By Donny Nadeau
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota baseball team gets back into Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Wednesday, as the Cardinals host Augsburg in a 2:30 p.m. doubleheader at Max Molock Field.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (9-3 MIAC, 15-12 Overall) vs. Augsburg Auggies (5-9 MIAC, 13-15 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats| GameDay Program
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—April 28, 2018 * Moorhead, Minn.: The Cardinals bounced back from a 1-0 Game 1 loss to Concordia, erupting for five sixth-inning runs in an 8-3 victory, earning Saint Mary's its second MIAC split in as many days | Recap
• Augsburg—May 1, 2018 * Northfield, Minn.: The Auggies limited host Carleton to single runs in both games of the teams' conference doubleheader, as Augsburg dealt the Knights 4-1 and 6-1 setbacks | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Augsburg—Their Last Meeting:
• April 20, 2017 * Minneapolis, Minn.: The Auggies broke a 1-1 tie with a two-out, bases-loaded single in the bottom of the seventh in handing Saint Mary's a 2-1 setback in the opening game of their MIAC doubleheader at Parade Stadium, before erupting for three runs in the bottom of the ninth to rally for a 7-6, come-from-behind win in the nightcap | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals are right back at home at Max Molock Field on Thursday, entertaining Saint John's in a 2:30 p.m. conference doubleheader.
• Augsburg: The Auggies step out of conference play on Friday, squaring off against UM-Morris in a nine-inning nonconference game at Parade Stadium in Minneapolis, Minn. First pitch is set for 5 p.m.
 
Scouting the Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2018 Roster | 2018 Schedule | 2018 Statistics
• The Cardinals head into Wednesday's MIAC showdown against Augsburg tied with Saint John's and St. Thomas atop the MIAC standings at 9-3, one game in front of Bethel (10-4) and two up on Macalester (7-7) with eight conference games remaining. … With Sunday's doubleheader against Concordia, the Cardinals have played 25 of their first 27 games this season on the road. Beginning with Wednesday's matchup against Augsburg, Saint Mary's will play three straight home doubleheaders—vs. Augsburg (Wednesday), Saint John's (Thursday), and Hamline (Saturday). … The Cardinals' 10-1 Game 2 loss to Bethel Saturday snapped their eight-game losing streak, while also putting an end to Saint Mary's run of three straight doubleheader sweeps. … Joe Seegers (Oconomowoc, Wis.), Andy Tepp (Stevens Point, Wis.), Dixon Irwin (Plover, Wis.), and Matthew Piechowski (Hutchinson, Minn.) had Saint Mary's four Game 1 hits against Concordia Sunday, while Seegers, Tepp, and Joey Costello (Victoria, Minn.) all had two hits to pace SMU's 10-hit Game 2 attack vs. the Cobbers. … With his two hits in the nightcap against Concordia Sunday, Tepp has now had two hits in six of the Cardinals' last 10 games. … Saint Mary's erupted for 17 hits in the nightcap vs. Carleton last Monday—getting hits from 13 different players. … James Green (East Bethel, Minn.) tossed a complete-game four-hitter in the Cardinals' 1-0 loss to Concordia in Game 1 Sunday. The freshman right-hander—who has now thrown complete games in each of his last three starts—threw just 56 pitches in six innings against the Cobbers. … Green recorded his first collegiate shutout in a Cardinal uniform—scattering five hits and striking out seven—in last Wednesday's 2-0 Game 1 win over Macalester, while notching his first Cardinal pitching win with complete game No. 1 in a 3-2 Game 1 win over Gustavus on April 21. … Eli Morison (Minneapolis, Minn.) recorded his first collegiate complete game in leading Saint Mary's to a 3-1 win in the opener against Carleton last Monday. … Tepp enters Wednesday's doubleheaders against Augsburg as the team's batting leader with a .429 average. Tepp is one of four Cardinal regulars hitting above .300—Seegers (.368), Connor Cornell (Plymouth, Minn. / .366), and Zach Slowiak (Chippewa Falls, Wis. / .318). … Along with his .368 batting average, Seegers boasts team-highs in at-bats (95), runs (22), hits (35), doubles (5), triples (2), and total bases (44). … Jake Barry (Tinley Park, Ill.)—who recorded a career-high four hits, including his third career triple, in Game 2 against Gustavus on April 21—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. … Justin Weinberg (Eagan, Minn.) leads the team with 18 RBIs and is joined by Tepp (15), Barry (12), Slowiak (11), Cornell (10), and Seegers (10) as the six Cardinals with 10 or more RBIs this season. … Tepp leads the team with 10 multiple-hit games, one more than Seegers, and Weinberg owns a team-high four multiple-RBI games. … Seegers had his team- and career-high 13-game hitting streak snapped in Game 1 against Carleton on April 23, and had his 16-game streak of reaching base safely ended in Game 1 against Macalester last Wednesday. … Weinberg was held hitless in Game 2 against Mount Union on March 3, snapping his season-opening