By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota baseball team returns to conference play on Thursday, as the Cardinals head to CHS Field for a 2 p.m. MIAC doubleheader against Hamline.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (6-4 MIAC, 14-12 Overall) at Hamline Pipers (3-4 MIAC, 11-13 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—April 15, 2019 * Max Molock Field * Winona, Minn.: The Cardinals settled for a split in their conference doubleheader against Macalester. Saint Mary's rode the complete-game pitching of James Green (East Bethel, Minn.) to a 2-0 win in the opener, only to have Macalester score five runs in the first two innings in dealing the Cardinals an 8-4 setback in the nightcap | Recap
• Hamline—April 16, 2019 * CHS Field • St. Paul, Minn.: Nolan Schoonveld rapped out five hits and scored three times to lead an 11-hit assault on eight UM-Morris pitchers in the Pipers' 15-0 nonconference victory | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Hamline — Their Last Meeting:
• May 5, 2018 * Max Molock Field * Winona, Minn.: The math was simple: 4 + 1 = 2. Saint Mary's headed into the final weekend of the regular season needing one win in their final four games to earn their second MIAC Tournament berth in the last three years. And the Cardinals weren't about to waste any time locking up that invitation, securing that post-season invitational in dramatic fashion — getting a walk-off home run from Will Matthews (Geneva, Ill.) in the bottom of the seventh inning to beat Hamline 3-2 in Game 1 of their MIAC doubleheader. Hamline got the upper hand in the nightcap, however, beating the Cardinals 9-5 to earn the split | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals return home to Max Molock Field on Saturday, playing host to Concordia in a 1 p.m. conference doubleheader.
• Hamline: The Pipers are back in action on Saturday, returning to CHS Field in St. Paul, Minn., for a 1 p.m. MIAC twinbill against Macalester.
 
Scouting the Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2019 Roster | 2019 Schedule | 2019 Statistics
• With their split against Macalester on Monday, the Cardinals have now split six of their eight doubleheaders this season — including back-to-back-to-back splits against St. Olaf, St. Thomas and Macalester. Saint Mary's has also split against John Carroll, St. Scholastica, and Saint John's, while sweeping Carleton and MSOE. … With Monday's 2-0 Game 1 win over Macalester, the Cardinals have now posted Game 1 shutouts in back-to-back doubleheaders, having also blanked St. Thomas on April 9. … Saint Mary's has now held its opponents to two runs or less in each of their last seven wins. … With their 4-0, eight-inning win over St. Thomas on April 9, the Cardinals have now posted a shutout win over the Tommies in each of their last two conference doubleheaders — Saint Mary's blanked UST 1-0 in nine innings on April 10, 2018, in Mauston, Wis. … Justin Weinberg (Eagan, Minn.) had two hits in both games against Macalester Monday — giving him a team-leading 13 multiple-hit games this season. … Tyler O'Brien (Belle Plaine, Minn.) picked up his first two collegiate hits in the second game against Macalester Monday — delivering a lead-off single in both the seventh and ninth innings. … Will Matthews (Geneva, Ill.) had a pair of hits in Game 2 vs. the Scots Monday, giving him 10 multiple-hit games this season. … With his hits against Macalester Monday, Weinberg extended his hitting streak to a season- and career-high 19 straight games. Matthews, meanwhile, was on base in both games vs. the Scots and has now reached base safely in a team-best 20 consecutive games. … Matthew Piechowski (Hutchinson, Minn.) heads into the Cardinals twinbill against Hamline leading the team with a .419 batting average. He is one of three Cardinal players hitting above .300, being joined by Weinberg (.402) and Matthews (.350). … Piechowski also leads or shares the team lead in runs (23), hits (36), triples (4), home runs (1), total bases (50), slugging percentage (.581), on-base percentage (.500), and stolen bases (8). … Piechowski belted his first collegiate home run — a grand slam — in the Cardinals' 11-1, season-opening win over Cabrini on Feb. 24 … O'Brien became the fourth Cardinal to pick up his first collegiate hit(s) this season, joining Gustafson, Taylor Anderson (Waukesha, Wis.), and Joe Bauer (Pine Island, Minn.), who all collected their first collegiate hits during the Cardinals' spring trip. … Dixon Irwin (Red Wing, Minn.) notched his first collegiate three-hit game against Concordia-Moorhead on March 22. … Liam Belleveau (Middleton, Wis.) went 2-for-4 with his first two collegiate triples in the Cardinals' win over Milwaukee School of Engineering on Feb. 25. Belleveau then recorded his first collegiate three-hit game, while posting career-highs with three RBIs and three runs scored against Rose-Hulman the following day. … Saint Mary's has collected 232 hits this season, including 48 for extra bases — 38 doubles, nine triples, and one home run. … The Cardinals, who set a single-game school record with 16 walks against Milwaukee School of Engineering on Feb. 25, have drawn 107 walks this season — led by Matthews with 18, Tepp with 17, and Dirk Drohner (Plover, Wis.) with 13. … The Cardinals have recorded 66 multiple-hit games, led by Piechowski with 13, Weinberg with 12, and Matthews with 10. … Tepp leads the team with seven multiple-RBI games, two more than Matthews. … James Green (East Bethel, Minn.) picked up his team-leading second complete game of the season, scattering seven hits in blanking Macalester 2-0 Monday. … Green, who now owns two career complete-game shutouts, struck out 11 Scots en route to Monday's win. It was the second time this season the sophomore has struck out more than 10 batters — having fanned a career-high 13 against Concordia-Chicago on March 22. … Ryan Wolfe (Wabasha, Minn.) collected his first complete game of the season on April 9, tossing a six-hit, eight-inning shutout against St. Thomas. … Wolfe has now shut out of the Tommies for 17 consecutive innings — having tossed a complete-game, four-hit gem in Saint Mary's 1-0 victory on April 10, 2018. … Wolfe leads the team with 39.1 IP, while Green (38.1 IP) and Eli Morison (Minneapolis, Minn. / 26.2 IP) have also logged more than 20 innings on the mound this season. … Green picked up his team-leading fifth win (against zero losses) against Macalester on Monday. … Green (5-0, 1.88 ERA) — last year's MIAC Rookie of the Year — has thrown six or more innings in all six of his starts this season. … Kodey Kiel (Owatonna, Minn.) — who notched his team-leading fourth save in Game 1 against St. Olaf on April 6, boasts a team-best 0.77 ERA in nine appearances (11.2 IP). … Tyler Stilp (Lindstrom, Minn. / has made a team-high 15 appearances on the mound — all in relief — while Jake Kramlinger (White Bear Lake, Minn. / 0-2, 5.51 ERA) has made 10 relief appearances. … Green has struck out a team-leading 49 batters, followed by Wolfe with 32. … Luke Gilbertson (Windom, Minn.) earned his first win in a Cardinal uniform — allowing two runs on four hits in four innings in Game 2 against MSOE on Feb. 25, while Jake Kramlinger and Kiel each recorded their first collegiate saves — Kramlinger's vs. MSOE on Feb. 25 and Kiel's against Neumann on March 1. … The Cardinals have used 17 different pitchers this season. … Saint Mary's has outscored its opponents 23-14 in the first inning and 19-9 in the fifth. On the flip side, the Cardinals have been outscored 20-10 in the eighth inning and 12-2 in the ninth. … Saint Mary's has scored three or more runs in 23 of their 26 games this season — the lone exceptions, a 2-1 win and 12-1 loss to No. 20 Saint John's on March 30, and a 13-2 loss to St. Olaf on April 6. … Saint Mary's scored a season-high 14 runs in its 18-14 loss to Rose-Hulman on Feb. 26. … The Cardinals' eight-inning, 4-0 win over St. Thomas in the opener on April 9 was their second extra-inning game of the season. Saint Mary's dropped a 9-7, 11-inning contest to Concordia on March 22. … Saint Mary's 11-inning loss to Concordia on March 22 was the Cardinals' longest game since dropping a 7-6, 13-inning decision against Wartburg on Feb. 27, 2017. … The Cardinals are 12-3 when leading after the sixth inning, while going 2-9 when tied or trailing heading into the seventh inning. … The Cardinals — who made their second MIAC Playoff appearance in the last three years, and their fifth in the last seven seasons a year ago — were picked to finish fifth in the 2019 MIAC Preseason Coaches' Poll.
 
