WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota baseball team kicks off the home portion of its 2017 schedule on Sunday, as the Cardinals entertain UW-Oshkosh in a nonconference doubleheader at Max Molock Field. First pitch is set for 11 a.m.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (9-8 Overall) vs. UW-Oshkosh Titans (7-4 Overall), 1 p.m.
 
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Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—March 29, 2017 * La Crosse, Wis.: The Cardinals came up empty in their nonconference  doubleheader against No. 11 UW-La Crosse. Saint Mary's surrendered four runs in the bottom of the eighth inning in dropping the opener, 4-3, while the Eagles plated runs in each of the first four inning in posting a 7-3 win in the nightcap at Copeland Park | Recap
• UW-Oshkosh—March 24, 2017 * Auburndale, Fla.: Andy Brahier produced four runs with his three hits as UW-Oshkosh concluded its eight-game trip to Florida with a 6-1 victory over Union College (N.Y.) | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. UW-Oshkosh—Their Last Meeting:
• April 15, 2016 * Winona, Minn.: The last time Saint Mary's and UW-Oshkosh squared off, it took 14 innings before the Cardinals would score the game's first run in a 1-0 victory. Four years later, the two teams were at it again—only this time, there was no shortage of offensive fireworks, as the two teams combined to score 22 runs. And even extra innings could not decide a winner. UW-Oshkosh scored three runs in the top of the ninth inning—after Saint Mary's had plated five runs in the bottom of the eighth to take an 11-8 lead—and after a scoreless 10th, the game was halted, deadlocked at 11-11, on account of darkness | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals kick off Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Wednesday, hosting Gustavus in a 2:30 p.m. doubleheader at Max Molock Field.
• UW-Oshkosh: The Titans are back on the road on Wednesday, traveling to Mequon, Wis., for a 4 p.m. game against Concordia (Wis.).
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2017 Roster | 2017 Statistics | 2017 Schedule
• With their 21 hits against UW-La Crosse Wednesday—10 in the first game in 11 in Game 2—the Cardinals have hammered out 10 or more hits in five straight games and 12 times in their 17 games this season. … Saint Mary's amassed a season-high 19 hits against Finlandia on March 1. … Joe Seegers (Oconomowoc, Wis.) and Ben Buerkle (Roseville, Minn.) each had multiple-hit games in both ends of Wednesday's nonconference doubleheader against UW-La Crosse—Seegers had three hits in Game 1 and two in Game 2, while Buerkle posted a pair of two-hit contests. … Buerkle has now had two or more hits in four straight games, while Seegers has had multiple hits in three straight. … Buerkle heads into Sunday's DH against UW-Oshkosh hitting a team-best .554. He is one of six Saint Mary's regulars with batting averages above .300—Seegers (.352), Dirk Drohner (Plover, Wis. / .341), Zach Slowiak (Chippewa Falls, Wis. / .341), Will Matthews (Geneva, Ill. / .340), and Bob Kinne (St. Paul, Minn. / .322) are the others. … Buerkle also leads or shares the team lead in runs (23), hits (36), doubles (7), home runs (5), RBIs (16), total bases (60), slugging percentage (.923), walks (9), and on-base percentage (.618). … Buerkle had his season-opening 11-game hitting streak snapped against Wheaton on March 18, but the senior has picked up a hit in each of his last five games, while also reaching base safely in all 17 games this season. … Buerkle has collected at least one hit in 125 of the 135 games he's played in, while reaching base safely in 132 of those 135 games. … With his second hit against Rockford on March 3—a third-inning double—Buerkle became just the second player in program history with 200 career hits. With his 36 hits through 17 games, Buerkle owns 216 career hits, just four shy of the school record, held by Willie Doll. … With Buerkle's two-run home run in the sixth inning of Game 2 against UW-La Crosse Wednesday, Saint Mary's has now belted 10 home runs this season—with Buerkle (5) and Jake Barry (Tinley Park, Ill. / 4) accounting for nine of them. … Matthews launched his first collegiate home run—a two-run, seventh-inning shot—against Aurora on March 17. … Seegers leads the team in at-bats (71) and shares the team lead in doubles (7) with Buerkle, while Matthews is the team's leader in triples (2) and is second in RBIs (15). … Buerkle and Matthews are two of five Cardinals with 10 or more RBIs—Kinne (13), Slowiak (12), and Barry (10) are the others. … Saint Mary's is 33-for-40 in stolen base attempts, led by Seegers and Buerkle with eight each. … Buerkle leads the team with 13 multiple-hit games—including a season-high four-hit effort in Game 2 against MSOE on Feb. 26. … Buerkle also boasts a team-leading five multiple-RBI games, one more than Matthews. … 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. … R.J. Brown (Broadview, Ill.)