By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
CAROL STREAM, Ill. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota baseball team, coming off a 10-game spring trip to Auburndale, Fla., is back in action this weekend with nonconference games against Aurora, Wheaton (Ill.), and Alma at the Wheaton Tournament.
 
The Matchups:
March 16, 2018 | Lee Pfund Stadium * Carol Stream, Ill. | 11 a.m.
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (4-6 Overall) vs. Aurora Spartans (7-4 Overall)
March 16, 2018 | Lee Pfund Stadium * Carol Stream, Ill. | 5 p.m.
• Saint Mary's Cardinals vs. Wheaton Thunder (5-4 Overall)
March 17, 2018 | Lee Pfund Stadium * Carol Stream, Ill. | 11 a.m.
• Saint Mary's Cardinals vs. Alma Scots (5-2 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—February 25-March 4, 2018 * Auburndale, Fla.: The Cardinals closed out their 10-game spring trip by going 4-6—including a trip-ending 16-1 win over Penn State-Brandywine in the teams' first-ever meeting | Neumann Recap * MSOE Recap * Cabrini Recap * Rose-Hulman Recap * Augustana Recap * Mount Union Recap * PS-Brandywine Recap
• Aurora—March 4-10 2018 * Auburndale, Fla.: The Spartans head into this weekend having opened the season 7-4 in its 11-game spring trip, including a trip-ending 8-3 win over the College of New Jersey last Saturday | Spring Trip Recaps
• Wheaton (Ill.)—March 3-10, 2018 * Tucson, Ariz.: Wheaton closed out its nine-game spring trip to Arizona 6-5 loss to Cornell to finish its trip with a 5-4 record | Spring Trip Recaps
• Alma—March 11, 2018 * Westfield, Ind.: The Scots picked up a pair of two-run wins over Hanover, beating the Panthers 2-0 and 3-1 in a nonconference twinbill at the Grand Park Sports Campus | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Aurora—Their Last Meeting:
• March 17, 2017 * Carol Stream, Ill.: R.J. Brown (Broadview, Ill.) tossed a seven-inning, complete-game no-hitter, leading the Cardinals to a 10-0 victory over the Spartans in the first of three games at the Wheaton Round-Robin Tournament at Lee Pfund Stadium | Recap
Saint Mary's vs. Wheaton (Ill.)—Their Last Meeting:
• March 17, 2017 * Carol Stream, Ill.: The Cardinals surrendered 10 hits—not to mention five runs—as host Wheaton handed Saint Mary's a 5-3 nonconference setback at Lee Pfund Stadium | Recap
Saint Mary's vs. Alma—Their Last Meeting:
• March 3, 2017 * Auburndale, Fla.: After scoring just three runs in the first seven innings of their nine-inning nonconference game against Alma, the Cardinals erupted for eight runs in the eighth—taking advantage of two, three-base Scots errors, not to mention a Jake Barry (Tinley Park, Ill.) three-run home run—in cruising to an 11-7, come-from-behind victory | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals are back in action next Saturday, heading to Duluth, Minn., for a nonconference doubleheader against St. Scholastica. First pitch is slated for 1 p.m.
• Aurora: The Spartans are back in action next weekend, returning to Stewart Sports Complex in Montgomery, Ill., for three games against Cornell. The two teams will play a noon doubleheader on Saturday, following by a single game on Sunday, also at noon.
• Wheaton (Ill.): The Thunder are back on Lee Pfund Stadium in Carol Stream, Ill., next weekend, hosting Concordia in a 5 p.m. contest on Friday, before squaring off against Beloit (2 p.m.) and Dominican (5 p.m.) the following day.
• Alma: The Scots return to action on Tuesday, returning home to Alma, Mich., for a doubleheader against Finlandia. First pitch is slated for 2 p.m.
 
