-0 win over St. Thomas was Scatassa's first collegiate shutout. … Scatassa owns a team-high 39 strikeouts. … Jacob Dawson (Oakdale, Minn.) owns a team-leading seven wins, while Ben Johnson (Brooklyn Park, Minn.) is second with five. … Johnson recorded his first collegiate shutout—and third collegiate complete game—with a six-hit gem against Gustavus on April 11. … 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.)—who has made a team-high 13 appearances—picked up his first collegiate save in Game 2 vs. Luther on April 8, while Nathan Mathwig (Woodbury, Minn.) owns two of the team's other three saves. … Saint Mary's scored a season-high 11 runs in the first inning of Game 1 against Carleton on April 25. It was the third time this season the Cardinals have scored 10 or more runs in an inning this season—they scored 10 runs in the bottom of the sixth inning en route to its 13-11 Game 2 win over Luther on April 8, and 10 first-inning runs in a 20-2 victory over Hamline on April 1. … The Cardinals have scored a school-record 264 runs this season—including 11 games of 10 or more runs. … The Cardinals have outscored their first 34 opponents 264-170—including 50-14 in the first inning and 34-11 in the fifth. … 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 on April 1. … Saint Mary's is 20-3 when holding its opponent to five runs or less. On the flip side, the Cardinals are 20-2 when plating six or more runs—including a perfect 11-0 recording when scoring 10 or more. … The Cardinals are 23-0 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 Bethel Royals:
2015 Roster | 2015 Statistics | 2015 Schedule
The Royals head into the final conference games of the season have already locked up their fourth straight MIAC Playoff appearance, not to mention the No. 1 seed in this year's conference tournament. … With their sweep of Marian, Bethel has now won eight of its last nine contests. …  The Royals' 5-0, 15-1 sweep of Marian on Tuesday was their fourth road sweep of the season. … BU's 5-0 Game 1 win vs. Marian was its sixth shutout this year. … The Royals enter the Saint Mary's DH hitting .318 as a team, and have five players who are hitting .300 or better—led by Jared Watts (.427) and Bryce Marquardt (.416). … Watts also leads the Royals in at-bats (117), hits (50), RBIs (28), total bases (77), slugging percentage (.658), and on-base percentage (.500). … Bret Neuville is the team leader in doubles with 10, while Marquardt has hit a team-high four triples and Mike Schultz owns a team-best six home runs. … Marquardt and Watts have each recorded a team-high 15 multiple-hit games, with Neuville owning the team lead in multiple-RBI games with 10. … Watts put together a season-high 16-game hitting streak earlier this year, while also reaching base safely in 26 straight contests. … Tyler Heitmann has been the ace of the Royals' pitching staff, posting a perfect 8-0 record and 2.09 ERA in eight starts. He has also struck out a team-leading 59 batters. … Joe Zorn (5-1, 3.00 ERA) has logged a team-high 57.0 IP, while Kelvin Minnig (3-0, 3.38 ERA) has made a team-high 12 appearances—all in relief—and leads the staff with four saves. … Bethel has scored 10 or more runs five times this season, including a season-high 16-run effort in a 16-2 win over Lasell on March 19. … The Royals are 8-3 on their home diamond, while going 8-0 on the road and 11-3 in neutral-site contests. … Bethel has not lost back-to-back games all season, and has put together a season-high seven-game winning streak, along with a pair of six-game runs.