By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
AUBURNDALE, Fla. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota baseball team kicks off its 2018 season with 10 nonconference games as part of their nine-day spring trip.
 
The Matchups:
February 25, 2018 | Lake Myrtle Park #7 * Auburndale, Fla. | 11 a.m. (EST)
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (2017: 19-20 Overall) vs. Neumann Knights (2017: 21-18 Overall)
February 26, 2018 | Lake Myrtle Park, Main Field * Auburndale, Fla. | 11:15 a.m. (EST)
• Saint Mary's Cardinals vs. Milwaukee School of Engineering Raiders (2017: 21-21 Overall)
February 27, 2018 | Lake Myrtle Park #8 * Auburndale, Fla. | 11 a.m. (EST)
• Saint Mary's Cardinals vs. Cabrini Cavaliers (2017: 10-22 Overall)
March 1, 2018 | Lake Myrtle Park #4 * Auburndale, Fla. | 12:30 p.m. (EST)
• Saint Mary's Cardinals vs. Rose-Hulman Fightin' Engineers (2017: 18-24 Overall)
March 2, 2018 | Chain of Lakes Park, Stadium * Winter Haven, Fla. | 4 p.m. (EST)
• Saint Mary's Cardinals vs. Augustana (Ill.) Vikings (2017: 30-14 Overall)
March 3, 2018 | Chain of Lakes Park, Stadium * Winter Haven, Fla. | 9 a.m. (EST)
• Saint Mary's Cardinals vs. Mount Union Rebels (2017: x-x Overall)
March 4, 2017 | Chain of Lakes Park #4 * Winter Haven, Fla. | 9 a.m. (EST)
• Saint Mary's Cardinals vs. Penn State-Brandywine Lions (2017: 16-19 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats: MSOE 1/MSOE 2 * Rose-Hulman * Mount Union 1/Mount Union 2 * Penn State Brandywine
 
Last Action:
• This week's games in Auburndale, Fla., are the 2018 season-openers for the Cardinals and all of their opponents.
 
Saint Mary's vs. Spring Trip Opponents—Their Last Meeting:
• vs. Milwaukee School of Engineering * February 26, 2017 * Winter Haven, Fla.: The Cardinals scored a combined 25 runs in two games against the Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE), winning the first 15-3 and the second 10-3, to open their trip to Florida with a perfect 2-0 record | Recap
• vs. Augustana (Ill.) * February 21-22, 2016 * Winter Haven, Fla.: Saint Mary's split its two nonconference games against the Vikings. Augustana broke open a 1-1 game with five unanswered runs—including three in the fourth inning—in handing the Cardinals a 7-1 nonconference setback in the teams' opener. The Cardinals erupted for nine runs—including four in the second inning—en route to a 9-3 nonconference win over Augustana in the teams' rematch | Augustana Recap 1 * Augustana Recap 2
• vs. Mount Union * February 29, 2016 * Winter Haven, Fla.: Saint  Mary's headed into its final two games of its 10-game spring trip against Mount Union riding a seven-game winning streak. And thanks to a 6-3 win over the Raiders in Game 1, the Cardinals pushed that win streak to eight. Unfortunately for coach Nick Winecke, the 10^th and final game of their week-long spring trip ended the same way the trip began—with a loss. The Cardinals' high-powered offense, which racked up 72 runs in its first nine games, ran out of gas in the nightcap against the Raiders, managing just a single run in falling to Mount Union 5-1 | Recap
• This week's games against Neumann, Cabrini, Rose-Hulman & Penn State-Brandywine are the first in program history.
 
Cardinals' Up Next:
• The Cardinals are scheduled to return to action, weather permitting, on March 16-17, squaring off against Aurora, Wheaton (Ill.), and Alma in Carol Stream, Ill.
 