Scouting the Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2018 Roster | 2018 Schedule | 2018 Statistics
• The Cardinals are coming off a 4-6 showing in their 10-game spring trip to Auburndale, Fla. … With their 16-1, trip-ending win over Penn State-Brandywine, the Cardinals snapped a three-game losing streak. … Saint Mary's went 1-2 in its three doubleheaders in Florida, sweeping MSOE, while falling twice to Neumann and Mount Union. … Saint Mary's boasted four players who collected their first collegiate hits during the Cardinals' spring trip to Auburndale, Fla. Andy Tepp (Stevens Point, Wis.) collected his first hit as a Cardinal in his first collegiate at-bat—a pinch-hitting appearance in the Cardinal baseball team's season-opening, Game 1 loss to Neumann on Feb. 25, while Connor Cornell (Plymouth, Minn.) laced a one-out single in the top of the eighth inning of the Cardinal baseball team's 2-0, 10-inning win against MSOE on Feb. 26. Tommy Hill (Madison, Wis.) recorded his first Cardinal hit against Mount Union on March 3 and Kodey Kiel (Medford, Minn.) delivered a hit in Saint Mary's 16-1 win over Penn State-Brandywine on March 4. … Connor Cornell (Plymouth, Minn.) hit a team-leading .421 among players with 19 or more at-bats during the Cardinals' spring trip, while Justin Weinberg (Eagan, Minn. / .357), Joe Seegers (Oconomowoc, Wis. / .343), Zach Slowiak (Chippewa Falls, Wis. / .321), Dixon Irwin (Plover, Wis. / .316), Matthew Piechowski (Hutchinson, Minn. / .314), and Will Matthews (Geneva, Wis. / .306) also hit above .300. … Seegers owned a team-leading 12 hits, one more than Piechowski and Matthews, and two in front of Weinberg. … Irwin and Matthews hit a team-best three doubles, while Cornell, Seegers, and Piechowski accounted for the Cardinals' three spring-trip triples. … Jake Barry (Tinley Park, Ill.) clubbed Saint Mary's first home run of the season—launching a lead-off home run in the fourth inning of the Cardinals' 10-5 loss to Neumann on Feb. 25. … The Cardinals stole 18 bases in their 10 spring trip games, led by led by Weinberg, Piechowski and Jake Mencacci (Wheaton, Ill.) with three each. … Piechowski and Seegers set career highs in the Cardinals' 8-4 win over Rose-Hulman on March 1. Piechowski banged out a career-high four hits, while Seegers walked four times and scored four ties—both career-bests—against the Fightin' Engineers. … James Green (East Bethel, Minn.) was the ace of the Cardinals' pitching staff in Florida, allowing just five hits—and no earned runs—in 14 innings of work. Green did not walk a batter and struck out 13 in his two no-decisions. … Dom Lonetti () and Jake Kramlinger each picked up their first collegiate pitching wins in Florida—Lonetti earned his with three innings of two-hit, scoreless relief against Penn State-Brandywine, while Kramlinger earned the win against MSOE, throwing two innings of shutout ball. … R.J. Brown (Broadview, Ill.) and Ryan Wolfe (Wabasha, Minn.) collected the Cardinals' other two pitching wins. … Green threw a team-leading 14 innings during Saint Mary's spring trip, followed by Wolfe (9.1 IP), Eli Morison (Minneapolis, Minn. / 9.1 IP), and Jonathan Cieminski (Fountain City, Wis. / 8.1 IP). … Tyler Stilp (Lindstrom, Minn.) and Austin Lenhardt (Winona, Minn.) both picked up their first collegiate saves in the Cardinals' sweep of MSOE on Feb. 26. Stilp surrendered an unearned run on one hit—while working out of a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the fifth—in 2 2/3 innings of work in the Cardinal baseball team's 9-1 Game 1 win over MSOE, while Austin Lenhardt (Winona, Minn.) worked a one-hit 10th for his first save in a Cardinal uniform in Saint Mary's 2-0, 10-inning Game 2 win over the Raiders. … Brown is the team's strikeout leader with 13, three more than Cieminski. … Brown (Broadview, Ill.) tossed a pair of no-hitters a year ago. The 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 1, while adding no-no No. 2 in Saint Mary's 4-0 Game 1 win over Carleton on April 28. The junior right-hander 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). … The Cardinals have outscored their opponents 10-5 in the third inning and 13-6 in the fourth, but have been outscored 15-7 in the fifth. … Saint Mary's is 3-0 when leading after the sixth inning, but 9-4 when trailing heading into the seventh. … The Cardinals have scored six or more runs in three of their four wins—including a season-high 16 runs against Penn State-Brandywine on March 4. … The Cardinals' 16 runs and 19 hits were the most since Saint Mary's banged out 19 hits in drubbing Finlandia 19-4 on March 1, 2017.
 
