WINTER HAVEN, Fla. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota baseball team kicks off its 2016 season with 10 nonconference games as part of their nine-day spring trip.
 
The Matchups:
February 21, 2016 | Chain of Lakes Main Field * Winter Haven, Fla. | 11 a.m. (EST)
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (2015: 24-12 Overall) vs. Augustana (Ill.) Vikings (2015: 26-14 Overall)
February 22, 2016 | Chain of Lakes Stadium Field * Winter Haven, Fla. | 10:30 a.m. (EST)
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (2015: 24-12 Overall) vs. Augustana (Ill.) Vikings (2015: 26-14 Overall)
February 23, 2016 | Lake Myrtle Field #1 * Winter Haven, Fla. | 2:30 p.m. (EST)
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (2015: 24-12 Overall) vs. Concordia Cobbers (2015: 26-11 Overall)
February 24, 2016 | Lake Myrtle Field #1 * Winter Haven, Fla. | 11 a.m. (EST)
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (2015: 24-12 Overall) vs. Houghton Highlanders (2015: 18-22 Overall)
February 25, 2016 | Lake Myrtle Main Field * Winter Haven, Fla. | 10:30 a.m. (EST)
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (2015: 24-12 Overall) vs. Elmira Soaring Eagles (2015: 8-30 Overall)
February 27, 2016 | Chain of Lakes Stadium Field * Winter Haven, Fla. | 10 a.m. (EST)
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (2015: 24-12 Overall) vs. Houghton Highlanders (2015: 18-22 Overall)
February 28, 2016 | Chain of Lakes Field #4 * Winter Haven, Fla. | 10:30 a.m. (EST)
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (2015: 24-12 Overall) vs. Capital Crusaders (2015: 11-23 Overall)
February 28, 2016 | Chain of Lakes Field #4 * Winter Haven, Fla. | 2 p.m. (EST)
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (2015: 24-12 Overall) vs. Franklin Grizzlies (2015: 17-23 Overall)
February 29, 2016 | Lake Myrtle Field #6 * Winter Haven, Fla. | 11:45 a.m. (EST)
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (2015: 24-12 Overall) vs. Mount Union Raiders (2015: 22-14 Overall)
 
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Last Action:
• This week's games in Winter Haven, Fla., are the 2016 season-openers for the Cardinals and all of their opponents.
 
Saint Mary's vs. Spring Trip Opponents—Their Last Meeting:
• vs. Concordia | April 28, 2015 * Moorhead, Minn.: The Cardinals struck first—and last—in the opener, scoring a single run in the top of the second, and twice more in the top of the seventh. Problem was, what came in between those two innings were seven Cobber runs—fueled by a four-run fourth inning—as Concordia earned the Game 1 victory, 7-3. And it was more of the same in Game 2, as the Cardinals' Ben Buerkle (Roseville, Minn.) blasted a first-inning home run, his second of the day, only to have Concordia answer with three runs in the bottom of the first—and outscore Saint Mary's 11-8 over the game's final eight innings to complete the sweep with a 14-9 Game 2 victory | Recap
• vs. Mount Union | March 13, 2004 * Port Charlotte, Fla.: In their first trip to the plate against Mount Union, the Cardinals put together three straight singles to load the bases with nobody out — and failed to score even one run. In the bottom of the first, Mount Union put runners on second and third with one out—and promptly got an RBI single, sending the Purple Raiders on their way to a 10-6 nonconference win over Saint Mary's | Recap
• The Cardinals' games against Augustana (Ill.), Houghton, Elmira, Capital, and Franklin will be the first meetings in program history.
 