Scouting the Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2018 Roster | 2018 Schedule | 2017 Final Statistics
• Saint Mary's boasted two players who earned MIAC post-season honors. Bob Kinne (St. Paul, Minn.) was named First-Team All-MIAC for the second straight year, while Joe Seegers (Oconomowoc, Wis.) was select to the MIAC's All-Defensive Team. … Ben Buerkle (Roseville, Minn.), a D3baseball.com and ABCA All-Region selection, also locked up his third straight CoSIDA Academic All-America honor. … Buerkle closed out his senior season hitting a team- and MIAC-best .405. … Buerkle was one of six Saint Mary's regulars with batting averages above .300—Matthew Piechowski (Hutchinson, Minn. / .371), Bob Kinne (St. Paul, Minn. / .353), Connor Christenson (Lakeville, Minn. / .333), Dirk Drohner (Plover, Wis. / .319), and Chris Bartosz (Woodridge, Ill. / .316) were the others. … Buerkle also led or shared the team lead in runs (39), hits (53), doubles (13), total bases (92), slugging percentage (.702), walks (31)—including 18 in his last 14 games—and on-base percentage (.524). … Buerkle, who had his season-opening 10-game hitting streak snapped against Wheaton on March 18, was held off the base paths just twice last season—failing to reach base in Game 1 against UW-Oshkosh on April 2 and in Game 2 vs. St. Thomas on April 13. … Buerkle, who owned at least one hit in 30 of the team's 39 games, closed out his career having collected at least one hit in 140 of the 158 games he played in, while reaching base safely in 153 of those 158 games. … Jake Barry (Tinley Park, Ill.) led the team—and the conference—with 11 home runs last season, one more than Buerkle, while Kinne, Will Matthews (Geneva, Ill.), and Bartosz each hit one. … Matthews launched his first collegiate home run—a two-run, seventh-inning shot—against Aurora on March 17. … Bartosz delivered his first collegiate home run—a two-run, first-inning shot against Hamline on May 3. … Barry's 11 home runs are tied for second all-time in program history, three shy of single-season record-holder Todd Borndale's 14 round-trippers in 1985. … Barry finished with a team-leading 30 RBIs, one more than Kinne and three in front of Buerkle. … Matthews is the team's leader in triples (2). … Saint Mary's was 56-for-70 in stolen base attempts, led by Buerkle (17), Kinne (13), and Seegers (11). … Kinne was not thrown out trying to steal this season, going 13-for-13. … Kinne led the team with 17 multiple-hit games—one more than Buerkle—while sharing the team lead in multiple-RBI games (8) with Barry. … Matthews and Slowiak each owned 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. … Buerkle closed out his four-year Saint Mary's career as the program's all-time hits leader with 233, while also owning career records in doubles (51), triples (13), runs (162), RBIs (150), and games played (158). … R.J. Brown (Broadview, Ill.) tossed his second no-hitter of the season in Saint Mary's 4-0 Game 1 win over Carleton on April 28. The junior right-hander—who threw just 5 2/3 innings combined in his first two seasons as a Cardinal—earned his first no-hitter against Aurora on March 17. … Brown is the first pitcher in NCAA Division III to record two no-hitters in a season since Ferrum's Jake Perkins posted a pair of no-hitters during the 2014 season. Brown is also the first MIAC pitcher with two no-hitters in a season since 1977, when Saint John's Rick Laba achieved the feat in 1977—no-hitting Gustavus (2-0) and Augsburg (2-0). … Brown (3-4, 3.32 ERA) led the team with 57.0 innings pitched. Ryan Wolfe (Wabasha, Minn.) / 1-2, 5.25 ERA) was second to Brown with 48.0 innings, while Eli Morrison (Minneapolis, Minn. / 2-4, 4.43 ERA, 42.2 IP), Jesse Barron (Minneapolis, Minn. / 2-4, 6.48 ERA, 41.2 IP), and Austin Jacobs (Cannon Falls, Minn. / 1-3, 7.64 ERA, 33.0 IP also tossed more than 30 innings last season. … Nathan Mathwig (Woodbury, Minn. / 1-2, 6.08 ERA) and Jacobs made a team-leading 14 pitching appearances. … Brown and Barron each led the pitching staff with 10 starts, while Brown accounted for all three of the team's complete games. … Ryan Wolfe (Wabasha, Minn.) notched his first win on April 29, going 6.1 innings and allowing five runs on nine hits in the Cardinals' 6-5 win over Concordia. … Brown and Jacob Taschetta (Winfield, Ill. / 1-0, 0.00) 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. … Brown equaled his career high with eight strikeouts against Hamline on May 3. He also fanned eight against Milwaukee School of Engineering on Feb. 26, and finished with a team-leading 47 strikeouts. … Saint Mary's scored 214 runs—and plated at least one run in all 39 games last season. … The Cardinals scored 10 or more runs six times a year ago, including a season-high 19 in a 19-4 win over Finlandia on March 1. … Saint Mary's amassed a season-high 19 hits against Finlandia on March 1. … Saint Mary's finished 14-6 when leading after the sixth inning. … The Cardinals were 11-9 when scoring first, and 13-6 when scoring in the first inning. … The Cardinals outscored their opponents 41-21 in the first inning and 41-28 in the sixth. … Saint Mary's 2-1 eight-inning win over Hamline on May 3 was its third extra-inning game of the season. The Cardinals beat St. Olaf 7-6 in 10 innings on April 17, while falling to Wartburg in 13 innings—also by a 7-6 count—on Feb. 27. … The Cardinals played six games that were decided in the home team's last at-bat. The Cardinals beat St. Olaf 7-6 on a Justin Weinberg (Eagan, Minn.) single in the bottom of the 10^th inning on April 17, before losing back-to-back walk-off games vs. Augsburg (2-1, 7-6) on April 20, beating Macalester on a Kinne hit in the bottom of the seventh on April 22, topping the Pipers 2-1 on Seegers' RBI single in the bottom of the eighth, and falling to Bethel 6-5 in their season finale on May 7. … All nine Cardinal starters had at least one hit in Saint Mary's 7-6 Game 1 win over St. Olaf on April 17. … The Cardinals closed out the season winning five of their last eight games. … Saint Mary's picked up four doubleheader sweeps this season—beating Hamline (2-1, 4-2), Carleton (4-0, 4-2), St. Olaf (7-6, 9-6), Milwaukee School of Engineering (15-3, 10-3).
 
