CAROL STREAM, Ill. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota baseball team is back in action this weekend, squaring off against Aurora and Wheaton (Ill.) on Friday, before taking on Cornell (Iowa) on Saturday. All three nonconference games are nine-inning affairs hosted by Wheaton.
 
The Matchups:
Friday, March 18, 2016 * Wheaton, Ill.
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (9-3 Overall) vs. Aurora Spartans (5-6 Overall), 2 p.m.
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (9-3 Overall) vs. Wheaton (Ill.) Thunder (6-4 Overall), 5 p.m.
Saturday, March 19, 2016 * Wheaton, Ill.
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (9-3 Overall) vs. Cornell (Iowa) Rams (3-3 Overall), 11 a.m.
 
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Last Action:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals split their nonconference doubleheader against St. Scholastica last Saturday, beating the Saints 3-1 in the opener, before falling 8-3 in the nightcap at Max Molock Field | Recap
• Aurora: The Spartans closed out their spring trip to Tucson, Ariz., last Saturday, falling to Augsburg 12-9 in a nine-inning nonconference game | Recap
• Wheaton: The Thunder concluded its spring trip to Tucson, Ariz., last Saturday, beating Bethany Lutheran 13-7 in a nine-inning nonconference contest | Recap
• Cornell: The Rams ended their spring trip with a loss on March 10, falling to Central (Iowa) 7-2 in Auburndale, Fla. | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Aurora—Their Last Meeting:
• March 21, 2015 * Carol Stream, Ill.: Aurora put an end to Jacob Dawson's (Oakdale, Minn.) season-opening 17-inning scoreless string, plating a solo run in the bottom of the second inning of the teams' nine-inning nonconference game. That run, however, did nothing but anger the Cardinal right-hander, who proceeded to blank Aurora over the next six innings in leading Saint Mary's to a 7-2 victory—and a 2-1 showing at the two-day Wheaton Tournament | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Wheaton—Their Last Meeting:
• March 20, 2015 * Carol Stream, Ill.: The Cardinals spotted host Wheaton a 4-1 lead through seven innings of their nine-inning nonconference contest, then scored six runs over the game's final two innings—plating four runs in the eighth and two more in the ninth—in handing the host Thunder a 7-5 setback at Pfund Stadium | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Cornell—Their Last Meeting:
• April 10, 2014 * Winona, Minn.: The Rams scored five runs in the second inning of the first game of their nonconference doubleheader against Saint Mary's at Max Molock Field—and came away with a 6-4 victory. And in Game 2, it was a three-run second, two-run fourth and four-run sixth that propelled Cornell to an 11-3 win and sweep of the nonconference twinbill | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: Following this weekend's games at Wheaton, the Cardinals are back on the field on Thursday, heading to Copeland Park in La Crosse, Wis., for a 1 p.m. nonconference doubleheader against UW-La Crosse. First pitch is slated for 1 p.m.
• Aurora: The Spartans, who also play Wheaton and Cornell this weekend, return home to Chicago, Ill., next weekend for nonconference games against North Park and Cornell on Friday, and North Park again on Saturday.
• Wheaton: The Thunder return to their home Pfund Stadium Field next weekend, hosting Concordia on Friday, and Edgewood and Carroll on Saturday.
• Cornell: Following this weekend's contests, the Rams head to Chicago, Ill., next Friday and Saturday for nonconference game against Aurora on Friday and a pair of nonconference contests against Dominican on Saturday.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2016 Roster | 2015 Statistics | 2016 Schedule
•  This weekend's games are the first of six straight road contests for the Cardinals, who do not play again at Max Molock Field until April 2, hosting St. Thomas in a 1 p.m. Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference doubleheader. … Saint Mary's March 12 twinbill against St. Scholastica marked the earliest outdoor games played at Max Molock Field in more than 20 years. … Saint Mary's—which won Game 1 in 11 of its 16 doubleheaders last season—has won the first game in both of its DHs this season, beating Mount Union 6-3 and St. Scholastica 3-1. … After dropping its season-opener to Augustana, the Cardinals put together an eight-game winning streak—their longest since winning nine in a row in April, 2001. … Jake Barry (Tinsley Park, Ill.) drove in three of the teams' six runs against St. Scholastica last Saturday—delivering a two-run, sixth-inning single in the Cardinals' 3-1 Game 1 win, then adding a solo home run in the second inning of the nightcap. … Bob Kinne (St. Paul, Minn.) and Ben Buerkle (Roseville, Minn.) both enter this weekend hitting over .400—Kinne is at .410 (16-for-39) and Buerkle is close behind at .405 (15-for-37). … Kinne's 16 hits are a team high, one more than Buerkle, Joe Seegers (Oconomowoc, Wis.) and Will Doll (Amherst, Wis.). … Kinne and Buerkle also share the team lead in doubles with five each, while Kinne's 12 RBIs are tops among the Cardinals. … Saint Mary's boasts four players—Kinne (13), Buerkle (12), Seegers (10), and Doll (10)—who have scored 10 or more runs through the first 12 games. … Barry's second-inning home run vs. St. Scholastica last Saturday was his team-leading second of the season. … Kinne has accounted for the Cardinals' other round-tripper this season, belting his first collegiate HR vs. Concordia on Feb. 23. … Doll—who closed out the season with a team- and conference-leading 21 stolen bases a year ago, has stolen nine bases through 12 games this season, giving him a school-record 67 for his four-year career. … Buerkle has had a hit in 10 of the Cardinals' 12 games this season—including a season-high eight-game hitting streak—and has reached base safely in all 12 games. … Buerkle, who had a hit in 34 of 36 games last season, has now collected at least one hit in 81 of the 88 games he's played in, and has been held off the base paths just twice in those 88 career games. … Seegers and Doll share the team lead with five multiple-hit games, while Kinne has recorded team-best three multiple-RBI contests. … Kinne drove in a career-high five runs in the Cardinals' win over Concordia on Feb. 23. … Steph Scatassa (Westchester, Ill.) picked up his first pitching win of the season vs. St. Scholastica last Saturday, allowing just one run on four hits in six innings. … The Cardinal pitching staff heads into this weekend's action with a 4.55 ERA. … Saint Mary's has four pitchers—Scatassa (15.2 IP), Ben Johnson (Brooklyn Park, Minn. / 15.1 IP), Austin Jacobs ( / 13.1 IP), and Jacob Dawson (Oakdale, Minn. / 12.2 IP)—log 10 or more innings this season. … Nathan Mathwig (Woodbury, Minn.) picked up his team-leading second save against St. Scholastica last Saturday. … Mathwig is 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA in four appearances. … Scatassa and Johnson are the staff's strikeout leaders with 17 and 13, respectively. … Johnson's seven-hit, seven-strikeout performance against Houghton on Feb. 27 was his first complete game of the season and fifth of his collegiate career. … The Cardinals, who scored a school-record 274 runs in 2015, have plated 79 runs in 12 contests this season—including three games of 10 or more runs. … The Cardinals have outscored their opponents 79-59—including 11-5 in the first inning, 13-6 in the second, and 20-9 in the fifth. … Saint Mary's 7-0 when scoring the game's first run. … Saint Mary's is unbeaten (8-0) when leading after the sixth inning. … 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' 7-5 win over Wheaton on March 20, 2015 was coach Winecke's 100^th collegiate coaching victory.
 
