COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota baseball team makes its fourth MIAC Playoff appearance in the last five years on Thursday, squaring off against regular-season champion St. Thomas in the opening round of the four-team, double-elimination tournament.
 
The MIAC Playoff Schedule:
Thursday, May 12, 2016
• Game 1: No. 1 St. Thomas Tommies (14-6 MIAC, 25-13 Overall) vs. No. 4 Saint Mary's Cardinals (13-7 MIAC, 25-12-1 Overall) | Location: SJU's Becker Park * Collegeville, Minn. | 7 p.m.  
• Game 2: No. 2 Saint John's (13-7 MIAC, 25-12 Overall) vs. No. 3 Hamline (13-7 MIAC, 27-13 Overall) | Location: Cold Spring, Minn. | 7 p.m. Friday, May 13, 2016
• Game 3: Game 1 Winner vs. Game 2 Winner | Location: SJU's Becker Park * Collegeville, Minn. | 3 p.m.
• Game 4: Game 1 Loser vs. Game 2 Loser | Location: Cold Spring, Minn. | 3 p.m.
• Game 5: Game 4 Winner vs. Game 3 Loser | Location: SJU's Becker Park | 7 p.m.
Saturday, May 14 
• Game 6: Game 3 Winner vs. Game 5 Winner | Location: SJU's Becker Park | Noon
• Game 7: Game 6 Rematch (If Necessary) | Location: SJU's Becker Park | 3 p.m.
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats | Live Video | MIAC Playoffs Homepage
 
Ticket Information
• Ticket prices for the MIAC Playoffs are $7 for adults and $3 for students with valid student identification. Children ages 5 and under are free, and there are no senior or other discounts. MIAC passes will be honored.
 
How They Got Here:
• St. Thomas: The Tommies finished conference play with a 14-6 record to earn its 13^th MIAC regular-season title in the last 14 years—and the No. 1 seed in the four-team tournament.
• Saint John's, Hamline & Saint Mary's: The Johnnies finished in a second-place tie with Hamline and Saint Mary's in the regular-season standings, one game behind St. Thomas. SJU All three split their head-to-head doubleheaders, so the next criteria was record vs. other MIAC Playoff teams. Saint John's swept UST, while the Tommies swept both Hamline and Saint Mary's, giving the Johnnies the No. 2 seed. Since Saint Mary's and Hamline split their MIAC doubleheader and had identical records vs. UST and SJU, the next criteria was record vs. teams outside the MIAC Playoffs in descending order. Both teams swept fifth-place Concordia, but Hamline (5-1) had a better record than Saint Mary's (3-3) against the three teams tied for sixth (Augsburg, Bethel, and Gustavus) to put the Pipers in the No. 3 seed, and the Cardinals at No. 4.
 
How They Fared—Earlier This Season:
Saint Mary's vs. St. Thomas * April 3, 2016 * Winona, Minn.:

• The Cardinals banged out 15 hits against the Tommies, but could only manage four runs in the teams' Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference-opening doubleheader, as No. 21 St. Thomas dealt Saint Mary's a pair of conference losses—4-1 and 10-3—at Max Molock Field | Recap

Saint Mary's vs. Saint John's * April 10, 2016 | Winona, Minn.:

• Tyler Lursen (Maple Grove, Minn.) launched a three-run home run in his first at-bat, before adding a grand slam home run in his final plate appearance in the Cardinals' MIAC doubleheader against Saint John's.  Unfortunately, Lursen's two-home run, seven-RBI effort could only earn the Cardinals a split in their two games against the Johnnies. Fueled by Lursen's first home run of the day, Saint Mary's rode a four-run first-inning to a 5-2 victory in the opener. Lursen completed his first collegiate two-home run game—with his first collegiate grand slam—as part of a five-run ninth inning in the nightcap, but it was not enough, as Saint John's held on for an 8-6 Game 2 win to earn the split | Recap

Saint Mary's vs. Hamline * April 12, 2016 * St. Paul, Minn.:

• Bob Kinne (St. Paul, Minn.) went 3-for-4 and drove in a pair of runs, and Ryan Fejt (Westchester, Ill.) and Nathan Mathwig (Woodbury, Minn.) put together four innings of stellar relief, as the Cardinals held off the Pipers 5-4 in the opener at CHS Field. Cale Pieczynski (Plover, Wis.) recorded a career-high five-hit afternoon and Kinne drove in three more runs in the nightcap. Unfortunately, it was not enough, as Hamline scored an unearned run in the bottom of the 10th inning to lift the Pipers to a 7-6 win the nightcap | Recap

Saint John's vs. St. Thomas * April 26, 2016 * Collegeville, Minn.

