WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota baseball team returns to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Monday, as the Cardinals host St. Olaf in a 1 p.m. doubleheader at Max Molock Field.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (1-5 MIAC, 11-14 Overall) vs. St. Olaf Oles (2-4 MIAC, 9-12 Overall), 1 p.m.
 
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Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—April 12, 2017 * St. Paul, Minn.: Saint Mary's managed just four runs on 13 hits over 16 innings against the Tommies' top two pitchers, as St. Thomas dealt the Cardinals 5-3 and 8-1 conference setbacks at Koch Diamond | Recap
 • St. Olaf—April 11, 2017 * Northfield, Minn.: The Oles surrendered three four-run innings in dropping both games of a conference doubleheader against Concordia at Mark Almli Field. The Cobbers scored four runs in both the second and fifth innings in cruising to an 11-6 Game 1 win, before plating four first-inning runs en route to an 8-4 victory in the nightcap | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. St. Olaf—A Year Ago:
• April 16, 2016 * Northfield, Minn.: Bob Kinne (St. Paul, Minn.) collected three hits and drove in a run, while Will Doll (Amherst, Wis.) delivered four hits—none bigger than a three-run home run in the top of the ninth inning—as the Cardinals swept their conference doubleheader against the Oles 7-4 and 7-5 | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals hit the road on Wednesday, traveling to Minneapolis, Minn., for a 2:30 p.m. conference doubleheader against Augsburg.
• St. Olaf: The Oles return home to Mark Almli Field in Northfield, Minn., on Wednesday, entertaining Saint John's in a 2:30 p.m. MIAC twinbill.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2017 Roster | 2017 Statistics | 2017 Schedule
• Thursday's showdown against St. Thomas was the second straight road doubleheader for the Cardinals, who are still searching for their first road win of the season (0-7). Saint Mary's is 3-3 at Max Molock Field, and 8-4 in neutral-site contests. … The Cardinals have recorded 10 or more hits in seven of their last 13 games, and 14 times in their 25 games this season. … Saint Mary's amassed a season-high 19 hits against Finlandia on March 1. … Bob Kinne (St. Paul, Minn.) collected two hits to pace the Cardinals' six-hit Game 1 attack against St. Thomas, while Will Matthews (Geneva, Ill.) and Joey Costello (Hutchinson, Minn.) both went 2-for-3 in the nightcap. … Ben Buerkle (Roseville, Minn.) collected three hits against Saint John's last Saturday—including a first-inning single in the nightcap that made the Cardinal senior the program's all-time hits leader with 221. … Buerkle is one of just two Cardinals in program history with 200 or more career hits—Willie Doll is the other (220). … Jake Barry delivered a lead-off home run in the fifth inning of Game 2 vs. St. Thomas Thursday—It was Barry's third home run in the last four games. Barry launched a three-run, first-inning HR in Game 1 against Saint John's last Saturday, and added a solo shot in the sixth inning of Game 2. … Buerkle enters the Cardinals' doubleheader against St. Olaf hitting a team-best .457. He is one of eight Saint Mary's regulars with batting averages above .300—Matthews (.370), Matthew Piechowski (Hutchinson, Minn. / .357), Dirk Drohner (Plover, Wis. / .341), Chris Bartosz (Woodridge, Ill. / .333), Zach Slowiak (Chippewa Falls, Wis. / .329), Joe Seegers (Oconomowoc, Wis. / .329), and Kinne (.310) are the others. … Buerkle also leads or shares the team lead in runs (26), hits (42), RBIs (24), total bases (70), slugging percentage (.761), walks (13), and on-base percentage (.528). … Buerkle, who had his season-opening 10-game hitting streak snapped against Wheaton on March 18, has been held off the base paths just twice this season—failing to reach base in Game 1 against UW-Oshkosh on April 2 and in Game 2 vs. St. Thomas on Thursday. … Buerkle, who owns at least one hit in 21 of the team's 25 games, has collected at least one hit in 130 of the 143 games he's played in, while reaching base safely in 138 of those 142 games. … Saint Mary's has now belted 14 home runs this season—with Barry (7) and Buerkle (6) accounting for 13 of them. … Matthews launched his first collegiate home run—a two-run, seventh-inning shot—against Aurora on March 17. … Buerkle, Matthews, and Slowiak all share the team lead in doubles with eight, one