seven-game hitting streak. … Jordan Albrecht (Tomah, Wis.), Liam Belleveau (Middleton, Wis.), Mitchell Feyereisen (River Falls, Wis.), and Jacob French (Winona, Minn.) all recorded their first collegiate hits in Game 2 vs. the Knights, giving Saint Mary's eight players who have recorded their first hits as a Cardinal this season. Tepp, Cornell, Tommy Hill (Madison, Wis.), and Kodey Kiel (Owatonna, Minn.) all collected their first hits during the Cardinals' spring trip to Auburndale, Fla. … 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 times—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. … Green (2-2, 1.74 ERA) and Ryan Wolfe (4-2, 4.32 ERA) lead the Cardinal pitching staff in innings pitched with 46.2 and 41.2 innings, respectively, while R.J. Brown (Broadview, Ill. / 24.1 IP, 3-3, 4.07 ERA), Morison (27.0 IP, 1-1, 2.67 ERA) and Jonathan Cieminski (Fountain City, Wis. / 11.2 IP, 0-1, 5.40 ERA) have also hurled 10 or more innings this season. … Kiel (1-0, 1.35 ERA) has made a team-leading eight pitching appearances, including collecting his first collegiate win with three innings of scoreless, no-hit relief in the Cardinals' 8-3 win over Concordia on Sunday. … Tyler Stilp (Lindstrom, Minn. / 1-0, 1.54 ERA) collected his first collegiate win, throwing two innings of scoreless, hitless relief in Saint Mary's 2-1, 10-inning win over Bethel last Saturday. … 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 Green (35), Wolfe (34), and Brown (25). … Wolfe posted a pair of collegiate firsts in the Cardinals' Game 2 win over St. Thomas on April 10. The sophomore right-hander tossed his first career nine-inning 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. … 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 26-6 in the sixth inning, and 16-8 in the third. … Saint Mary's is 12-1 when leading after the sixth inning, but are 3-11 when tied or trailing heading into the seventh. … The Cardinals have scored six or more runs in eight of their 15 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 11-3 when scoring first, but just 4-9 when their opponent scores first. … Saint Mary's 2-1, Game 1 win over Bethel last Saturday was the Cardinals' fourth extra-inning game of the season—and their second 10-inning affair. The Cardinals also beat MSOE 2-0 in 10 innings on Feb. 26, while falling to Mount Union (3-2) and Luther (2-1), both in eight innings.
 
Scouting The Augsburg Auggies:
2018 Roster | 2018 Schedule | 2018 Statistics
• The Auggies' 4-1 Game 1 win over Carleton Tuesday snapped their four-game losing streak. … Augsburg heads into Wednesday's games against Saint Mary's 3-7 in its last 10 games. … Dayton Danielson tossed a complete-game seven-hitter in the opener against Carleton Tuesday, while Mathew Nicklay gave the Auggies' their second straight complete-game pitching performance, allowing just three hits in the Game 2 Augsburg victory. … Mike Brookshaw and Joe Rydel each had two hits for Augsburg in the opener vs. Carleton Tuesday, while Jordan DeCroock was a perfect 4-for-4 with a pair of runs scored and two RBIs in the nightcap. … Brookshaw heads into Wednesday's games against Saint Mary's hitting a team-best .477. He is one of six Auggies hitting above .300—Keane Turner (.370), Cole Paulson (.333), Rydel (.327), Clayton Bodine (.327), and Ryan Masui (.320) are the others. … DeCroock ((.282) leads the team in at-bats (103) and runs (18), while Bodine boasts a team-leading 32 hits—three more than DeCroock and four in front of Zach Bakko (.280). … Bakko is the team-leader with 17 RBIs, leading six Auggies who have driven in 12 of more runs. … The Auggies' four home runs this season have come from four different players—Turner, Brookshaw, Rydel, and Walker Rogers (.189). … DeCroock's 4-for-4 Game 2 showing against Carleton Tuesday was the Auggies' fourth four-hit game of the season—Bakko has done it twice and Brookshaw owns the other one. … Danielson (3-2, 3.21 ERA) and Jamie Kaye (3-3, 4.50 ERA) lead the team in innings pitched with 42.0 IP each. Jacob Karl (2-1, 6.25 ERA, 31.2) and Charles Linder (1-3, 9.53 ERA, 22.2 IP) have also thrown more than 20 innings this season. … Kaye has posted a team-best seven appearances, and is joined by Danielson and Karl as the only Auggie pitchers with six starts this season. … Danielson has posted a team-high five complete games among his six starts, with Kaye close behind with four complete games. … Cody Pirkl (0-3, 4.32 ERA) owns the Auggies' lone save. … Kaye leads the pitching staff with 34 strikeouts, one more than Danielson. … With their 4-1, 6-1 sweep of Carleton Tuesday, the Auggies have now held their opponents to two runs or less in eight of their 13 wins. … Augsburg is 3-1 when scoring in the first inning and 7-3 when plating the game's first run. … Augsburg is 8-1 when leading after the sixth inning, while going just 5-14 when tied or trailing heading into the seventh inning. … Augsburg has sored 10 or more runs four times this season, going 3-1. … The Auggies scored a season-high 14 runs—and allowed a season-high 21—in a 21-14 loss to Greenville on March 15.