Scouting The Neumann Knights:
2018 Roster | 2018 Schedule | 2017 Final Statistics
• The Knights enter their spring trip on the heels of a 21-18 season a year ago—including a 14-7 showing in the Colonial States Athletic Conference. … Neumann reached the semifinals of the CSAC post-season tournament a year ago, falling to Immaculata. … Neumann boasted four players who hit above .300 last season—Cody MacNair (.387), Matt McLaughlin (.351), Evan Emerich (.338), and Duncan Balara (.319). … Along with his team-best .387 batting average, MacNair also led the team in hits (58), doubles (15), total bases (85), slugging percentage (.567), and on-base percentage (.422). … Emerich, Chuck Trentler (.298), and Eric Bergman (.290) all shared the team lead with 34 runs scored, while four Knights—Emerich, Ballara, Trentler, and Bergman—all belted a team-leading four home runs. … Bergman finished with a team-high 39 RBIs, six more than Trentler and eight in front of MacNair. … Neumann finished the year 43-for-52 in the stolen base department, led by Emerich with 12 steals and McLaughlin with 10. … Zach Youngberg finished the year as the ace of the Knights' pitching staff, logging a team-high 57.1 innings, while also leading the squad in ERA (2.04), wins (4), appearances (15), and complete games (1). … Grant Wallace 3-3, 5.01 ERA) led the Knight pitchers in starts (9) and was second to Youngberg with 46.2 IP. … Zach Cooney (2-3, 4.43 ERA) owned a team-high 39 strikeouts, with Wallace (36), Youngberg (30), and Anthony Stricker (2-1, 4.43 ERA, 30) also striking out 30 or more batters. … As a staff, Neumann finished the year with a 5.36 ERA and opponents boasted a .289 batting average.
 