Cardinals' Up Next:
• The Cardinals are scheduled to return to action, weather permitting, on March 18-19, squaring off against Aurora, Wheaton (Ill.), and Cornell (Iowa) in Wheaton, Ill.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2016 Roster | 2015 Final Statistics | 2016 Schedule
•  The Cardinals closed out 2015 boasting a 24-12 overall record—the most wins in a season since the Cardinals went 24-11 in 1995. … The Cardinals have now won 20 or more games twice under coach Nick Winecke—Saint Mary's finished 22-20 in 2012. … The Cardinals scored 10 or more runs in each of their last four wins—17-3 and 13-3 wins over Carleton, a 10-9 victory over NCAA Division II Winona State, and a 16-3 victory over Macalester. … 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. … Saint Mary's won Game 1 in 11 of its 16 doubleheaders last season. … The Cardinals put together two, five-game winning streaks and a four-game win streak a year ago. … As a team, the Cardinals hit .335 and boasted two regulars—Ben Buerkle (Roseville, Minn. / .462) and Tyler Lursen (Maple Grove, Minn. / .406)—who finished the season hitting above .400. … Buerkle—an ABCA/Rawlings and D3baseball.com All-American—led the team in runs (46), hits (61), doubles (11), triples (4), home runs (7), total bases (101), RBIs (47), slugging percentage (.765), and on-base percentage (.517). … Buerkle's 46 runs and 47 RBIs were single-season school records. … Willie Doll (Amherst, Wis.) closed out the season with a team- and conference-leading 21 stolen bases, three more than Buerkle. … Doll's 21 stolen bases ranked second all-time—two back of his school-record 23 steals set in 2014, while his 58 career stolen bases are the most in program history. … Buerkle had at least one hit in 34 of the team's 36 games last season, while reaching base safely in 35 of the Cardinals' 36 contests. … Buerkle has been held off the base paths just twice in his 76 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 71 of the 76 collegiate games he's played in. … The Cardinals belted 12 home runs in their last five games—and 23 over their final 17 contests. … Saint Mary's finished the season with a school-record 32 home runs. … Buerkle hit a home run in both games against Concordia on April 28—in his last at-bat in Game 1 and his first at-bat in Game 2—and hit a home run in three of the team's last five games. … Kevin Miley (St. Paul, Minn.) and Jake Barry (Tinley Park, Ill.) hit grand slam home runs last season. … 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 Schlemmer did it—twice—during the 2012 season. … Barry, Drew Denning (St. Paul, Minn.) and Cale Pieczynski (Plover, Wis.) all hit their first collegiate round-trippers a year ago. … Jake Barry finished the second game of the Cardinals' sweep of Macalester 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. … Buerkle put together a team-high 20 multiple-hit games, three more than Doll, while also owning a team-best 14 multiple-RBI games. … On the mound, Steph Scatassa (Westchester, Ill.) finished with a team-best 4.31 ERA in 11 appearances—including nine starts. … Scatassa, who collected his first collegiate save in Saint Mary's 7-5 Game 1 win over Macalester on April 18, threw a pair of complete-game four-hitters last 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 owned a team-high 44 strikeouts, one more than Jacob Dawson (Oakdale, Minn.). … Dawson (7-1, 4.50 ERA) owned a team-leading seven wins, while Ben Johnson (Brooklyn Park, Minn.) was 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 made a team-high 14 appearances—picked up his first collegiate save in Game 2 vs. Luther on April 8, while Nathan Mathwig (Woodbury, Minn.) finished with a team-leading two saves in his first season as a Cardinal. … 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 last 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 scored a school-record 274 runs in 2015—including 11 games of 10 or more runs. … The Cardinals outscored their opponents 274-185—including 52-14 in the first inning and 35-13 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 finished 20-3 when holding its opponent to five runs or less. On the flip side, the Cardinals were 20-2 when plating six or more runs—including a perfect 11-0 recording when scoring 10 or more. … The Cardinals were 23-1 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 100^th collegiate coaching victory.
 
