WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota baseball team kicks off Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Wednesday, as the Cardinals host Gustavus in a 2:30 p.m. doubleheader at Max Molock Field.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (0-0 MIAC, 10-9 Overall) vs. Gustavus Gusties (2-0 MIAC, 10-6 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats | GameDay Program
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—April 2, 2017 * Winona, Minn.: The Cardinals earned a split in its nonconference doubleheader against UW-Oshkosh, collecting a 4-1 win in the opener, before falling to the Titans 8-3 in the nightcap at Max Molock Field | Recap
• Gustavus—April 1, 2017 * Northfield, Minn.: The Gusties started Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play with a sweep of Carleton, winning the opener 8-7 in eight innings, before completing the sweep with their second eight-run output in an 8-5 Game 2 win | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Gustavus—A Year Ago:
• April 6, 2016 * St. Peter, Minn.: Saint Mary's erupted for 10 runs—including four in their final at-bat—as the Cardinals put an end to their season-high five-game losing streak with a 10-7 Game 1 win over the Gusties at Gustie Baseball Field. Unfortunately for the Cardinals, they could have used a few of those Game 1 runs in the nightcap, as Gustavus held Saint Mary's to just two runs—one in the first and one in the eighth—in earning a split with a 3-2 victory | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals hit the road on Saturday, traveling to Collegeville, Minn., for a 1 p.m. MIAC doubleheader against Saint John's
• Gustavus: The Gusties return home to St. Peter, Minn., on Saturday, hosting St. Olaf in a 1 p.m. conference twinbill.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2017 Roster | 2017 Statistics | 2017 Schedule
• The Cardinals' 4-1 Game 1 win over UW-Oshkosh last Sunday snapped Saint Mary's season-high three-game losing streak. … With their 21 hits against UW-La Crosse last Wednesday—10 in the first game in 11 in Game 2—the Cardinals have hammered out 10 or more hits in five of their last seven games and 12 times in their 19 games this season. … Saint Mary's amassed a season-high 19 hits against Finlandia on March 1. … The Cardinals got a pair of stellar performances from starting pitchers Jesse Barron and Ryan Wolfe (Wabasha, Minn.) against UW-Oshkosh Sunday. Barron went 6 2/3 in the opener, allowing one run on four hits, while Wolfe tossed six innings of one-run, six-hit ball in the nightcap. … Will Matthews (Geneva, Ill.) picked up two hits in both games against UW-Oshkosh on Sunday, while Chris Bartosz (Woodbridge, Ill.) drove in four runs—including a career-high three in the Cardinals' 4-1 Game 1 win. … Ben Buerkle (Roseville, Minn.) is hitting a team-best .529. He is one of seven Saint Mary's regulars with batting averages above .300—Bartosz (.421),, Matthews (.373), Dirk Drohner (Plover, Wis. / .341), Joe Seegers (Oconomowoc, Wis. / .333), Zach Slowiak (Chippewa Falls, Wis. / .341), and Bob Kinne (St. Paul, Minn. / .318) are the others. … Buerkle also leads or shares the team lead in runs (24), hits (37), doubles (7), home runs (6), RBIs (19), total bases (64), slugging percentage (.914), walks (11), and on-base percentage (.602). … Buerkle, who had his season-opening 11-game hitting streak snapped against Wheaton on March 18, was held off the base paths in Game 1 against UW-Oshkosh Sunday, marking the first time this season the senior has failed to reach base safely. … Buerkle, who owns at least one hit in 17 of the team's 19 games, has collected at least one hit in 126 of the 137 games he's played in, while reaching base safely in 133 of those 137 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 37 hits through 19 games, Buerkle owns 217 career hits, just three shy of the school record, held by Willie Doll. … Buerkle launched his team-leading sixth home run of the season in Game 2 against UW-Oshkosh Sunday. … Saint Mary's has now belted 11 home runs this season—with Buerkle (6) and Jake