•  Solid pitching and timely hitting fueled Saint John's to a doubleheader sweep of nationally ranked St. Thomas, 4-1 and 8-7 in 10 innings. The sweep of the Tommies was the first for SJU (24-9, 12-4 MIAC) since 1998 and the first at home since 1993. The Johnnies have now won each of the last five meetings with St. Thomas on the diamond going back to last season | Recap

Saint John's vs. Hamline * April 3, 2016 * Collegeville, Minn.

• Saint John's opened its conference schedule with a doubleheader split with Hamline. The Johnnies won Game 1, 5-2, but committed three errors en route to two unearned runs in a 3-2 loss in the nightcap | Recap

St. Thomas vs. Hamline * May 4, 2016 * St. Paul, Minn.

• The Pipers rallied from a 9-2 deficit in the second game of their MIAC doubleheader against St. Thomas only to come up short in dropping an 11-9 decision at CHS Field. The Tommies dominated the opener, dealing Hamline a 9-0 setback | Recap
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2016 Roster | 2016 Statistics | 2016 Schedule
• The Cardinals are making their fourth MIAC Playoff appearance in the last five seasons. … Saint Mary's heads into post-season play having won eight of its last nine games—and 10 of its last 12. … The Cardinals, who have put together winning streaks of seven and eight games this season, boast a 25-13-1 overall record—marking the third time under coach Nick Winecke that they have won 20 or more games in a season. … Saint Mary's 25 wins are the most since 1993, when the Cardinals reached the NCAA Midwest Regional Tournament and finished 26-6. … Saint Mary's two wins over Concordia on May 4 marked the Cardinals' fourth MIAC sweep—and fifth overall—this season. … The Cardinals won Game 1 in seven of their last nine doubleheaders—and 10 times in their 14 twinbills this season. … Bob Kinne (St. Paul, Minn.) enters post-season play swinging a hot bat, going 9-for-16 (.563) with two home runs and eight RBIs in the Cardinals' last four games. … In Game 2s vs. Concordia and Bethel last week, Kinne went a combined 6-for-9 with two home runs, eight RBIs and four runs scored. … With his Game 2 home run against Bethel in the Cardinals' regular-season finale last Sunday, Kinne has now launched four home runs in his last six games—and leads the team with six round-trippers. … Kinne, who leads the team with 44 RBIs and 12 multiple-RBI games, 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. … Willie Doll (Amherst, Wis.), who has played in all 152 games during his four-year collegiate career—including 151 starts—enters Thursday's playoff opener against St. Thomas boasting a team-leading .441 batting average, while also leading the Cardinals in at-bats (143), runs (42), hits (63), and on-base percentage (.529). … Doll is one of four Cardinal regulars hitting above .300—Ben Buerkle (Roseville, Minn. / .393), Kinne (.380), and Joe Seegers (Oconomowoc, Wis. / .301). … Doll heads into post-season play as the Cardinals' all-time career leader in at-bats (574), runs (144), hits (213), doubles (42), total bases (307), and stolen bases (80). … Doll missed hitting for the cycle in Game 1 against Macalester on April 23 by a home run—the senior had a single, double, and triple, while also walking once, scoring four times and stealing a pair of bases. … Doll's four-hit game against Macalester on April 23 was his third of the season and sixth of his collegiate career. … Doll has scored four runs in a game twice this season—and five times in his collegiate career. … Doll went 1-for-1 with four walks in Game 2 against Concordia on May 4. The four walks were the most by a Cardinal since Pat Krieger walked five times against Simpson on March 3, 2013. … Doll's walk-off home run against Augsburg on April 21 marked the second time this season the senior has belted a game-winning home run in their last at-bat. Doll hit a three-run, game-winner against St. Olaf on April 16. … Doll's two home-run game against Augsburg was the first of his collegiate career. … Doll accounted for two of the Cardinals' five home runs against Augsburg on April 21—Cale Pieczynski (Plover, Wis.), Jake Barry (Tinley Park, Ill.), and Jake Mencacci (Wheaton, Ill.) also hit round-trippers for the Cardinals. … Along with Kinne's team-leading six home runs, the Cardinals' other 13 HRs have come from: Doll (4), Barry (4), Tyler Lursen (Maple Grove, Minn. / 2), Pieczynski (1), Buerkle (1), and Jake Mencacci (Wheaton, Ill. / 1). … Kinne's home run against Concordia on Feb. 23 and Mencacci's HR vs. Augsburg on April 21 were the first of their collegiate career. … Doll—who closed out the season with a