Scouting The Augustana Vikings:
2016 Roster | 2015 Final Statistics | 2016 Schedule
• Augustana kicks off 2016 on the heels of a 26-14 season a year ago. … The Vikings' 26 wins marked the 16^th time in the last 17 years they have recorded 25 or more wins in a season. … Brandon Jasper , one of six Vikings to play at least 39 of the team's 40 games, closed out 2015 as the team's offensive leader, hitting .420, while also leading the team in runs (49), hits (68), total bases (83), slugging percentage (.512), walks (22), and on-base percentage (.495). … Jasper was one of 10 players to hit .300 or better for the Vikings, who hit .341 as a team in 2015. … Nathan Gray belted a team-best 15 doubles. … Augustana hit nine home runs last season, led by Danny Fifer and John Swiderski with two each. … Swiderski also delivered a team-leading 42 RBIs last season, one more than Fifer. … Fifer closed out his career as Augustana's all-time leader with a .414 career batting average. … Jasper led the Vikings with 24 multiple-hit games, while Swiderski posted a team-best 15 multiple-RBI games. … Jasper put together a season-high 16-game hitting streak, and closed out the 2015 season hitting safely in the Vikings' last 14 contests. … The Vikings' pitching staff—which boasted a 3.72 ERA a year ago—will be without the services of graduated ace Seth Davis, Augustana's record holder for innings pitched (275) and strikeouts (331) and a 29th-round draft pick by the New York Mets. …Davis led Vikings and was 11th in the nation with 92 strikeouts, while finishing in the nation in strikeouts per nine innings (12.61). … Walter White recorded a team-high six wins, going 6-2 with a 2.81 ERA in a team-leading 67.1 IP. … Kyle McGinley (5-3, 4.00 ERA) made a team-high 11 starts in 2015, while Coooper SantAmour (0-2, 4-46 ERA) appeared in a team-leading 20 games and owned three of the team's seven saves. … As a team, Augustana scored 10 or more runs 11 times, including a season-high 18 runs against Illinois Wesleyan on April 20. … Augustana outscored its opponents 297-175—including 34-17 in the first inning and 37-12 in the fourth. … The Vikings, who were 13-3 when scoring in the first inning, boasted a 25-2 record when leading after the sixth inning. … The Vikings were a perfect 11-0 when holding their opponent to two runs or less.
 
Scouting The Concordia Cobbers:
2016 Roster | 2015 Final Statistics | 2016 Schedule
• The Cobbers enter spring-trip action coming off a 26-11 season a year ago—including a berth in the 2015 MIAC Playoffs. CC went 1-2 in the double-elimination tournament, beating Saint John's 9-8, before falling to St. Thomas 12-6 and the Johnnies 9-5. … Concordia's 26 wins a year ago were the most since the Cobbers went 30-8 during the 1995 season. … Eric Carlson hit a team-best .444 and was one of four players to hit .400 or better. … Nick Bornhauser drove in three runs in CC's playoff loss to St. Thomas and finished the year with a school-record 47 RBIs—surpassing the old mark of 44 set in 2003. … Bornhauser also set the single-season record for doubles with 19. …  Aaron Green hit a grand slam in his final at-bat of the 2015 season to push his total base mark to 100—breaking the school record of 99, set in 1994. … Bornhauser led the team with 44 runs, while Devin Johnson had a team-high 56 hits. … Green, who finished second to Bornhauser in RBIs with 46, belted a team-best 10 home runs. … Bornhauser owned a eye-popping .880 slugging percentage and owns a team-high 19 walks. … Green finished 2015 with 19 multiple-hit games, one more than Devin Johnson, while Bornhauser collected 13 multiple-RBI games. … Green put together the team's longest hitting streak14 games, and closed out the year with a hit in each of the Cobbers' last 11 contests. … Concordia boasted four pitchers who logged 40 or more innings a year ago, led by Ross Merriman with 52.1. … Merriman also owned a team-high six pitching wins, one more than Bill Jacobson (5-1, 3.12 ERA) and Kyle Connelly (5-2, 5.48 ERA). … Bryce Feia (1-1, 2.62) made a team-high 19 appearances. … Feia, an ABCA and D3baseball.com all-region selection a year ago, set the school record for saves with 10 during his senior season in 2015. … Feia closed out his Cobber career with 23 saves and a career 2.49 ERA. … Concordia hurlers closed out the year with a 5.10 ERA and 170 strikeouts. … Concordia, which scored a season-high 23 runs against UM-Morris on April 6, outscored its opponents 325-189. … CC outscored its opponents 71-26 in the fourth inning and 47-14 in the seventh. … The Cobbers held their opponents to two runs of less 12 times in 2015—winning all 12 games. … Concordia was unbeaten (22-0) when leading after six innings.
 