Scouting the Milwaukee School of Engineering Raiders:
2018 Roster | 2018 Schedule | 2017 Final Statistics
• The Raiders are coming off a .500 (21-21) season in 2017—including a 10-10 mark in Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference play. … MSOE reached the semifinals of the NACC post-season tournament, falling to Concordia (Wis.) 7-5 in 15 innings. … The Raiders return seven starters — including First-Team All-NACC and All-Region selections Owen Burnikel and Jimmy Carrington—as well as six pitchers who tossed 10 or more innings a year ago. … Burnikel closed out his junior season last year as the team's batting leader with a .377 average. … Burnikel was one of eight Raider regulars with a batting average above .300. … Nick Gross (.345) led the Raiders with 58 hits—one more than Burnikel and two in front of Carrington and Ryan Newman (.359), while also sharing the team lead in doubles (14) with Burnikel, Carrington and Newman. … Gross hit three of the Raiders' six triples last season. … As a team, MSOE belted 32 home runs in 2017, led by Burniel with nine and Carrington with seven. … Burnikel also led the team in RBIs (41), on-base percentage (.435), and slugging percentage (.649). … MSOE stole just nine bases on 18 attempts a year ago. … Michael Boehmer was the ace of the Raiders' pitching staff, compiling a 3.84 ERA and 6-1 record in a team-leading 61.0 innings. … Jacob Roley (3-4, 5.34 ERA, 57.1 IP), Sam Crawford (2-3, 4.29 ERA, 42.0 IP), and Brandon Rankila (1-3, 4.29 ERA, 42.0 IP) also logged more than 40 innings on the mound last season. … Crawford made a team-leading 15 appearances, while Boehmer posted four of the team's eight complete games. … Boehmer owned a team-best 55 strikeouts, followed by Matt Mohapp (4-4, 5.15 ERA) with 41 and Rankila with 34. … MSOE scored 10 or more runs 10 times last season—including a season-high 20 in a 20-4 win over Lakeland on April 9.
 
Scouting the Cabrini Cavaliers:
2018 Roster | 2018 Schedule | 2017 Final Statistics
• Cabrini enters the year coming off a 10-22 inaugural season a year ago, finishing 4-17 in the Colonia States Athletic Conference. … Tyler Norris was the only Cabrini regular to hit above .300 during their first season in 2017, hitting .365. … Norris also led Carbini in runs (25), hits (35) and on-base percentage. … Dylan Butler (.288) was second to Norris in both runs (22) and hits (32), while leads the Cavaliers in at-bats (111), home runs (6), RBIs (23), total bases (55), slugging percentage (.495) and walks (12). … Shaun Stackhouse (.227) was the team-leader in doubles (7) and recorded a team-best 16 stolen bases on 19 attempts, while Norris was second with 15 steals in 16 tries. … Josh Breittholz logged a team-best 52.0 innings on the mound for Cabrini last season, while Jake Dohar (36.1 IP) and Andrew Del Giudice (30.1 IP) also threw 30 or more innings. … Del Guidice (1-3, 6.53 ERA) made a team-high 13 pitching appearances, one more than Breittholz (5-5, 7.62 ERA), and collected the team's only save. … Breittholz and Ryan Givens (1-4, 9.00 ERA) each tossed two of the team's six complete games, while Breittholz was the Cavaliers' strikeout leader with 29. … Cabrini scored 10 or more runs four times in 2017, including a season-high 17 runs in a 17-7 win over Valley Forge on March 21. On the flip side, the Cavaliers surrendered 10 or more runs six times, including an 18-1 loss to Neumann on April 18.
 
