By Donny Nadeau
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
MAUSTON, Wis. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota baseball team finally kicks off Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Tuesday, as the Cardinals "host" St. Thomas in a 2:30 p.m. doubleheader at the Woodside Sports Complex.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (0-0 MIAC, 6-9 Overall) vs. St. Thomas Tommies (0-0 MIAC, 5-7 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• GameDay Program
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—March 27, 2018 * Decorah, Iowa: The Cardinals settled for a split in their nonconference doubleheader against Luther. Saint Mary's scored five times in the fifth inning—two on a Joe Seegers (Oconomowoc, Wis.) single and three more on an Andy Tepp (Stevens Point, Wis.) home run—en route to a 7-4 Game 1 win, while the Norse got a two-out, walk-off home run in the bottom of the eighth inning in beating the Cardinals 2-1 in Game 2 | Recap
• St. Thomas—March 28, 2018 * Auburndale, Fla.: Graham Laubsher and Ben Meyer combined to strike out 12 and allow just one run as Tommie Baseball scored a 6-1 win over UW-Stevens Point in the first game of Wednesday's non-conference doubleheader in Auburndale, Fla. The Pointers (6-4) broke open a 2-2 game in the late innings and won the nine-inning nightcap 5-2 for a split | Recap

Saint Mary's vs. St. Thomas—Their Last Meeting:
• April 13, 2017 * St. Paul, Minn.: Runs were at a premium for Saint Mary's in its Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference doubleheader against St. Thomas. The Cardinals managed just four runs on 13 hits over 16 innings, as St. Thomas dealt the Cardinals 5-3 and 8-1 conference setbacks at Koch Diamond | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals are back in action this weekend, traveling to St. Paul, Minn., for a 1 p.m. MIAC doubleheader against Macalester on Saturday, before returning home to Max Molock Field to host Saint John's in a 1 p.m. twinbill the following afternoon
• St. Thomas: The Tommies have a pair of home conference doubleheaders this weekend, hosting Gustavus (Saturday) and Bethel (Sunday) at Koch Diamond. Opening pitch for both days is slated for 1 p.m.
 
Scouting the Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2018 Roster | 2018 Schedule | 2018 Statistics
• Saint Mary's conference-opening doubleheader against St. Thomas—being played in Mauston, Wis.—will make the 16^th and 17^th straight road games for the Cardinals. … The Cardinals had their two-game winning streak snapped with their 2-1, Game 2 loss to Luther on March 27. … Joe Seegers (Oconomowoc, Wis.) and Andy Tepp (Stevens Point, Wis.) drove in all seven of the Cardinals' Game 1 runs in Saint Mary's 7-4 win over Luther. … Tepp finished the nonconference twinbill vs. Luther with five hits in eight at-bats, while Seegers was close behind with four hits in eight at-bats. … With his 5-for-8 showing vs. Luther on March 27, Tepp pushed his batting average to a team-leading .480. … Tepp is one of five Cardinal regulars hitting above .300—Connor Cornell (Plymouth, Minn. / .381), Seegers (.375), Zach Slowiak (Chippewa Falls, Wis. / .318), and Justin Weinberg (Eagan, Minn. / .311) are the others. … Along with his .375 batting average, Seegers boasts team-highs in at-bats (56), runs (14), hits (21), doubles (4), triples (2), and total bases (29). … Tepp's three-run, fifth-inning home run against Luther on March 27 was the first of his collegiate career. … Tepp and Jake Barry (Tinley Park, Ill.) own the team's two round-trippers this season. … Seegers leads the Cardinals with five multiple-hit games and Weinberg boasts a team-high four multiple-RBI games. … Seegers is currently riding a team-high nine-game hitting streak. …  Weinberg was held hitless in Game 2 against Mount Union on March 3, snapping his season-opening seven-game hitting streak. … Saint Mary's boasted four players who collected their first collegiate hits during the Cardinals' spring trip to Auburndale, Fla. Tepp 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 Cornell 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. … Matthew Piechowski (Hutchinson, Minn.) 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. … R.J. Brown (Broadview, Ill.) picked up the pitching win in the opener vs. Luther on arch 27, throwing the first four innings and leaving with a 5-1 lead. Ryan Wolfe (Wabasha, Minn.), meanwhile, was the hard-luck loser in Game 2, going the entire 7 2/3 innings, allowing just two runs—one earned—on five hits in the 2-1 loss. … Wolfe's 7 2/3-inning effort vs. Luther was his first collegiate complete game. … James Green (East Bethel, Minn.), who was the ace of the Cardinals' pitching staff in Florida, allowing just five hits—and no earned runs—in 14 innings of work, went seven innings against Wheaton in his third straight no-decision on March 17. Green (0-0, 0.86 ERA) allowed a pair of runs on five hits, striking out two and surrendering his first walk of the season. … Green leads the Cardinal pitching staff in innings pitched with 21.0, while Wolfe (20.2 IP), Brown (Broadview, Ill. / 15.1 IP), Eli Morison (Minneapolis, Minn. / 13.2 IP), and Jonathan Cieminski (Fountain City, Wis. / 10.1 IP) have also hurled 10 or more innings this season. … Tyler Stilp (Lindstrom, Minn. / 0-0, 1.08 ERA) and Kiel (0-0, 2.08 ERA) have each made a team-high five appearances—all in relief. … Dom Lonetti (St. Paul, Minn. / 1-0, 0.00 ERA) and Jake Kramlinger (White Bear Lake, Minn. / 1-2, 3.86 ERA) each picked up their first collegiate pitching wins during the Cardinals' spring trip to Florida, while Stilp and Austin Lenhardt (Winona, Minn.) each notched their first collegiate saves in the Cardinals' sweep of MSOE on Feb. 26. … Five Cardinal hurlers have recorded 10 or more strikeouts—led by Brown (18), Wolfe (16), and Green (15). … Saint Mary's scored six runs on just two hits—plating four runs on bases-loaded walks—in its 10-5 win over Alma on March 17. … The Cardinals have outscored their opponents 13-2 in the sixth inning, but have been outscored 20-13 in the fifth. … Saint Mary's is 5-1 when leading after the sixth inning, but 0-5 when trailing heading into the seventh. … The Cardinals have scored six or more runs in five of their six 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. … The Cardinals are 4-2 when scoring first, but just 1-6 when their opponent scores first. … Saint Mary's 2-1 eight-inning loss to Luther on March 27 was the Cardinals' third extra-inning game of the season—SMU beat MSOE 2-0 in 10 innings on Feb. 26, while falling to Mount Union in eight innings on March 3.
 