Scouting The Aurora Spartans:
2016 Roster | 2016 Schedule | 2016 Statistics
• The Spartans' 12-4 Game 1 win over Bethany Lutheran last Friday snapped their season-high three-game losing streak. … Four of Aurora's five wins have come in a pair of doubleheader sweeps—the Spartans won both games against Simpson (7-2, 5-3) and Bethany Lutheran (12-4, 5-2). … Aurora has surrendered 10 or more runs in five of its six losses this season—including a season-high 17 in a 17-12 loss to MacMurray on Feb. 27. … The Spartans have scored 10 or more runs four times—and have lost three of those four contests. … Aurora, which is hitting .328 as a team through 11 games, boasts two players—Nick Turner (.467) and Nicholas Mathey (.406)—who own batting averages above .400. … Turner also leads the team in hits (21), doubles (6), total bases (27), slugging percentage (.600), and on-base percentage (.519). … Jeffrey Mayes has scored a team-leading 14 runs and has accounted for all three of the Spartans' triples this season. … Mayes and Turner share the team lead with six multiple-hit games, while Adam Lipscomb and Dillon Popovich have collected a team-high four multiple-RBI games. … Turner has collected a hit in 10 of the team's 11 games—including a season-high nine-game hitting streak. … Turner and Lipscomb have both reached base safely in all 11 Spartan games this season. … Mike Cherven, Harry Vickers, and Popovich have hit the Spartans' three home runs. … Aurora has stolen just six bases this year, led by Vickers with two in three attempts. … Kyle Manske has been the ace of the Spartans' pitching staff, compiling a team-leading 2.33 ERA and 3-0 record. … Manske has amassed a team-high 19.1 IP, owns the staff's lone complete game and has fanned a team-best 13 batters. … Elias McMahon (1-0, 5.00 ERA) and Aron Okamoto (9.26 ERA, 1-0) own the Spartan's' other two pitching wins. … Jeff Woods (4.50 ERA, 0-1) has made a team-leading six appearances on the mound and owns Aurora's lone save.
 