Scouting the Rose-Hulman Fightin' Engineers:
2018 Roster | 2018 Schedule | 2017 Final Statistics
• Rose-Hulman heads into spring play on the heels of an 18-24 season in 2017­—including a 16-14 showing in Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference play. … The Fightin' Engineers dropped both of their games in the HCAC Tournament, falling to regular-season champion Earlham 4-3 in 10 innings, before being eliminated by Mount St. Joseph 3-1 the following day. … Rose-Hulman has made four straight post-season appearances—qualifying for the NCAA Division III Tournament and reaching the Central Regional Championship Game in 2014 and 2016, while also qualifying for HCAC Tournaments in 2015 and 2017. … Rose-Hulman boasted three regulars who hit .300 or better a year ago—David Burnside (.384), Zach Trusk (.374), and Donner Shipley (.346). … Shipley owns a team-best 62 hits, while Burnside—who was one hit back with 61—was the team-leader in runs (41), doubles (13), home runs (7), RBIs (38), walks (23), on-base percentage (.495), and slugging percentage (.610). … Burnside (7) and Brian Thomas (5) accounted for 12 of the team's 16 home runs last season. … Burnside was one of nine Fightin' Engineers with 10 or more RBIs a year ago. … As a team, Rose-Hulman finished 25-for-37 in stolen base attempts, led by Shipley with five steals, and Burnside and Trusk with four each. … Rose-Hulman boasted seven pitchers who logged 20 or more innings a year ago, led by Ian Grant (3-5, 4.07 ERA) with 79.2 IP and Cody Sunderhaus (1-4, 5.80 ERA) with 63.1 IP. … Clayton Mayfield (3-3, 3.13 ERA) made a team-leading 20 pitching appearances, while also leading the team in ERA (3.13) and saves (4). … Mayfield was won of four Rose-Hulman hurlers to share the team lead in wins with three. … Grant struck out a team-best 53 batters (5.99 K/9) and was one of five pitchers with 20 or more strikeouts last season. … With their two HCAC Tournament loses, Rose-Hulman closed out 2017 having lost five straight and eight of their last nine.
 
Scouting the Augustana Vikings:
2018 Roster | 2018 Schedule | 2017 Final Statistics
• Augustana is coming off a 30-win season in 2017, where the Vikings finished 30-14, including a 14-10 showing in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW). … It was the 18^th time in the last 19 years that Augustana has recorded at least 25 wins in a season. … The Vikings played four one-run games in the CCIW post-season tournament, beating Wheaton (3-2) and North Central (4-3), before falling twice to North Central (12-11 and 13-12). … Augustana was picked to finish fourth in the 2018 CCIW Preseason Coaches' Poll. … Carter Amundsen—the Vikings' offensive leader in 2017—returns after a D3baseball.com and ABCA/Rawlings All-Region season a year ago. Amundsen led Vikings in batting average (.374), at-bats (182), hits (68), doubles (13), total bases (81), hit-by-pitch (11), on-base percentage (.468), and stolen bases (15), while scoring 45 times and driving in 32. … Amundsen put together 23 multiple-hit games and closed out the season hitting safely in each of the Vikings' last 16 games. … Ryan Kairis hit.337 with two home runs and 32 RBIs in 2017, while leading the team with 50 runs scored and 27 walks. … Kairis struck out just seven time sin 204 plate appearances last year. … Zach Morgenstern was the ace of the Vikings' pitching staff last season, compiling an 8-1 record and 3.53 ERA in a team-high 86.2 innings pitched. … Brad Dubow (4-2, 4.20 ERA) and Mike Powers (6-2, 4.21 ERA) also tossed at least 60 innings in 2017—Powers throwing 68.1 innings and Dubow adding 60.0. … Casey Weir (3-1, 3.92) collected a team-best five saves, with Justin Meyer (0-0, 3.52 ERA) chipping in four. … Kyle McGinley also returns on the mound, after being limited to just two appearances due to injury last season. McGinley, third in school history with 10.05 strikeouts per 9 innings, led the Vikings in ERA (2.14) with 47 strikeouts in 2016. … Augustana scored 10 or more runs 17 times last season—posting a 14-3 mark in those 17 contests. The Vikings finished the year 24-2 when limiting their opponents to five runs or less. … Augustana scored a season-high 18 runs twice—beating Carroll 18-5 and Elmhurst 18-6.
 
