WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota baseball team steps out of conference play on Friday, entertaining UW-Oshkosh in a nine-inning nonconference game at Max Molock Field. First pitch is slated for 4 p.m.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (15-11 Overall) vs. UW-Oshkosh Titans (8-9 overall), 4 p.m.
 
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Last Action:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals split a pair of one-run games in their Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference doubleheader against Hamline Tuesday at CHS Field in St. Paul, Minn. Saint Mary's opened with a 5-4 win in Game 1, but dropped the nightcap 7-6 in 10 innings | Recap
• UW-Oshkosh: Andy Brahier and Taylor Grimm both drove in four runs and Johnny Eagan collected four hits, as the Titans rolled to a 13-1, seven-inning victory over Ripon Wednesday in Ripon, Wis. | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. UW-Oshkosh—Their Last Meeting:
• March 25, 2012 * Minneapolis, Minn.: Saint Mary's and UW-Oshkosh were scheduled to play a pair of seven-inning nonconference games at the Metrodome. The teams played 14 innings all right — in the first game alone. Andy Edholm delivered a two-out, infield single in the bottom of the 14th inning to score Matt Tessmer from third with the game's only run, lifting the Cardinals to a 1-0 victory over the Titans in SMU's longest game since beating Christian Brothers University 6-5 in 14 innings during the 1999 season | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals return to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Saturday, traveling to Northfield, Minn., for a 1 p.m. doubleheader against St. Olaf.
• UW-Oshkosh: The Titans are back in WIAC action this weekend, traveling to La Crosse, Wis., for a pair of conference doubleheaders against UW-La Crosse on Saturday and Sunday.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2016 Roster | 2016 Statistics | 2016 Schedule
• With their 5-4 win over Hamline Tuesday, the Cardinals have now won the opening game in each of their last three conference doubleheaders. … Saint Mary's has now scored five runs in each of its last two wins—beating Saint John's (5-2) and Hamline (5-4)—and plated six runs in each of its two losses—falling to the Johnnies (8-6) and the Pipers (7-6). …  Saint Mary's 7-6, 10-inning loss to Hamline on Tuesday was its first extra-inning game of the season. … Bob Kinne (St. Paul, Minn.) went 6-for-8 with five RBIs in the Cardinals' split against Hamline Tuesday, while Cale Pieczynski (Plover, Minn.) went 5-for-6 in the 10-inning Game 2 loss to the Pipers. … Pieczynski's Game 2 effort was the first five-hit game of his collegiate career. … Tyler Lursen (Maple Grove, Minn.) belted a pair of home runs and drove in seven runs in the Cardinals' split against Saint John's last Sunday. … Lursen's home runs were his first two of the season, while his ninth-inning Game 2 grand slam was the first of his collegiate career. … Ben Buerkle, who boasts a team-leading .384 batting average, had his season-high 14-game hitting streak snapped in Game 2 against Hamline Tuesday. … Buerkle did walk three times in the nightcap and has now reached base safely in all 26 contests this season. … Buerkle—who hit safely in 34 of 36 games a year ago—has had a hit in 23 of the Cardinals' 26 games this season, and has now collected at least one hit in 94 of the 102 games he's played in. … Buerkle has been held off the base paths just twice in 102 career contests. … Buerkle is one of three Cardinal regulars hitting above .300 this season—Doll (.365) and Kinne (.352) are the others. … Buerkle also leads or share the team lead in runs (27), doubles (11), triples (2), slugging percentage (.558), walks (24)—including four against Hamline Tuesday—and on-base percentage (.518). … Jake Barry (Tinley Park, Ill.) owns a team-best three home runs, while Lursen (2) and Kinne (2) have hit the Cardinals' other four round-trippers. … Kinne's home run against Concordia on Feb. 23 was the first of his collegiate career. … Kinne, who leads the team with 26 RBIs, recorded his second five-RBI effort of the season in Game 1 against Gustavus on April 6. The junior also achieved the feat against Concordia on Feb. 23. … Doll—who closed out the season with a team- and conference-leading 21 stolen bases a year ago, has stolen 13 bases in 14 attempts through 26 games this season, giving him a school-record 71 for his four-year career. … With his two- and three-RBI performances against Hamline Tuesday, Kinne moved into the team lead with six multiple-RBI games this season. … Ryan Fejt (Westchester, Ill.) worked two innings of scoreless, one-hit relief in earning his third win of the season in Game 1 against Hamline Tuesday. … Fejt (3-0, 1.02 ERA) moved into a