Scouting The St. Thomas Tommies:
2018 Roster | 2018 Schedule | 2018 Statistics
• The Tommies' 5-2, Game 2 loss to UW-Stevens Point on March 28 snapped their season-high four-game losing streak. … As a team, St. Thomas heads into its MIAC showdown against Saint Mary's hitting .264, led by Zach Gottfredsen (.317). … Gottfredsen—the only Tommie to have played all 12 games this season—also leads the Tommies in hits (13), runs (6), triples (2), and on-base percentage (.364). … Jake Smith (.286) is second to Gottfredsen with 12 hits, while leading the team with three doubles. … Hunter Hart (.250) is the Tommie lead in RBIs (9), home runs (3), total bases (20), and slugging percentage (.625). … Hart has accounted for three of UST's four home runs—Ryan Lust (.227) accounted for the other one. … Gottfredsen has collected a team-leading four multiple-hit games, with Hart owning a team-best three multiple-RBI games. … St. Thomas boasts five pitchers who have tossed 10 innings or more this season—led by Henry DeCaster (20.2 IP), and Ryan Zimmerman (19.0 IP). … Shaun Felbo (0-0, 0.00) and Graham Laubsher (1-0, 3.48 ERA) have each made a team-high four pitching appearances. … St. Thomas' five wins have come from five different pitchers—Drew Molin (1-0, 0.00 ERA), John Spanier (1-0, 0.00 ERA), DeCaster (1-2, 2.18 ERA), Zimmerman (1-2, 2.84 ERA), and Laubsher (1-0, 3.48 ERA). … DeCaster and Zimmerman have each tossed one complete game this season, and Falbo has collected both of the Tommies saves. … Zimmerman is the team's strikeout leader with 30, six more than DeCaster. … The Tommies have been held to five runs or less in each of their seven losses. On the flip side, UST has limited its opponents to two runs or fewer in all five of its wins. … St. Thomas is 5-0 when leading after the sixth inning, but the Tommies are 0-7 when tied or trailing heading into the seventh. … St. Thomas has played two one-run games this season—falling to UW-Oshkosh (4-3) and Benedictine (1-0).