CAROL STREAM, Ill. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota baseball team is back in action this weekend, squaring off against Aurora and Wheaton on Friday, before taking on Calvin on Saturday. All three nonconference games are nine-inning affairs hosted by Wheaton.
 
The Matchups:
Friday, March 17, 2016 * Wheaton, Ill.
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (7-3 Overall) vs. Aurora Spartans (9-1 Overall), 11 a.m.
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (7-3 Overall) vs. Wheaton Thunder (7-3 Overall), 5 p.m.
Saturday, March 18, 2016 * Wheaton, Ill.
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (7-3 Overall) vs. Calvin Knights (0-3 Overall), 11 a.m.
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—Feb. 26-March 5, 2017 * Auburndale, Fla.: The Cardinals are coming off a 7-3 showing during their 10-game spring trip | MSOE Recap | Wartburg Recap | Franklin Recap | Finlandia Recap | Alma Recap | Rockford Recap | Coe Recap
• Aurora—March 11, 2017 * Tucson, Ariz.: The Spartans completed a near-perfect run during their 10-game spring trip, beating Bethany Lutheran 9-3 to finish their trip to Arizona 9-1 | Recap
• Wheaton—March 11, 2017 * Punta Gorda, Fla.: The Thunder scored in six of their nine innings in closing out their 10-game spring trip with a 9-1 win over John Carroll | Recap
• Calvin—March 9-10, 2017 * Westfield, Ill.: The Knights came up empty in its first three games of the season, falling to Hanover 11-2, before dropping both games of a doubleheader against Oberlin, 10-6 and 3-2 | Hanover Recap * Oberlin Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Aurora—Their Last Meeting:
• March 18, 2016 * Carol Stream, Ill.: The Cardinals got a three-run double from Tyler Lursen (Maple Grove, Minn.) and a two-run home run off the bat of Jake Barry (Tinley Park, Ill.) to grab an early 5-1 lead—and Saint Mary's never looked back in rolling to a 12-2, seven-inning nonconference win over Aurora | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Wheaton—Their Last Meeting:
• March 18, 2016 * Carol Stream, Ill.: Saint Mary's got a three-run double from Joe Seegers (Oconomowoc, Wis.) as part of a five-run second inning, leading the Cardinals to a 10-5 win over Wheaton in the second game of the Wheaton Tournament at Lee Pfund Stadium | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Calvin—Their Last Meeting:
• Saturday's matchup will be the first time in program history the Cardinals and Knights have squared off.
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: Following this weekend's games at Wheaton, the Cardinals are back in action on Wednesday, kicking off the home portion of their schedule with a nine-inning nonconference game against Viterbo. First pitch is set for 2 p.m. at Max Molock Field.
• Aurora: The Spartans are back in action next weekend, heading to Crawfordsville, Ind., for five games against Wabash.
• Wheaton: The Thunder are right back at Lee Pfund Stadium in Carol Stream, Ill., next weekend, entertaining Northland on Friday, and Bethel and Edgewood on Saturday.