Scouting The Houghton Highlanders:
2016 Roster | 2015 Final Statistics | 2016 Schedule
• The Highlanders come into 2016 on the heels of an 18-22 season a year ago that included a berth in the Empire 8 post-season tournament. … Michael Kerr hit a team-leading .378 a year ago. He was one of four Highlanders to hit better than .300—Michael Knapp (.349), Tage Johnson (.331), and Joseph Gilligan (.326) were the others. … Knapp boasted team-highs in at-bats (146), runs (37), hits (51), and RBIs (33). … Johnson delivered a team-best 11 doubles, one more than Kerr, while Kerr's four triples, 72 total bases, .567 slugging percentage, 13 walks, and .500 on-base percentage were all team-highs. … Knapp was the only player to start—or appear in—all 40 games last season. … The Highlanders hit six home runs in 2015, led by Kerr and Johnson with two each. … Johnson accounted for three of the team's four four-hit games a year ago. … Kerr and Knapp shared the team lead for multiple-hit games with 16 each, while Knapp also owned a team-best 10 multiple-RBI games. … Trenton Unverdorben reached base safely in a team-high 21 straight games. … Houghton had four pitchers who tossed 40 or more innings a year ago, led by workhorse Seth Cornell (5-6, 3.33 ERA), who logged 73.0 innings in his senior season. … Kyle Farmington (0-0, 4.24 ERA) and Chad Mulse (1-0, 3.00 ERA) each made a team-leading 16 appearances—all in relief—with Mulse recording all three of the Highlanders' saves. … Cornell was the team's wins leader with five, while also striking out a team-high 73 batters. … Houghton scored 10 or more runs eight times last season, including a season-high 20 runs in a 20-7 win over Elmira on March 14.
 
Scouting The Elmira Soaring Eagles:
2016 Roster | 2015 Final Statistics | 2016 Schedule
• Elmira is coming off an 8-30 season a year ago, but the Soaring Eagles closed out 2015 winning six of their final nine games. … Elmira played 23 of its 48 games on its home field—the Soaring Eagles were 6-17 at home 2-13 on the road a year ago. … Elmira boasted four players who hit over .300 a year ago, led by Conor Bawiec (.369) and Hayden Rothenberg (.340). … Rothenberg—the only player to start all 38 games—led the team in at-bats (141), runs (30), and hits (48). … Bellinger delivered a team-high nine doubles, while sharing the lead in triples (2) with Rothenberg. … Elmira belted five home runs last season, led by Bellinger with two. … Bellinger collected a team-high 22 RBIs, and his 60 total bases and .462 slugging percentage were also tops on the team. … Rothenberg accounted for 23 of the team's 44 stolen bases. Rothenberg was caught stealing just once in his 24 attempts. … Rothenberg recorded a team-best 14 multiple-hit games, with Jack Thistle and Bellinger sharing the team lead in multiple-RBI games with six each. … Elmira did not have a player post more than three hits in a game all season. … The Soaring Eagles had five pitchers throw more than 30 innings a year ago, led by Alexander Taullen (0-4, 5.80 ERA) and Joe Kidd (1-6, 7.86 ERA) with 49.2 and 44.2 innings pitched, respectively. … Nick Sampogna (1-2, 7.56 ERA) and Mike Ladka (1-2, 9.36 ERA) shared the team lead with 19 pitching appearances, while Dennis Rudolph (1-4, 6.17 ERA) hurled a team-best three complete games. … Kidd finished the year with a team-leading 24 strikeouts. … Elmira was outscored in every inning last season—including 52-17 in the second and 58-17 in the fourth. … Elmira was held to five runs or less in 28 of its 38 games last season—and were 1-27 in those 28 games. … The Soaring Eagles surrendered 10 or more runs 15 times last season. … Three of Elmira's six wins last season were by one run.
 
Scouting The Capital Crusaders:
2016 Roster | 2015 Final Statistics | 2016 Schedule
• The Crusaders head into their season-opening spring trip on the heels of an 13-24 season a year ago—a season that ended with Capital losing 13 of its last 15. … Capital hit .292 as a team last season, and boasted six players who hit .300 or better—led by Justin Ennis (.378), Logan Bastin (.375), and Brett Colburn (.364). … Bastin led the team in hits (51), doubles (11), RBIs (32), total bases (68), slugging percentage (.500), and on-base percentage (.447). … Jake Foley (.301) was the team-leader in at-bats (143) and runs (32), while collecting a team-high 15 multiple-hit games. … Capital hit five home runs in 2015, with Bastin accounting for two of them. … Bastin owned a team-best eight multiple-RBI games, while also putting together the Soaring Eagles' longest hitting streak at nine games. … Capital, which used 21 different pitchers a year ago, boasted five hurlers who logged 30 or more innings, led by Jacob Sheaf (3-5, 5.13 ERA) and Shane Wellman (2-3, 4.19 ERA) with 47.1 and 43.0 innings pitched, respectively. … Brendon Borkey (0-1, 3.00) made a team-leading 14 appearances a year ago—13 in relief. … Wellman recorded a team-best 34 strikeouts, two more than Borkey and four in front of Sheaf. … The Soaring Eagles were held to five runs or less in 23 of their 37 games. … Capital was 0-13 when scoring fewer than three runs, and 10-0 when plating 10 or more. … The Soaring Eagles scored a season-high 18 runs in a season-opening, 18-6 win over Brandeis on Feb. 21. … Capital finished 7-7 when scoring the game's first run, while going 6-17 when their opponent scored first.
 