team- and conference-leading 21 stolen bases a year ago, stole his 22^nd base of the season against Concordia on May 4. Doll is just two steals shy of the single-season school record—which he set in 2014—and owns a program-record 80 steals for his four-year career. … Buerkle, who had his season-high 14-game hitting streak snapped in Game 2 against Hamline on April 12, is second to Doll in batting average (.393) and runs scored (41), while leading the team in doubles (13), triples (4) and walks (32). … Buerkle has reached base safely in 38 of the Cardinals' 39 contests this season. … Buerkle—who hit safely in 34 of 36 games a year ago—has had a hit in 34 of the Cardinals' 39 games this season, and has now collected at least one hit in 105 of the 114 games he's played in. … Buerkle has been held off the base paths just three times in 114 career contests. … Pieczynski went 5-for-6 in Saint Mary's 10-inning Game 2 loss to Hamline on April 12. It was the first five-hit game of his collegiate career. … Lursen belted a pair of home runs and drove in seven runs in the Cardinals' split against Saint John's on April 10. Lursen's ninth-inning Game 2 grand slam vs. the Johnnies was the first of his collegiate career. … Jacob Frost (Moline, Ill.) and A.J. Redders (Middleton, Wis.) each recorded their first collegiate three-hit games against Bethel last Sunday. … The Cardinals hit a season-high four triples against Macalester on April 23. … Steph Scatassa (Westchester, Ill.) picked up his team-leading sixth pitching win of the season against Concordia on May 4, allowing just two runs on four hits—none after the third inning—in 6 1/3 innings. … Scatassa tossed his first complete game of the season against Carleton on April 26, hurling a five-hit shutout in the Cardinals' 2-0 Game 1 win. … Scatassa's performance against Carleton was his sixth collegiate complete game and second career shutout. … Scatassa (6-2, 2.47 ERA) has logged a team-high 65.2 innings, while Jacob Dawson (Oakdale, Minn. / 49.2 IP), Austin Jacobs (Cannon Falls, Minn. / 44.0 IP), Ben Johnson (Brooklyn Park, Minn. / 38.0 IP), Nathan Mathwig (29.0 IP), and Ryan Fejt (Westchester, Ill. / 21.2 IP) have also thrown more than 20 innings this season. … Scatassa has made a team-high 12 starts, two more than Dawson, while Mathwig and Fejt have made a team-leading 17 appearances—all in relief. … Scatassa, who equaled his career high with eight strikeouts against Carleton on April 26, is the team's strikeout leader with 55. … Mathwig collected his team-leading sixth save in Game 1 against Concordia Wednesday. … Mathwig is one save shy of the single-season school record of seven, set by Tyler Krysiak in 2013. … Jacobs (4-3, 4.91 ERA) went the first eight innings in the Cardinals' Game 2 win over Macalester on April 23—it was the longest start of his collegiate career. … Jacobs recorded his first collegiate save with a perfect ninth inning in the Cardinals' 7-6 win over Cornell on March 18. … Eli Morrison (Minneapolis, Minn. / 2-1, 2.70 ERA) and Jesse Barron (Minnetonka, Minn. / 1-1, 4.38 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). … The Cardinals, who scored a school-record 274 runs in 2015, have plated 252 runs in 39 contests this season—including 10 games of 10 or more runs. … The Cardinals have outscored their opponents 38-17 in the second. … Saint Mary's is 20-4 when scoring the game's first run. … Saint Mary's is unbeaten (20-0-1) when leading after the sixth inning. … Saint Mary's has been held to two runs or less in eight of its 13 losses this season. … The Cardinals' 5-2 Game 1 win over Concordia on May 4 snapped their 12-game losing streak against the Cobbers, and was their first win over Concordia in Moorhead, Minn., since April 14, 2001—a span of nine games. … The Cardinals' 10-7 Game 1 win over Gustavus on April 6 snapped their season-high five-game losing streak. … After not playing an extra-inning game in their first 25 games, the Cardinals played extra innings three times in a five-game stretch—falling to Hamline 7-6 in 10 innings on April 12, tying UW-Oshkosh 11-11 in 10 innings on April 15, and falling to Augsburg 6-5 in nine innings on April 21. … The Cardinals' 11-11, 10-inning tie against the Titans on April 15 marked the second time in as many meetings that Saint Mary's and UW-Oshkosh have gone to extra innings. Saint Mary's beat UW-Oshkosh 1-0 in 14 innings in their last meeting on March 25, 2012. … 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. …  Saint Mary's March 12 twinbill against St. Scholastica marked the earliest outdoor games played at Max Molock Field in more than 20 years.
 