• Calvin: The Knights are right back in action on Monday and Tuesday, squaring off against Maryville College in Maryville, Tenn.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2017 Roster | 2017 Statistics | 2017 Schedule
• The Cardinals are coming off a 7-3 effort during their 10-game spring trip—including a sweep of Milwaukee School of Engineering, and wins over Wartburg, Franklin, Alma, and Capital; while dropping decisions to Wartburg, Rockford, and Coe. … Saint Mary's owned a pair of three-game winning streaks during its spring trip, and the Cardinals have not lost back-to-back games this season. … As a team, the Cardinals hit .321 in their 10 games in Auburndale, Fla., and boasted eight players who hit above .300. … Ben Buerkle (Roseville, Minn.) was the team's offensive leader during their spring trip, hitting .694, while also leading the team in virtually every other category—runs (16), hits (25), doubles (5), home runs (4), RBIs (11), total bases (44), slugging percentage (1.222), walks (7) and on-base percentage (.756). … With his second hit against Rockford on March 3—a third-inning double—Buerkle became just the second player in program history with 200 hits. With his 25 hits during the team's spring trip, Buerkle heads into the weekend with 205 career hits, just 15 shy of the school record, held by Willie Doll. … Buerkle left Auburndale, Fla., riding a 10-game hitting streak. The senior has now collected at least one hit in 119 of the 128 games he's played in, while reaching base safely in 125 of those 128 games. … Chris Bartosz (Woodridge, Ill. / .455), Joe Seegers (Oconomowoc, Wis. / .333), Will Matthews (Geneva, Ill. / .333), Justin Weinberg (Eagan, Minn. / .333), Zach Slowiak (Chippewa Falls, Wis. / .318), and Matthew Piechowski (Hutchinson, Minn. / .318) also hit above .300 during the Cardinals' spring trip. … Saint Mary's belted seven home runs in its first 10 games this season—four by Buerkle and three by Jake Barry (Tinley Park, Ill.). … Seegers owns a team-high 42 at-bats, while sharing the team lead in doubles (5) with Buerkle. … Matthews is the team-leader with two triples. … Saint Mary's finished 18-for-20 in stolen base attempts, led by Buerkle and Seegers with four each. … Buerkle had two or more hits in nine of his 10 games this season—including a season-high four-hit effort in Game 2 against MSOE on Feb. 26. … Buerkle and Matthews led team with three multiple-RBI games. … Matthews and Slowiak each own a single-season and career-high five-RBI game—Matthews driving in five in his first collegiate game against MSOE on Feb. 26, while Slowiak equaled that feat in Game 2 against MSOE on Feb. 26. … Josh Hottinger (Oconomowoc, Wis.) was one of three Cardinal pitchers to appear in three of the team's 10 games—earning the win in all three contests. … Austin Jacobs (Cannon Falls, Minn.) worked a team-high 13.1 innings, with Eli Morrison (Minneapolis, Minn.) close behind with 10.0 IP. … Morrison boasts a team-best 1.80 ERA, with Hottinger close behind with a 1.93 ERA. … Jacob Taschetta (Winfield, Ill.) and R.J. Brown (Broadview, Ill.) each earned their first collegiate pitching wins during the Cardinals' spring trip—Taschetta struck out four in 2.1 innings of relief in Saint Mary's win over Finlandia on March 1, while Brown went the first four innings, striking out a career-high eight, in beating MSOE on Feb. 26. … The Cardinals scored 10 or more runs in four of their 10 games, including a season-high 19 in a 19-4 win over Finlandia on March 1. … Saint Mary's is unbeaten (6-0) when leading after the sixth inning. … The Cardinals are 5-1 when scoring first, and 6-1 when scoring in the first inning.  … Saint Mary's made its fourth conference tournament appearance in the last five years under coach Nick Winecke in 2016, falling to Saint John's 11-4 in the MIAC Playoff title game. … The Cardinals finished with a 27-15-1 overall record—marking the third time under coach Nick Winecke that they have won 20 or more games in a season. … Saint Mary's 27 wins are the most since 1992, when the Cardinals finished 28-7.
 
Scouting The Aurora Spartans:
2017 Roster | 2017 Statistics | 2017 Schedule
• Aurora is coming off a 9-1 showing during their 10-game spring trip to Tucson, Ariz. Aurora opened its trip with eight consecutive victories, before falling to Salem State 22-8 on March 10. … The Spartans erupted for 109 runs in their 10 spring-trip games—including six games of 10 or more runs. Aurora plated a season-high 17 runs in a 17-5 victory over Bethany Lutheran on March 5. The Spartans also scored a combined 29 runs in back-to-back wins over North Central (Minn.) 14-0 and 15-9 on March 9 and 10. … As a team, Aurora hit .388 during its 10-gae spring trip, led by Jeff Mayes, who hit .604. … Mays was one of nine Spartan regulars who hit .300 or better in Tucson, Ariz.—including five who hit above .400. … Mays led the Spartans in virtually every offensive category during their spring trip, including at-bats (48), runs (20), hits (, doubles (6), triples (3), total bases (44), and slugging percentage (.917). … Cole Davis (.333) owns a team-high 16 RBIs and is one of four Spartans with 10 or more RBIs through 10 games. … Aurora has hit 10 home runs, led by Michael Fidler (.406) with five. … Thomas Aguilar logged a team-high 11.0 innings during Aurora's spring trip, compiling a 2-0 record and 1.64 ERA. … Chris Roycroft (1-0, 3.52 ERA), Jeff Woods (1-0, 4.91 ERA), and Aron Okamoto (0-0, 6.0 ERA have all made a team-high three pitching appearances. … Daniel Heiden (1-0, 1.13 ERA) owns the Spartans' lone save. … Aguilar and Jacob Stockman (1-1, 7.00) lead the Spartan staff with 12 strikeouts each. … Aurora will play its first 19 games on the road, before kicking off the home portion of its schedule on April 1 against Dominican. … The Spartans are coming off a 24-19 season a year ago—including a 13-7 record and third-place finish in the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference.