—who posted the Cardinals' first no-hitter in more than two decades in guiding Saint Mary's to a 10-0 win over Aurora on March 17—tossed seven more innings of no-hit ball in his next two appearances—three in a no-decision against Viterbo on March 22, and four in another no-decision against UW-La Crosse on Wednesday. The Eagles finally collected their first hit with a leadoff single to open the fifth, snapping Brown's streak of 14 hitless innings. … Brown (2-0, 2.13 ERA) has logged a team-high 25.1 innings on the mound, while Eli Morison (Minneapolis, Minn.) is close behind with 20.2. … Austin Jacobs (Cannon Falls, Minn. / 18.0 IP), Jesse Barron (Minnetonka, Minn. / 17.2 IP), and Ryan Wolfe (Wabasha, Minn. / 14.1 IP), and Jack Nelson (Portage, Wis. / 12.1 IP) have also thrown more than 10 innings this season. … Josh Hottinger (Oconomowoc, Wis.) leads the staff with a 3-0 record, while Brown's 2.13 ERA is tops among Cardinal regulars. … Brown and Jacob Taschetta (Winfield, 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. … Jacobs leads the team with six pitching appearances, one more than Brown, Mathwig, Morison, Nelson, and Hottinger. … Jacobs, Mathwig, and Chris Bartosz (Woodridge, Ill.) have accounted for the Cardinal pitching staff's three saves. … Brown leads the staff with 23 strikeouts—including a career-high eight against Milwaukee School of Engineering on Feb. 26. … Wolfe are second on the staff with 12 strikeouts each. … Saint Mary's has scored 119 runs—and have plated at least one run in all 17 games. … The Cardinals have scored 10 or more runs five times this season, including a season-high 19 in a 19-4 win over Finlandia on March 1. … Saint Mary's is 8-2 when leading after the sixth inning. … The Cardinals are 7-6 when scoring first, and 8-4 when scoring in the first inning. … The Cardinals have outscored their opponents 25-6 in the first inning and 25-8 in the sixth. … Saint Mary's has surrendered just four second-inning run this season. … 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 UW-Oshkosh Titans:
2017 Roster | 2017 Statistics | 2017 Schedule
• UW-Oshkosh entered the weekend riding a four-game winning streak—closing out its Florida spring trip with wins over Washington & Jefferson (4-1), Bowdoin (10-0, 6-1), St. Thomas (3-2) and Union (6-1). … The Titans' games against Saint Mary's are the 14^th and 15^th of 21 straight road games to open the season. UW-Oshkosh does not play its first home games until April 13-14, when they host UW-La Crosse for four WIAC contests. … The Titans headed into their weekend games against St. Scholastica and Saint Mary's hitting .332—including boasting eight Titan regulars hitting above .300. … Sam Schwann (.419) and Logan Reckert (.419) own the team's top batting averages, while regulars Andy Brahler (.370), Tyler Kozlowski (.357), Johnny Eagan (.349), Jack Paulson (.342), Zack Radde (.333), and Dylan Ott (.324) are also hitting .300 or better. … Reckert also leads, or shares the team lead, in at-bats (43), runs (10), hits (18), RBIs (11), and on-base percentage (.490). … Eight different Titans have collected 10 or more hits through 11 games. … The Titans collected 28 extra-base hits in their first 11 games—20 doubles, three triples, and five home runs. … Brahler is the team's home run leader with two, and boasts a .667 slugging percentage. … The Titans have four pitchers who have logged 10 or more innings on the mound, led by Colan Treml with 20.0 IP. Jesse Sustachek (2-1, 3.18 ERA) and Brenden Meissner (1-1, 4.76 ERA) have tossed 17.0 IP, followed by Jacob Pohlman (1-0, 1.69 ERA) with 10.2 IP. … Treml, Sustachek, and Meissner have all made a team-high three starts, while Scott Gorsuch (0-0, 0.00) owns a team-leading four appearances. … Treml is the staff's strikeout leader with 19, followed by Sustachek with 13, Meissner with 11, and Gorsuch and Pohlman with 10 each. … The Titans have scored 10 or more runs twice this season—once in a win, and once in a loss. UW-Oshkosh beat Bowdoin 10-0 on March 22, while falling to Clarkson 16-14 on March 19. … UW-Oshkosh has limited its opponents to two runs or less in five of its seven wins.