Scouting The Wheaton Thunder:
2016 Roster | 2016 Schedule | 2016 Statistics
• The Thunder head into this weekend's games having won two straight and five of their last seven. … After playing 11 straight road games, Wheaton plays its next 10 contests at Pfund Stadium. The Thunder do not having another road game until April 5, when they head to Kenosha, Wis., for a pair of CCIW games against Carthage. … Wheaton recorded season highs with 13 runs and 18 hits in its spring trip-ending 13-7 win over Bethany Lutheran last Saturday. … John Metz reached base safely in all six plate appearances against Bethany Lutheran last Saturday, going 4-for-4 with three RBIs and a pair of runs scored. … As a team, the Thunder are hitting .318 and boast a pair of players—Ben Brittain (.436) and Andrew Laucella (.400)—who are hitting above .400. … Along with his team-best .436 batting average, Brittain also leads the team in at-bats (39), runs (11), hits (17), total bases (23), walks (7), and on-base percentage (.522). … Laucella owns the team lead in doubles (6) and triples (2) en route to a team-leading .733 slugging percentage. … The Thunder's five home runs have come from five different players—Seth Meyer, Clay Morrison, Evan Ogden, Metz, and Sam Lyons. … Wheaton has outscored its opponents 7674, including 14-5 in the fifth inning and 16-2 in the sixth. … Michael Kaufman (1-0, 3.18 ERA) and Daniel Bayer (0-1, 5.34 ERA) have logged a team-leading 17.0 and 13.0 innings, respectively. … Nick Johnson (2-1, 3.52 ERA) leads the Thunder pitching staff in appearances (4), wins (2), and strikeouts (13). … Wheaton is 3-0 when holding its opponents to five runs or less. … The Thunder have scored six or more runs in five of their 10 games this season, including 10 or more runs three times. … Wheaton is 6-0 when leading after the sixth inning.
 
Scouting The Cornell Rams:
2016 Roster | 2016 Schedule | 2016 Statistics
• The Rams have not lost back-to-back games this season, while winning two in a row with victories over Waynesburg (18-5) and Clark (12-3). … Cornell has scored 32 runs in its three wins, while managing just seven in its three losses. … Cornell heads into the weekend hitting .264 as a team, led by John Tesensky (.368). … Tesensky and Wyatt Kurzejeski share the team lead in hits with seven each, while Tesensky also leads the Rams in doubles (3) and total bases (10). … Two of D.J. Irwin's three hits this season have been doubles. … Cornell has hit three home runs this season, with Walker Breard launching two of them. … Breard has also driving in a team-best six runs. … Cornell has gone 6-for-8 in stolen base attempts this season, with Chuck Rocker leading the team with two steals. … Cornell has 10 players who have recorded a multiple-hit game this season, while eight Rams have notched a multiple-RBI performance. … Rocker and Tesensky enter this weekend's games riding four-game hitting streaks. … The Rams' pitching staff boasts a 3.61 ERA through six games and is led by Eric Daubach, who has thrown a team-high 11.0 innings. … Tyler Riggs (0-1, 1.80 ERA) has made a team-high four appearances, one more than Jared Henry (0-0, 0.00 ERA). … Andy Dodson (1-0, 2.35 ERA), Tyrus Hartman (1-0, 3.60 ERA), and Kevin Stahmer (1-0, 6.23 ERA) have accounted for the Rams' three pitching wins. … Daubach is the team's strikeout leader with eight, one more than Hartman. … Cornell has outscored its opponents 39-26, including 11-2 in the second and 8-2 in the seventh. … The Rams have been held to five runs or less in four of their first six games.