Scouting The St. Thomas Tommies:
2016 Roster | 2016 Schedule | 2016 Statistics
• St. Thomas—ranked No. 24 in the latest D3baseball.com Top 25—has qualified for the MIAC Playoffs in each of the post-season tournament's 17-year run, collecting 10 tournament titles and four second-place finishes. … St. Thomas was its 13^th regular-season title over the last 14 years in 2016. … The Tommies head into post-season play having dropped four straight, eight of their last 11, and nine of their previous 14. … After scoring 20 runs in 9-0 and 11-9 wins over Hamline on May 4, UST has managed just 12 runs in its last four contests—falling twice to Gustavus (6-5 and 5-4) and twice to St. Scholastica (8-1 and 6-2). … St. Thomas heads into post-season play hitting .313 as a team and boasts eight regulars hitting above .300. … Jake Smith has been UST's offensive leader, owning team-highs in batting average (.414), at-bats (140), runs (39), hits (58), triples (4), total bases (82), slugging percentage (.586), and one-base percentage (.478). … Smith is one of four Tommies who have scored 20 or more runs this season. … Brady Johnson (.318) has hit a team-high four home runs—one more than Smith and Dan Ziemann (.355)—and also leads the team with 31 RBIs. … Smith owns a team-high 16 multiple-hit games, while Ziemann and Johnson share the top spot with eight multiple-hit games. … Smith and Bemboom have put together hitting streaks of 17 and 14 games, respectively, this season, but Chad Clute's eight-gamer is the Tommies' longest active streak. … Smith reach base safely in 19 of the Tommies' 20 MIAC games this season. … UST is 46-for-61 in the stolen base department, led by Brady Bemboom, who has swiped 12 bases in 14 attempts. … Eric Veglahn has been the workhorse of the Tommie pitching staff, throwing a team-high 60.0 innings, while posting a 6-1 record and 1.65 ERA. … Veglahn—who is 4-0 with a 0.81 ERA in four post-season starts—has made a team-high nine starts, one more than Dominic Reed (2-2, 5.28 ERA), while also appearing in a team-best 13 games. … Veglahn missed through St. Thomas' first no-hitter in 18 seasons by one batter in 2014, surrendering a two-out triple in the seventh inning. … Ryan Zimmerman (5-1, 2.41 ERA) has appeared in 12 games—all in relief—and is second to Veglahn in ERA, wins and pitching appearances. … Veglahn and Alex Ogren (2-0, 3.65) have each collected two saves, while Veglahn also owns three of the team's seven complete games and has struck out a team-high 66 batters. … The Tommies have outscored their opponents 219-158 this season, including 22-8 in the second inning and 42-18 in the fifth. … St. Thomas has scored six or more runs in 15 of their 25 wins this season, and are a perfect 8-0 when plating 10 or more runs. … UST is 13-1 when holding its opponents under three runs. … St. Thomas is 16-6 when scoring first. … The Tommies were 22-0 when leading after the sixth inning, before Gustavus twice made last-inning come-backs to beat the Tommies 6-5 and 5-4 last Saturday. … The Tommies have posted four shutout wins this season and are 10-6 in games decided by two runs or less. … St. Thomas' eight seniors have helped the Tommies to a four-year record of 122-45-1—including three regular-season MIAC titles and two MIAC playoff championships.
 