Scouting The Aurora Spartans:
2018 Roster | 2018 Schedule | 2018 Statistics
• Aurora heads into the weekend having finished with wins in seven of its 11 games during the Spartans spring trip to Auburndale, Fla. … The Spartans outscored their opponents 68-21 in their seven wins in Florida. … Aurora hit .289 as a team during its spring trip, led by Bryan Larsen (.429), Jett Wedekind (.407), and Davis Purviance (.350). … Purviance also led the tea in hits (14), total bases (21), and slugging percentage (.525). … Jeff Mayers (.286) owns a team-high 42 at-bats and delivered a team-best 10 RBIs. … Paul Dobravec (.289) is the team-leader with four doubles—one more than Mayes and Larsen—while Purviance, Wedekind, Austin Wiskow (.262), Cole Davis (.273), and Al Gill (.212) have accounted for the team's five triples, and Purviance, Wedekind, Dobravec, and Davis have each hit a home run. … Wedekind has collected a team-best four multiple-hit games, with Mayes, Wedekind, and Dobravec sharing the team lead with three multiple-RBI performances. … Mayes and Dobravec each put together six-game hitting streaks during the Spartans' spring trip, while Wiskow heads into the weekend riding a five-game hitting streak. … As a team, Aurora is 12-for-18 in stolen base attempts, led by Wiskow with three and Larsen with two. … The Spartans boast four pitchers—Jacob Stockman (19.0 IP), Kyle Blunt (16.2 IP), John Barnes (15.0 IP), and Chris Roycroft (10.1 IP)—who have logged 10 or more innings through 11 games. … Stockman heads into the weekend 3-0 with a 1.42 ERA in three starts and has tossed the team's lone complete game. … Blunt (1-1, 3.24 ERA), Roycroft (1-0, 0.87 ERA), Will Kling (1-0, 1.93 ERA), and Nicholas Mathey (1-0, 0.00 ERA) own the Spartans other four pitching victories. … Roycroft owns all three of the Spartans' saves. … Blunt has struck out a team-best 21 batters and is one of four Aurora pitchers with 10 or more strikeouts. … Aurora scored a combined 40 runs in its sweep of Medaille College to open its spring trip—beating the Mavericks 22-2 and 18-4. On the flip side, the Spartans surrendered a team-high 19 runs in falling to Fontbonne 19-9.
 
Scouting The Wheaton Thunder:
2018 Roster | 2018 Schedule | 2018 Statistics
• Wheaton heads into this weekend's games on the heels of a 5-4 showing during their nine-game trip to Tucson, Ariz. … The Thunder's 6-5 loss to Cornell in their spring trip-finale snapped their three-game winning streak. … Wheaton hit .315 in its nine games in Arizona, and boasted seven players who hit .300 or better—led by Ben Brittain (.472), Evan Ogden (.409), and Johnny Perez (.353). … Brittain also led or shared the team lead in at-bats (36), hits (17), doubles (5), RBIs (13), total bases (24), slugging percentage (.667), and on-base percentage (.512). … Nick Mallman (.344) has scored a team-leading 13 runs, three more than Brittain, while Jacob Garrity (.333) has clubbed a team-high two of the Thunder's five triples, and Ogden has belted the team's lone home run. … As a team, Wheaton has stolen 20 bases in 24 attempts, led by Mallman's seven steals. … Michael McCraith and Ty Hoeksema have logged 16.1 and 14.0 innings, respectively, to lead the Thunder pitching staff. … Hoeksema (2-1, 7.07 ERA) and McCraith (2-1, 4.41 ERA) have collected four of the team's five pitching wins. Caleb Selk (1-0, 7.27 ERA) owns the other win. … Nick Johnson (0-0, 2.35 ERA) and Selk have each made a team-high five pitching appearances, with Johnson also accounting for both of the Thunder's saves. … McCraith has struck out a team-high 23 batters, followed by Johnson with 11. … Wheaton scored 10 or more runs in two of its five spring-trip wins—plating a season-high 12 runs against both Birmingham-Southern (W, 12-2) and Bethany Lutheran (W, 12-5). On the flip side, the Thunder also allowed 10 or more runs in two of their four losses—falling to Howard Payne (13-9) and Wabash (15-4). … Wheaton is 4-1 when scoring six or more runs, while going 1-3 when its opponent plates more than five runs. … The Thunder is 4-0 when leading after six innings, but 0-4 when trailing after six.
 
Scouting The Alma Scots:
2018 Roster | 2018 Schedule | 2018 Statistics
• With their sweep over Hanover last Sunday, the Scots have now won three of their last four and five of their first seven. … All five of Alma's wins this season have been by two runs or less—the Scots have beaten MSOE (6-4), Concordia (14-13), Capital (2-1), and Hanover (2-0) and 3-1). On the flip side, both of Alma's losses have also been by two runs or less—falling to Augustana (4-2) and Rose-Hulman (6-5). … Logan Huff heads into the weekend as the only Scot hitting above .300—owning a team-best .304 average. … Huff shares the team lead in hits (7) with Max Trucks (.280), one more than Vann Acker (.286) and Matt Minaudo (.230). … Trucks owns a team-high six runs scored, with Minaudo, Jordan Anstandig (.190), and Pete Caravallah (.160) close behind with five runs scored. … Acker owns two of the Scots' four doubles, while Minaudo (3) and Acker (2) have accounted for five of the team's six home runs. … Acker and Minaudo share the team lead with seven RBIs. … Josh Riggs and Joseph Barrons have been the workhorses of the Scots' pitching staff, logging 21.0 and 16.0 innings, respectively. … Riggs (1-0, 1.70 ERA) and Barrons (1-0, 0.56 ERA) have accounted for five of Alma's seven pitching starts. … Both Riggs and Barrons have tossed a complete game, and Riggs boasts a team-leading 16 strikeouts, six more than Barrons. …