Scouting the Mount Union Raiders:
2018 Roster | 2018 Schedule | 2017 Final Statistics
• The Raiders kick off 2018 on the heels of an impressive 31-11 season a year ago—including a near-perfect 16-2 showing in the Ohio Athletic Conference. … The Raiders won the OAC regular-season title, before falling to Otterbein 14-8 in the championship game of the OAC post-season tournament. … Mount Union's 31 wins a year ago were a school record, while the Raiders' regular-season OAC title was the school's first since 1970. … Mount Union returns a pair of D3baseball.com and ABCA/Rawlings All-Americans in Billy Goodall and Phil Mary. … Goodall and Mary are just the seventh and eighth Raiders ever to earn All-American honors—and the first in program history to do it in the same season. … Goodall was Mount Union's offensive leader a year ago, leading the Raiders in batting average (.451), runs (40), hits (69), doubles (14), walks (20), stolen bases (25), on-base percentage (.525) and slugging percentage (.627). … Goodall was one of seven Raiders to hit .300 or better—Mount Union closed out 2017 hitting .308 as a team. … Goodall was one of three Mount Union players to collect 50 or more hits—Joey Keleman (54) and Kyle Spellman (51) were the other two. … Keleman belted a team-leading five home runs and led the squad with 37 RBIs, three more than Goodall. … Mount Union set a single-season school record with 114 stolen bases, led by Goodall (25) and Keleman (24). … Mary—the OAC and Midwest Region Pitcher of the Year—logged a team-high 81.0 innings a year ago. He was one of six pitchers to log 20 or more innings in 2017. … Mary closed out the year a perfect 10-0 with a microscopic 0.76 ERA. He also accounted for four of the Raiders' six complete games, collected a pair of saves, and struck out a team-leading 62 batters. … Mitch McCristall (6-0, 3.99 ERA) was second to Mary in innings pitched with 65.1 IP and added a pair of saves. … Mount Union scored 10 or more runs seven times last season—including a season-high 13 in a 13-7 win over Washington & Jefferson. On the flip side, the Raiders allowed 10 runs or more three times, with their 14-8 season-ending loss to Otterbein the most runs allowed all season.
 
Scouting the Penn State-Brandywine Lions:
2018 Roster | 2018 Schedule | 2017 Final Statistics
• The Lions closed out 2017 with a 16-19 overall record, while going 12-3 in the Penn State University Athletic Conference (PSUAC). … The Lions reached the semifinals of the PSUAC post-season tournament, falling to Penn State-Mont Alto 2-0. … The Lions had five regulars hit .300 or better a year ago, led by John Gorgone (.359) and Brett Sheeran (.328). … Gorgone and Brian Reynolds (.311) shared the team lead in hits with 33 each, while Sheeran was the team-leader in on-base percentage (.512). … Matt Masi (.305) was an extra-base specialist for Brandywine last season, collecting team-highs of eight doubles, six triples and three home runs, while also leading the squad with a .611 slugging percentage. … The Lions stole 53 bases in 2017, led by Masi with 14 and Gorgone with eight. … Brandywine closed out 2017 with four pitchers logging 30 or more innings—led by Tyler Michael (3-5, 4.81 ERA) with 43.0. Brad Ulmer (2-2, 5.17 ERA) was second to Michaels with 38.1 IP, followed by Joe Samohod (4-2, 3.34 ERA) with 35.0 IP and Kevin Sessa (2-2 4.01 ERA) with 33.2 IP. … Nate Forwood (0-2, 2.51 ERA) made a team-high 11 appearances—one more than Michaels—and owned both of the team's saves. … Michaels led the team with 29 strikeouts, two more than Samohod, and was one of four Lion pitchers with a complete game. … Brandywine scored 10 or more runs five times a year ago, while the Lions' opponents plated 10 or more runs seven times. … The Lions scored a season-high 19 runs in a 19-2 win over Penn State Scranton, while on the flip side, Brandywine surrendered a season-high 24  runs in a 24-2 loss to Olivet Nazarene.