Scouting The Franklin Grizzlies:
2016 Roster | 2015 Final Statistics | 2016 Schedule
• Franklin is coming off 17-23 season in 2015, including a 10-17 mark in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC). … The Grizzlies were picked to finish fourth in the HCAC Preseason Coaches' Poll. … The Grizzlies boasted two players—Jameson Brock (.394) and Mitch Frey (.375)—who hit above .300 a year ago. … Brock also led the team in at-bats (170), hits (67), doubles (13), gtripls (2), homes runs (2), RBIs (27), slugging percentage (.394) and on-base percentage (.529). … Frey, who was second to Brock in virtually every offensive category, scored a team-leading 40 runs and owned a team-high 17 walks. … Brock and Frey were the only Grizzlies to play all 40 games last season. … As a team, the Grizzlies scored 10 or more runs five times—including a season-high 15 runs against Transylvania on April 17. … Franklin scored 13 runs in a game four times. … Nine of the 12 pitchers Franklin used last season logged 10 or more innings—including Christian Sullivan (4-4, 4.81) and Hayden Cleveland (3-5, 5.07 ERA), who led the team with 61.2 and 60.1 innings pitched, respectively. … The Grizzlies had five players—Sullivan, Cleveland, Justin Brown (2-2, 6.08 ERA), Lincoln Jones (0-2, 6.86 ERA), and Jacob McMain (1-3, 8.22 ERA)—who shared the team lead with 11 appearances. … Sullivan and Cleveland each tossed a team-best three complete games, while Jones accounted for two of the team's three saves. … The Franklin pitching staff recorded 241 strikeouts, led by Seth Powers (4-3, 4.30 ERA) with 54 and Cleveland with 53. … Franklin closed out 2015 with a 7-8 record on their home diamond—the Grizzlies were 5-11 away from home, and 5-4 in neutral-site games.
 
Scouting The Mount Union Purple Raiders:
2016 Roster | 2015 Final Statistics | 2016 Schedule
• The Raiders head into 2016 coming off a 22-14 season a year ago, including a sixth-place finish in the Ohio Athletic Conference with a 10-8 mark. … The Raiders return three All-OAC selections in James Weber (first team), Kyle Toma (second team), and Mitchell Lake (second team). … Mount Union had 11 players hit above .300 last season, led by Weber (.411), Tyler Simcox (.375) and Sean Mohney (.371). … Weber, an All-Midwest Region selection, also led the team in RBIs (31), on-base percentage (.449), and slugging percentage (.532). … Mohney closed out his senior season as the team-leader in at-bats (143), runs (36), hits (53), doubles (13), and home runs (2). … Mohney and Anthony Morino were the only Raiders to play all 36 games a year ago. … Mount Union stole 37 bases in 2015, led by Nick Piotrowski with nine. … Nine of Mount Union's 12 pitchers logged at least 20 innings a year ago. … Toma tossed a team-high 69.1 innings, compiling a 9-1 record and 2.86 ERA. … Toma also boasted a team-leading 31 strikeouts, three more than Wes Kemp (3-8, 6.95 ERA). … Scott Chase (2-3, 2.82 ERA) and Brandon Bell (0-1, 4.76 ERA) accounted for 11 of the team's 12 saves—Chase had six and Bell chipped in five. … Mount Union scored 10 or more runs in a game 10 times a year ago including two games of 20 or more runs—a 23-6 win over Wartburg on March 1, and a 20-6 victory vs. Muskingum on April 14. … The Raiders played just 12 of their 36 games on their home field, going 6-6. Mount Union finished 16-8 on the road—including 7-3 in its 10 neutral-site contests.