tie with Steph Scatassa (Westchester, Ill.) for the team lead in wins with three each. … Scatassa (3-1, 3.28 ERA) picked up his third win of the year last Sunday in the opener against Saint John's, allowing just two runs on two hits in six innings of work. … Nathan Mathwig (Woodbury, Minn.) collected his team-leading fifth save against Hamline. The sophomore owns a team-best 1.02 ERA and shares the team lead in appearances (10) with Fejt. … Scatassa has logged a team-high 35.2 innings, while Ben Johnson (Brooklyn Park, Minn. / 33.0 IP), Jacob Dawson (Oakdale, Minn. / 33.0 IP) and Austin Jacobs (Cannon Falls, Minn. / 23.2 IP) have also thrown more than 20 innings this season. … Scatassa owns a 3-1 record and a 3.28 ERA, while Johnson (2-3, 7.50 ERA) and Fejt (2-0, 5.27 ERA) both own two pitching wins. … Scatassa and Johnson have each made a team-high seven starts. … Scatassa is also the team's strikeout leader with 28. … Eli Morrison (Minneapolis, Minn. / 1-1, 0.96 ERA) and Jesse Barron (Minnetonka, Minn. / 1-1, 5.00 ERA) have both notched their first collegiate pitching wins this season—Morrison's coming in a start against Houghton on Feb. 27 (4 IP, 0 R, 4 H) and Barron's coming in relief vs. Elmira on Feb. 25 (2.2 IP, 1 R, 3 H). … Jacobs (1-3, 5.32 ERA) recorded his first collegiate save with a perfect ninth inning in the Cardinals' 7-6 win over Cornell on March 18. … Johnson's seven-hit, seven-strikeout performance against Houghton on Feb. 27 is the team's only complete game this season and was the fifth of his collegiate career. … The Cardinals, who scored a school-record 274 runs in 2015, have plated 151 runs in 26 contests this season—including five games of 10 or more runs. … The Cardinals' 10 Game 1 runs against the Gusties on April 6 were the most since plating 10 against Wheaton (Ill.) in a 10-5 win on March 18. … The Cardinals have outscored their opponents 22-9 in the second innings and 30-20 in the sixth. … Saint Mary's is 12-3 when scoring the game's first run. … Saint Mary's is unbeaten (12-0) when leading after the sixth inning. … Saint Mary's has been held to two runs or less in seven of its 11 losses this season. … The Cardinals' 10-7 Game 1 win over Gustavus on April 6 snapped their season-high five-game losing streak. … The Cardinals went through a five-game stretch this season in which four games were against nationally ranked teams—No. 18 UW-La Crosse and No. 21 St. Thomas—while the other contest was vs. NCAA Division I University of Minnesota. … Saint Mary's 9-1 loss to the University of Minnesota on March 30 marked the first time the Cardinals and Gophers had squared off in program history. … 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. … Saint Mary's March 12 twinbill against St. Scholastica marked the earliest outdoor games played at Max Molock Field in more than 20 years. … 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 UW-Oshkosh Titans:
2016 Roster | 2016 Schedule | 2016 Statistics
• Friday's game at Saint Mary's marks the 18th straight road game for the Titans, who will play their first 22 games on the road this season. UW-Oshkosh's home opener is not until April 19, when they host Ripon in a 4 p.m. contest. … With their win over Ripon on Wednesday, the Titans pushed their winning streak to three straight. … After opening the season with six straight losses, the Titans have gone 8-3 in their last 11 games. … UW-Oshkosh has scored 13 runs in each game during its current streak—beating UW-Stout 13-7 and 13-3, and topping Ripon 13-1. … The Titans have now scored 10 or more runs in six of their eight wins—including a season-high 20 runs in a 20-3 win over Salve Regina on March 22. … Johnny Eagan had four hits to pace the Titans' 17-hit attack vs. Ripon Wednesday, while Andy Brahier and Taylor Grimm both drove in four runs. … As a team, the Titans are hitting .326, and boast eight players who are hitting above .300. … With his four hits against Ripon, Eagan pushed his team-leading batting average to .478. … Eagan also leads the teams in at-bats (67), runs (19), hits (32), doubles (10), and RBIs (18). … Eagan is one of six Titans who have scored 10 or more runs, while also leading a group of six UW-Oshkosh players with 10 or more RBIs. … Grimm has accounted for three of the team's six home runs this season. … The Titans are 19-for-31 in the stolen base department, led by Jack Paulson, who is 7-for-8. … UW-Oshkosh has four pitchers who have logged 20 or more innings—Peter Jewell (34.2), Colan Treml (26.0), Jesse Sustachek (23.1), and Ben Messenger (23.0). … Jewell (1-1, 1.56 ERA), Messenger (2-1, 2.74 ERA), and Sustachek (1-1, 5.79) have all made a team-high four starts, while Treml (2-3, 2.42 ERA) owns a team-leading seven appearances. … As a staff, the Titans have struck out 126 batters, led by Treml and Messenger with 24 each.