 
Scouting The Wheaton Thunder:
2017 Roster | 2017 Statistics | 2017 Schedule
• The Thunder closed out their spring trip with a 7-3 record—including wins in each of their last five games. … Wheaton has scored 48 runs during its current five-game winning streak—including a season-high 19-run outburst in a 19-9 win over Bluffton on March 10. … Wheaton's effort against Bluffton marked the third time this season the Thunder have plated 10 or more runs, having also scored a combined 28 runs in beating Sewanee: The University of the South 15-4 and 13-11 on Feb. 24-25. … As a team, the Thunder are hitting .318 and boast six players who are hitting .300 or better. … Ben Brittain is hitting a team-best .444, while Nick Mailman (.400) is also hitting .400 or better. … Mailman also leads the team in at-bats (45), runs (17), hits (18), doubles (5), triples (1), total bases (28), and slugging percentage (.622). … Wheaton boasts three players with 10 or more RBIs—Johnny Peliz (11), John McKenna (10), and Mailman (10). … The Thunder have hit six home runs through 10 games, led by Peitz with two. … Christian Bolhuis, Daniel Bayer, and Michael McCraith have led the Thunder pitching staff, logging 17.1 IP, 17.0 IP, and 14.1 IP, respectively. … Bolhuis is 2-0 with a team-best 3.12 ERA, while Bayer is 1-1 with a 3.18 ERA. … Caleb Selk (0-0, 0.00 ERA, 3.2 IP), Nick Jonson (2-0, 2.70 ERA, 6.2 IP), and John Schmitz (1-1, 2.79 ERA, 9.2 IP) own the Thunder's three saves. … Johnson and Schmitz have made a team-high four pitching appearances, while Bolhuis, Bayer, and MCCraith have each started a team-high three games. … The Thunder have scored at least three runs in nine of their 10 games this season. Wheaton is unbeaten (5-0) when scoring six or more runs. … Wheaton is 5-0 when scoring first and 3-0 when plating at least one run in the first inning.
 
Scouting The Calvin Knights:
2017 Roster | 2017 Statistics | 2017 Schedule
• The Knights head into this weekend's games at Wheaton still searching for their first win of the season, having fallen to Hanover (11-2), before dropping both games against Oberlin (10-2 and 3-2). … Kyle Houts heads into the weekend leading the team with a .500 batting average, while Nate DeZwaan (.333), and Mike Kempton (.333) are also hitting above .300. … Houts owns a team-high four hits through three games, while DeZwaan and Kempton have each chipped in two hits in nine at-bats. … DeZaan has driven in three runs in the Knights' first three games, while Houts and Kempton own a pair of RBIs. … Kempton has collected five walks through three games this season. … Jonathan Kean, Jamie Bristol, and Clay Francisco have started Calvin's three games on the mound. Keane (0-1, 3.00 ERA) has logged a team-high 6.0 IP, while Bristol (0-1, 5.40 ERA) has thrown 5.0 IP and Francisco (0-1, 9.00 ERA) has tossed 4.0 IP. … Trevor VanDuyn (0-0, 6.00 ERA) has made a team-leading two pitching appearances. … Calvin is coming off a 16-24 campaign in 2016, including a 12-16 record and sixth-place showing in the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA).