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 Thursday, as the Cardinals host Saint John's in a 2:30 p.m. doubleheader at Max Molock Field.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (10-4 MIAC, 16-13 Overall) vs. Saint John's Johnnies (11-3 MIAC, 26-5 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats| GameDay Program
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—May 2, 2018 * Winona, Minn.: The Cardinals rebounded from a 6-1 Game 1 loss to earn a conference split with Augsburg, posting a 5-3 Game 2 victory at Max Molock Field | Recap
• Saint John's—May 2, 2018 * Northfield, Minn.: The Johnnies pushed their winning streak to 10 straight, collecting 8-2 and 4-1 conference wins over Carleton | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Saint John's—Their Last Meeting:
• April 8, 2017 * Collegeville, Minn.: The Johnnies answered the Cardinals' four run first with four runs of their own in the bottom of the first—before erupting for eight runs in the second—en route to a 16-8 Game 1 victory. It was another four-run inning that proved to be the difference in the nightcap as well, as the Johnnies scored four runs in the bottom of the eighth inning—erasing a 4-1 Saint Mary's lead—and leading SJU to a sweep-clinching 5-4 win over Saint Mary's at Becker Park | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals are back at home at Max Molock Field on Saturday, entertaining Hamline in a 3 p.m. conference doubleheader, before closing out the regular season with a 1 p.m. MIAC twinbill against St. Olaf in Northfield, Minn., on Sunday
• Saint John's: The Johnnies close out the regular season with a pair of home doubleheaders at Becker Park in Collegeville, Minn. SJU entertains St. Olaf in a 1 p.m. twinbill on Saturday, before squaring off against St. Thomas—also at 1 p.m.—the following day.
 
Scouting the Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2018 Roster | 2018 Schedule | 2018 Statistics
• The Cardinals head into Thursday's MIAC showdown against 28^th-ranked Saint John's sitting in fourth place—but just one game back of the league-leading Johnnies. SJU is sitting at 11-3, tied with St. Thomas, while Bethel is third at 12-4 and the Cardinals are fourth at 10-4. …
Thursday's games against Saint John's are the third and fourth of six consecutive home games for the Cardinals—who played 25 of their first 27 games this season on the road. … The Cardinals' 10-1 Game 2 loss to Bethel last Saturday snapped their eight-game winning streak, while also putting an end to Saint Mary's run of three straight doubleheader sweeps. … With their 6-1 loss, 5-3 win against Augsburg on Wednesday, the Cardinals have now split their last three doubleheaders. … Saint Mary's six hits in Game 1 against Augsburg Wednesday came from six different players, while Matt Piechowski (Hutchinson, Minn.) and Dixon Irwin (Plover, Wis.) both had two hits in the Cardinals' seven-hit offensive attack in the nightcap. … Andy Tepp (Stevens Point, Wis.) enters the Cardinals doubleheader against Saint John's as the team's batting leader with a .426 average. Tepp is one of four Cardinal regulars hitting above .300—Joe Seegers (Oconomowoc, Wis. / .350), Connor Cornell (Plymouth, Minn. / .319), and Zach Slowiak (Chippewa Falls, Wis. / .318) are the others. … Along with his .350 batting average, Seegers boasts team-highs in at-bats (103), runs (23), hits (36), doubles (5), triples (2), and total bases (45). … 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 19 RBIs and is joined by Tepp (15), Barry (13), 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 on April 25. … 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. Carleton on April 23, 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. … James Green (East Bethel, Minn.) tossed a complete-game four-hitter in the Cardinals' 1-0 loss to Concordia in Game 1 last 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 Saint Mary's 2-0 Game 1 win over Macalester on April 25, 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 on April 23. … 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 Morison (1-2, 3.19 ERA, 31.0 IP), R.J. Brown (Broadview, Ill. / 29.0 IP, 4-3, 3.72 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, 2.63 ERA) has made a team-leading nine pitching appearances, including collecting his first collegiate win with three innings of scoreless, no-hit relief in the Cardinals' 8-3 win over Concordia last Sunday. … Tyler Stilp (Lindstrom, Minn. / 1-0, 1.38 ERA) collected his first collegiate win, throwing two innings of scoreless, hitless relief in Saint Mary's 2-1, 10-inning win over Bethel on April 28. … 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 (28). … 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 erupted for 17 hits in Game 2 against Carleton on April 23—getting hits from 13 different players. … 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 16-9 in the third. … Saint Mary's is 13-1 when leading after the sixth inning, but are 3-12 when tied or trailing heading into the seventh. … The Cardinals have scored six or more runs in eight of their 16 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 12-4 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 Saint John's Johnnies:
2018 Roster | 2018 Schedule | 2018 Statistics
• The Johnnies—ranked No. 28 in the latest ABCA national poll—head into their doubleheader against Saint Mary's riding a 10-game winning streak—including a 24-4 rout of St. Scholastica last Sunday, and an 8-2, 4-1 sweep of Carleton on Wednesday. … The Johnnies' 24 runs against St. Scholastica last Sunday marked the second time this season SJU has plated 20 or more runs in a game—having also routed Finlandia 21-0 on March 5. The 24 runs were the most for the Johnnies since they scored 24 in the 24-8 win over Dickinson (Pa.) on March 7, 2009. … Wyatt Ulrich became the 29th Johnnie in school history to reach 100 career hits with a two-run double—his second of the game—in the ninth inning against St. Scholastica last Sunday. He ended the afternoon 3-for-6 with the two doubles, four runs scored and a career-high five RBI. … Dominick Schleper went 5-for-5—SJU's first five-hit game since Aaron Pfaff in 2015—with two doubles, two RBI and two runs scored. … As a team, the Johnnies enter their DH against Saint Mary's hitting .371—led by Brennan Swan (.447), Schleper (.439), Max Jackson (.427), and Jack Schramel (.410). … Jackson leads the team with 47 hits, six more than Jeron Terres (.363) and Ulrich (.350), while Ulrich has also scored a team-high 34 runs. … Terres is the Johnnies' leader in doubles (15), RBIs (34), total bases (67), and slugging percentage (.593). … The Johnnies have eight players with 30 or more hits and eight that have scored 20 or more runs. … SJU has banged out 95 extra-base hits—69 doubles, 13 triples, and 13 home runs. … Joey Stock (.320) leads the Johnnie home run brigade with four. … The Johnnie pitching staff—led by Jake Dickmeyer (4-1, 1.20 ERA, 45.0 IP), Danny Kuhn (6-0, 1.87 ERA, 45.0 IP), and Bennett Wiggins (3-2, 2.81 ERA, 32.0 IP)—owns a combined 2.61 ERA. … Dickmeyer and Ben Etzell (1-2, 2.61 ERA) have made a team-leading 10 pitching appearances, while Dickmeyer and Kuhn share the team lead with seven starts. … Wiggins and Dickmeyer have each thrown a team-leading two complete games and Dickmeyer has recorded two of SJU's three saves. … The Johnnie pitching staff has seven hurlers with 10 or more strikeouts, led by Kuhn with 40 and Dickmeyer with 29. … Saint John's has outscored its opponents in every inning but the seventh—including 36-6 in the second, 35-9 in the third, and 48-2 in the fifth. … Saint John's is 24-2 when leading after the sixth inning. … SJU has held its opponents under six runs in 28 of their 31 games—including two or fewer runs 17 times (16-1). … The Johnnies are 13-1 when scoring in the first inning, and 20-3 when scoring the game's first run. … The Johnnies are unbeaten when scoring six or more runs (19-0). … SJU owns six shut-out wins, and are 2-0 in extra-inning affairs.