By Donny Nadeau
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota baseball team returns to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Friday, heading to Saint John's Becker Park for a 2 p.m. doubleheader against Gustavus.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (1-1 MIAC, 7-10 Overall) vs. Gustavus Gusties (1-1 MIAC, 9-8 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—April 10, 2018 * Mauston, Wis.: The Cardinals got a complete-game, four-hitter from Game 2 starter Ryan Wolfe (Wabasha, Minn.), as Saint Mary's bounced back from a 10-3 loss in the opener to beat St. Thomas 1-0 in the nightcap and earn a split in the teams' MIAC-opener | Recap
• Gustavus—April 11, 2018 * St. Peter, Minn.: The Gusties kicked off conference play with a split against nationally ranked Saint John's at Gustie Baseball Field. The Johnnies took Game 1 5-0, with Gustavus bouncing back for a 2-1 win in the nightcap | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Gustavus—Their Last Meeting:
• April 5, 2017 * Winona, Minn.: The Cardinals, who managed just one run in dropping the opening game to the Gusties 5-1—and plated just one run through the first two innings of the nightcap—erupted for nine runs over the next six innings en route to an 11-7 victory and a key conference split | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals return to Becker Park in Collegeville, Minn., on Sunday, squaring off against Carleton in a another neutral-site conference doubleheader. Opening pitch is slated for 7 p.m.
• Gustavus: The Gusties will play their second neutral-site conference doubleheader at Becker Park in Collegeville, Minn., on Saturday, facing Carleton in a 9 a.m. showdown.
 
Scouting the Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2018 Roster | 2018 Schedule | 2018 Statistics
• Saint Mary's conference games against Gustavus on Friday are the 18^th and 19^th straight road game for the Cardinals, who have yet to play a game on their home diamond this season. … Ryan Wolfe (Wabasha, Minn.)—the reigning MIAC Pitcher of the Week—posted a trio of collegiate firsts in the Cardinals' Game 2 win over St. Thomas on April 10—the sophomore right-hander tossed his first career complete game, with the 1-0 final scoring earning him his first shutout as a Cardinal. Wolfe also struck out a career-high eight batters, while allowing just four hits and walking one in the nine-inning win. … Joe Seegers (Oconomowoc, Wis.) and Justin Weinberg (Eagan, Minn.) each had two-hit games against St. Thomas—Seegers' two hits coming in the first game, and Weinberg's in the second. … Andy Tepp (Stevens Point, Wis.) is the team's batting leader with a .387 average, with Seegers and Connor Cornell (Plymouth, Minn.) close behind at .375. Zach Slowiak (Chippewa Falls, Wis.) and Weinberg are also hitting above .300, boasting averages of .326 and .308, respectively. … Along with his .375 batting average, Seegers boasts team-highs in at-bats (64), runs (15), hits (24), doubles (4), triples (2), and total bases (32). … Jake Barry (Tinley Park, Ill.) drilled his second home run of the season in the Cardinals' 10-3 Game 1 loss to St. Thomas on April 10. … Tepp's three-run, fifth-inning home run against Luther on March 27—the first of his collegiate career—accounts for Saint Mary's other home run this season. … Weinberg, who drove in the lone run with a first-inning double in the Cardinals' 1-0 win over St. Thomas on April 10—leads the team with 12 RBIs. … Seegers leads the team with six multiple-hit games and Weinberg boasts a team-high four multiple-RBI games. … Seegers is currently riding a team-high 11-game hitting streak and has reached base safely in 12 consecutive games. …  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. … Seegers and Tepp drove in all seven of the Cardinals' Game 1 runs in Saint Mary's 7-4 win over Luther on March 27. … In his last two starts—including Tuesday's nine-inning effort against St. Thomas, Wolfe has pitched 16 2/3 innings, allowing