Barry (Tinley Park, Ill. / 4) accounting for 10 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 (78) 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 (16). … 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-42 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 six multiple-RBI games, two 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 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. … Brown (2-0, 2.13 ERA) has logged a team-high 25.1 innings on the mound, while Barron (1-1, 2.22 ERA) is close behind with 24.1 IP. …  Eli Morison (Minneapolis, Minn. / 1-3, 3.92 ERA / 20.2 IP), Wolfe (0-1, 6.20 ERA, 20.1 IP 14.1 IP), Austin Jacobs (Cannon Falls, Minn. / 1-3, 4.26 ERA, 19.0 IP), and Jack Nelson (Portage, Wis. / 0-0, 4.32 ERA, 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 and Nathan Mathwig (Woodbury, Minn.) share the team lead with seven pitching appearances. … Mathwig picked up his team-leading second save in Sunday's 4-1 win over UW-Oshkosh, while Jacobs and Bartosz (Woodridge, Ill.) own the team's other two saves. … Brown leads the staff with 23 strikeouts—including a career-high eight against Milwaukee School of Engineering on Feb. 26. … Wolfe is second on the staff with 16 strikeouts. … Saint Mary's has scored 126 runs—and have plated at least one run in all 19 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 9-3 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 25-7 in the first inning and 28-8 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 Gustavus Gusties:
2017 Roster | 2017 Statistics | 2017 Schedule
• The Gusties' 8-7, Game 1 win over Carleton last Saturday snapped their three-game losing streak. … After opening the season 2-3, Gustavus rattled off six straight wins, before going 2-3 in its last five contests. … Saturday's 8-7 win over Carleton was the Gusties' eighth game decided by two runs of less—GAC is 5-3 in those seven contests. … The Game 1 win over Carleton was also GAC's third extra-inning game. Along with the win over Carleton, the Gusties downed Mount Mary 4-3 in 10 innings, while also falling to Mayville State 6-5 in eight innings. … Nolan Lepel, who launched a game-tying, seventh-inning grand slam home run in GAC's 8-6 win over Carleton Saturday, owns a team-leading .438 batting average. Lepel is one of five Gusties hitting above .300—Brice Panning (.342), Josh Chatfield (.333), Matt Berkner (.324), and Brock Peterson (.305) are the others. … Chatfield leads or shares the team lead in runs (17), hits (21), and doubles (6), while Lepel shares the team lead with Chatfield in hits (21) and is the team-leader in home runs (3), RBIs (22), total bases (35), slugging percentage (.729) and on-base percentage (.534). … Lepel has accounted for three of the team's four home runs—Chatfield owns the other. … Lepel has amassed a team-high eight multiple-hit games, two more than Chatfield and Isaiah Welcke, and also leads the team with six multiple-RBI games. … Connor Kern (2-0, 5.64 ERA) has tossed a team-high 22.1 innings on the mound for the Gusties. Kern is one of six GAC hurlers to have thrown 10 or more innings—Adam Stockwell (2-1, 4.29 ERA, 21.0 IP), Casey Lewandoski (2-0, 2.45 ERA, 18.1 IP), Sam Archer (0-1, 3.86 ERA, 16.1 IP), Mitchell Nordin (1-1, 4.71 ERA, 13.1 IP), and Brice Panning (1-0, 2.70 ERA, 10.0 IP) are the others. … Lewandoski has made a team-high seven pitching appearances—all in relief—while Stockwell and Kern lead the team with four starts. … Kern has struck out a team-leading 14 batters. … Gustavus has scored six or more runs in eight of their 10 wins this season—including four games with 10 or more runs. … The Gusties plated a season-high 14 runs in a 14-10 win over Northwestern on March 22. … The Gusties are unbeaten (4-0) when scoring in the first inning, while going 6-3 when plating the game's first run. … Gustavus is 7-1 when leading after the sixth inning, and 5-0 when leading after the seventh and eighth innings. … The Gusties hold a 21-11 scoring advantage in the fifth inning, and a 20-10 edge in the seventh, but GAC has been outscored 17-4 in the opening frame.