Scouting The Saint John's Johnnies:
2016 Roster | 2016 Schedule | 2016 Statistics
• The Johnnies will be making their seventh consecutive trip to the MIAC post-season tournament. … Saint John's closed out the regular season surrendering 22 runs in a pair of losses to Concordia last Saturday, falling 11-1 and 11-9. … The Johnnies have won just once in their last four games, but are 6-4 in their last 10. … SJU's 6-5 Game 2 win over Bethel on April 30—a game in which Saint John's trailed 5-0—marked the seventh time in 13 conference wins that the Johnnies were either tied for behind within the final two innings of regulation. … SJU enters post-season play hitting .329 and boasts eight regulars who are hitting .300 or better. … Patrick Strey—a two-time MIAC Player of the Week—leads the Johnnies in virtually every offensive category, including batting average (.419), runs (36), hits (57), doubles (18), home runs (5), RBIs (46), total bases (94), slugging percentage (.691), and on-base percentage. … Strey is one of three players with 50 of more hits this season—Logan Hershey (.374) and Derek Schiebel (.351) are the others with 55 and 54, respectively. … Schiebel has accounted for a team-high seven of Saint John's 18 triples this season. … Saint John's has six players with 10 or more multiple-hit games this season, led by Hershey with 19 and Schiebel with 18. … Strey owns a team-best 13 multiple-RBI games, including a six-RBI performance against UM-Morris on March 29. … Saint John's has stolen 30 bases on 32 attempts this season, led by Cole Weaver (.390), who is a perfect 8-for-8. … Strey, Hershey, and Gabe MacDonald (.225) are the only three Johnnies to have started all 37 games this season. … Saint John's has four pitchers who have logged 36 or more innings this season, led by Alex Kendall (63.2 IP) and Cameron Jurek (49.1 IP). … Kendall (6-2, 2.40 ERA) has made a team-high nine starts this season, one more than Strey (4-4, 4.38 ERA) and two more than Jurek (1-1, 6.75 ERA) and Ben Etzell (2-1, 8.67 ERA). … Kendall and Nick Noack (6-1, 1.78 ERA) share the team lead in wins with six each, while Jurek (4) and Noack (3) have accounted for seven of the Johnnies' nine saves. … Strey has thrown four of the team's six complete games and Kendall is the team's strikeout leader with 48. … SJU has scored 274 runs this season and has outscored its opponents in every inning but the fifth and ninth, where they've been outscored 24-10 and 17-6, respectively. … The Johnnies are 16-4 when scoring the game's first run, and 13-2 when scoring in the first inning. … Saint John's has held its opponents to five runs or less in 17 of their 25 wins. … The Johnnies have not been beaten (10-0) when scoring 10 or more runs in the a game and they are 21-2 when plating at least six runs.
 
Scouting The Hamline Pipers:
2016 Roster | 2016 Schedule | 2016 Statistics
• The Pipers—making their first MIAC Playoff appearance since 2011—heads into post-season play boasting 27 wins, the second-most in program history. … The Pipers are making their fourth MIAC post-season appearance, having also reached the four-team tourney in 2008, 2009, and 2011. … The 2011 Hamline team won the MIAC Playoff crown to advance its first-ever NCAA Tournament. … Hamline heads into its playoff-opener against Saint John's having won three straight and five of its last six. … Hamline closed out the regular season boasting a league-best .339 batting average. … The Pipers, who have scored 357 runs this season, have posted 15 games in which they have scored 10 or more runs—including a school-record 29 in a 29-14 win over Wesleyan on March 6. … Jacob Picht enters post-season play with a team-leading .439 batting average. He is one of nine Pipers who are hitting above .300. … Pitch also leads the squad in virtually every other offensive category, including at-bats (139), runs (50), hits (61), doubles (18), triples (2), total bases (89), slugging percentage (.640), walks (20), and on-base percentage (.554). … Picht has amassed 20 multiple-hit games—including a 5-for-5 effort in Game 2 against Bethany Lutheran on May 6. … Tyler Summers (.322) has hit a team-high four home runs and also owns the Piper lead in RBIs with 42. Summers is one of nine Piper players with 20 or more RBIs. … As a team, Hamline is 43-for-55 in stolen bases, led by Mitch Benson's (.365) 11 steals in 15 attempts. … Collin Olstad owns the team's longest hitting streak this season at 11 games, while Summers' seven-game run is HU's longest active hit streak. … Alex Bauermeister has been the ace of the Pipers' pitching staff, compiling a 4-2 record and 2.61 ERA while logging a team-high 51.2 innings. … Bauermeister leads the team with 10 starts and is one of seven HU pitchers to have made 10 or more appearances this year. Sam Petrick (1-0, 5.54) is the team-leader in pitching appearances with 18. … Aaron Stoneberg (6-2, 4.64 ERA) heads into post-season play with a team-best six wins, one more than Nolan Schoonveld (5-0, 4.57 ERA) and two in front of Bauermeister. … Bauermeister has accounted for three of the team's four complete games and leads the Pipers with 58 strikeouts. … Hamline closed out the regular season with a 12-4 record on their home field. HU is 14-9 away from CHS Field—including 8-6 in neutral-site games.