just two runs—one earned—on nine hits. … After failing to get a decision in his first three starts—despite allowing just two runs on 10 hits with only one walk in a combined 21 innings of work—James Green (East Bethel, Minn.) suffered the pitching loss in Game 1 against St. Thomas on April 10. … Wolfe (3-2, 3.34 ERA) leads the Cardinal pitching staff in innings pitched with 29.2, while Green (26.2 IP / 0-1, 2.36 ERA), R.J. Brown (Broadview, Ill. / 15.1 IP, 2-2, 4.11 ERA), Eli Morison (Minneapolis, Minn. / 13.2 IP, 0-1, 3.95 ERA), and Jonathan Cieminski (Fountain City, Wis. / 10.1 IP, 0-1, 5.23 ERA) have also hurled 10 or more innings this season. … Tyler Stilp (Lindstrom, Minn. / 0-0, 1.86 ERA) has made a team-high six pitching 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 Wolfe (24), Green (21), and Brown (18). … 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 13-4 in the sixth inning, but have been outscored 20-13 in the fifth. … Saint Mary's is 6-1 when leading after the sixth inning, but 0-6 when trailing heading into the seventh. … The Cardinals have scored six or more runs in five of their seven 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 5-2 when scoring first, but just 1-7 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. … The Cardinals' 1-0 win over St. Thomas Tuesday was their first one-run win of the season (1-4).
 
Scouting The Gustavus Gusties:
2018 Roster | 2018 Schedule | 2018 Statistics
• The Gusties split against Saint John's on April 11 was their second straight doubleheader split, having won (2-0) and lost (8-2) against Bethany Lutheran on March 29. … GAC's last three doubleheaders have all been played at Gustie Baseball Field, where the Gusties are 4-2. Gustavus has not played a "road" game all season—GAC's first 11 contests were all neutral-site games. … As a team, the Gusties are hitting .298 and boast five regulars who are hitting .300 or better. … Ethan Mocchi leads the way for GAC, owning a .417 batting average, followed by Cole Pengilly (.379), Grant Brockhouse (.346), and Carter Clemensen (.311). … Pengilly leads the team in at-bats (58), runs (13), hits (22), triples (4), and total bases (37). … Mocchi, who is second to Pengilly with 20 hits, is the team-leader in doubles (11), RBIs (19), slugging percentage (.688), and on-base percentage (.481). … Five different Gusties—Pengilly, Brock Peterson (.267), John Lundquist (.265), Brice Panning (.218), and Matt Berkner (.156)—have accounted for GAC's five home runs this season. … Gustavus is 17-for-32 in the stolen base department, led by Pengilly with five steals, and Ryan Moriarty (.307), Peterson, and Panning with three each. … Pengilly has delivered six multiple-hit games, one more than Mocchi, and Lundquist and Mocchi lead the team with three multiple-RBI games. … Gustavus boasts four pitchers who have logged10 or more innings this season, led by Charlie Hutchinson (0-1, 1.47 ERA) with 18.1 IP, and Adam Stockwell (0-0, 0.71 ERA) and Sam Archer (2-0, 0.73 ERA) with 12.2 IP and 12.1 IP, respectively. … Damon Rademacher (1-0, 0.00 ERA), Lundquist (2-0, 5.79 ERA), and Casey Lewandoski (1-2, 12.00 ERA) have all made a team-high five pitching appearances, with Hutchinson owning a team-leading four starts. … Archer, Panning (1-0, 9.00 ERA), and Lewandoski have collected GAC's three saves. … Hutchinson has struck out a team-best 14 batters, two more than both Christian Johnson (1-2, 3.27 ERA) and Lewandoski. … The Gusties are 6-0 when holding their opponents to two runs or less, while going just 1-6 when the opposition plates six or more runs. … Gustavus is 6-0 when leading after the sixth inning, but the Gusties are just 3-8 when tied or trailing heading into the seventh. … Gustavus is a near-perfect 4-1 when hitting at least one home run. … GAC has outscored its opponent 21-8 in the first inning. … Gustavus has scored 10 or more runs three times—including a season-high and school-record 34 runs in a 34-6 rout of North Central on March 5.