Scouting the Hamline Pipers:
2019 Roster | 2019 Schedule | 2019 Statistics
• Hamline's doubleheader against Saint Mary's are the second and third of 11 straight home games for the Pipers, who played the first 23 games of their schedule on the road. … With their 15-0 round of UM-Morris on Tuesday, the Pipers pushed their winning streak to four straight — bookending shutout wins over Augsburg (1-0) and UM-Morris (15-0) around victories over Augsburg (6-1), and Concordia (6-5). … 
 
Hamline is hitting .264 as a team, and boasts three players — Nolan Schoonveld (.370), Cullen Buck (.330), and Dayton Gutsch (.318) — who boast batting averages above .300. … Buck leads or shares the team lead in at-bats (103), hits (34), and RBIs (18), while Schoonveld is atop the team lead in runs (26), doubles (6), triples (1), total bases (45), slugging percentage (.489), and on-base percentage (.482). … Hamline has collected 198 hits this season, including 28 for extra bases — 22 doubles, five triples, and one home run. … HU's five triples have come from five different players, while Schoonveld launched the team's only home run against Allegheny on March 19. … The Pipers are 32-for-42 in the stolen base category, led by Schoonveld and Zack Langton with six steals each. … Buck has amassed 12 multiple-hit games, while Schoonveld's five hits against UM-Morris Tuesday were the most in a game by the Pipers this season. … Buck also leads the team with five multiple-RBI performances. … Schoonveld has reached base safely in all 24 games this season. … Langton (12 games) and Buck (11 games) each have had hitting streaks of 10 or more games this season, but Schoonveld's seven-gamer is the Pipers' longest active hitting streak. … Hamline has five pitchers who have logged more than 20 innings on the mound through 24 games. … Evan Bayer (2-3, 3.32 ERA) has thrown a team-high 40.2 innings, followed by Jimmy Skroch (3-2, 4.45 ERA, 32.1 IP), Ben Resnick (3-1, 6.59 ERA, 28.2 IP), Schoonveld (1-3, 4.00 ERA, 27.0 IP), and Jake Dujmovic (1-0, 1.99 ERA, 22.2 IP). … Bayer has made a team-high six starts, while Skroch owns a team-best 10 pitching appearances and has recorded three of HU's four saves. … Bayer has tossed three complete games among his six starts, one more than Skroch. … Bayer has struck out a team-leading 34 batters, followed by Schoonveld (24), Resnick (23), Skroch (20), and Dujmovic (14). … Hamline has scored 10 or more runs four times this season — including plating a season-high 18 runs in a 21-18 loss to Allegheny on March 19. … Twelve of HU's 24 games have been decided by two runs or less — the Pipers are 5-7 in those 12 contests.