more than Seegers. … Mathews is the team's leader in triples (2). Kinne (19) and Matthews (18) rank No. 2 and No. 3 in RBIs. … Saint Mary's is 39-for-49 in stolen base attempts, led by Buerkle (9), Seegers (9), and Kinne (8). … Buerkle leads the team with 14 multiple-hit games—including a season-high four-hit effort in Game 2 against MSOE on Feb. 26. … Buerkle also boasts a team-leading seven multiple-RBI games, two more than Kinne and 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 March 29. The Eagles finally collected their first hit with a leadoff single to open the fifth, snapping Brown's streak of 14 hitless innings. … Eli Morison (Minneapolis, Minn. / 2-4, 4.94 ERA) has logged a team-high 31.0 innings, with Brown (2-2, 3.82) close behind with 30.2 IP. … Ryan Wolfe (Wabasha, Minn. / 0-1, 4.94 ERA, 27.1 IP), Jesse Barron (Minnetonka, Minn. / 1-2, 5.47 ERA, 26.1 IP), and Austin Jacobs (Cannon Falls, Minn. / 1-3, 4.97 ERA, 25.1 IP) have also logged over 20 innings this season. … Josh Hottinger (Oconomowoc, Wis.) leads the staff with a 3-0 record, while Bartosz's 1.59 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 and Nathan Mathwig (Woodbury, Minn. / 1-2, 6.35 ERA) share the team lead with 10 pitching appearances. … Mathwig picked up his team-leading second save in the Cardinals' 4-1 win over UW-Oshkosh on April 2, while Jacobs and Bartosz own the team's other two saves. … Brown leads the staff with 27 strikeouts—including a career-high eight against Milwaukee School of Engineering on Feb. 26. … Saint Mary's has scored 154 runs—and have plated at least one run in all 25 games. … The Cardinals have scored 10 or more runs six times this season, including a season-high 19 in a 19-4 win over Finlandia on March 1. … Saint Mary's is 10-4 when leading after the sixth inning. … The Cardinals are 8-7 when scoring first, and 9-5 when scoring in the first inning. … The Cardinals have outscored their opponents 30-14 in the first inning and 29-15 in the sixth. … 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 St. Olaf Oles:
2017 Roster | 2017 Statistics | 2017 Schedule
• After three straight home dates—a nonconference contest against Northwester and a pair of conference doubleheaders against Bethel and Concordia—the Oles play two of their next three doubleheaders on the road, beginning Saturday against Saint Mary's. … The Oles are looking for their first road win of the season. St. Olaf is 0-4 on the road, while going 6-6 in neutral-site competitions. … St. Olaf's 11-6 Game 1 loss to Concordia on Tuesday snapped its three-game winning streak. … The Oles have won three games in a row twice this season. On the flip side, St. Olaf's 4-3 victory over Northwestern on April 6 put an end to its season-high five-game losing streak. … The Oles enter their showdown with Saint Mary's hitting .302 as a team, and boast five players—Luke Dahl (.438), Dylan Blake (.387), Jake Ossell (.348), Ben Arndt (.344), and Travis McDonald (.312)—who are hitting above .300. … Blake (29), McDonald (24), Ossell (23), Arndt (22), and Dahl (21) have all recorded 20 or more hits through 21 games, while Blakd and Ossell share the team lead with 15 runs scored. … Ossell boasts a team-high 16 RBIs, one more than Ryan Iverson (.289), while the two share the team lead in home runs with three each. … Iverson carries a team-high .578 slugging percentage. … As a team, St. Olaf has stolen 22 bases on 28 attempts, led by McDonald with eight steals. … Jake Mathison (4-2, 2.47 ERA) has thrown a team-high 40.0 innings, with Will Gustafson (1-2, 4.50 ERA, 24.0 IP) and Jesse Retzlaff (2-2, 6.95 ERA), 22.0 IP) having also thrown 20 or more innings. … St. Olaf has seven different players who have made six pitching appearances, while Mathison owns team-highs in starts (6), complete games (4), and strikeouts (42). … Devine Hanson (1-1, 1.23 ERA) and Cameron Gray (1-1, 7.63 ERA) lead the team with two saves each. … St. Olaf has scored 109 runs through 21 games, including three games of 10 or more runs. … St. Olaf plated a season-high 14 runs twice this season—beating Clarkson 14-6 on March 18 and Lawrence 14-2 on March 24. … The Oles have been held to two runs or less in seven of their 12 losses. … St. Olaf is 7-0 when leading after the sixth inning, but the Oles are also 0-10 when trailing heading into the seventh. … St. Olaf has scored just two second-inning runs. The Oles have been outscored by a combined 52-17 in the game's first two innings.