By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
NORTHFIELD, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota baseball returns to conference play on Wednesday, as the Cardinals head to Carleton's Mel Taube Field for a 2:30 p.m. MIAC doubleheader against the Knights.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (1-1 MIAC, 9-9 Overall) at Carleton Knights (0-0 MIAC, 3-7 Overall), 1 p.m.
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—March 30, 2019 * Becker Park * Collegeville, Minn.: The Cardinals split their conference-opening doubleheader against No. 20 Saint John's, beating the Johnnies 2-1 behind a complete-game four-hitter from James Green (East Bethel, Minn.), before falling to SJU 12-1 in the nightcap | Recap
• Carleton—April 2, 2019 * Mel Taube Field * Northfield, Minn.: Crown scored two or more runs in four of the nine innings — including a four-run ninth — as the Storm handed the Knights a 12-6 nonconference setback | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Carleton — Their Last Meeting:
• April 23, 2018 * Max Molock Field * Winona, Minn.: The Cardinals got a complete-game pitching performance from Eli Morison (Minneapolis, Minn.) — allowing one run on six hits — in dropping the Knights 3-1 in the opener of their conference doubleheader, before scoring in every inning in cruising to a sweep-clinching 13-1 victory in the nightcap | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals kick off the home portion of their 2019 schedule on Saturday, entertaining St. Olaf in a 1 p.m. MIAC twinbill at Max Molock Field.
• Carleton: The Knights hit the road on Saturday, heading to Saint John's Becker Park in Collegeville, Minn., for a 1 p.m. conference doubleheader against the nationally ranked Johnnies.
 
Scouting the Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2019 Roster | 2019 Schedule | 2019 Statistics
• Saint Mary's two games against Carleton are the 19th and 20th straight road games to open the season for the Cardinals, who finally play their home opener on Saturday, hosting St. Olaf in a 1 p.m. MIAC doubleheader. … With their 2-1 win and 12-1 loss against No. 20 Saint John's last Sunday, the Cardinals have now split three of their four doubleheaders this season — the lone exception, a 5-3, 10-2 sweep of Milwaukee School of Engineering on Feb. 25. … Saint Mary's has held its opponent to one run in each of its last two wins — a 4-1 win over St. Scholastica on March 28 and last Sunday's 2-1 win over Saint John's. … Saint Mary's six hits in its 2-1 Game 1 win over Saint John's last Sunday came from six different players, while Justin Weinberg (Eagan, Minn.) delivered a pair of hits to pace the Cardinals' six-hit attack in Game 2. … Matthew Piechowski (Hutchinson, Minn.) heads into the Cardinals twinbill against Carleton leading the team with a .422 batting average. He is one of six Cardinal players hitting above .300, being joined by Weinberg (.400), Andy Tepp (Stevens Point, Wis. / .333), Will Matthews (Geneva, Ill. / .328), Liam Belleveau (Middleton, Wis. / .310), and Connor Cornell (Plymouth, Minn. / .310). … Piechowski also leads the team in runs (18), hits (27), triples (3), home runs (1), total bases (37), slugging percentage (.578), on-base percentage (.507), and stolen bases (7). … Piechowski belted his first collegiate home run — a grand slam — in the Cardinals' 11-1, season-opening win over Cabrini on Feb. 24 … Dixon Irwin (Red Wing, Minn.) notched his first collegiate three-hit game against Concordia-Moorhead on March 22. … Belleveau went 2-for-4 — picking up 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. … Taylor Anderson (Waukesha, Wis.), Hunter Gustafson (Webster, Wis.), and Joe Bauer (Pine Island, Minn.) all collected their first collegiate hits during the Cardinals' spring trip. … Saint Mary's has collected 170 hits this season, including 39 for extra bases — 31 doubles, seven 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 89 walks through 18 games this season — led by Tepp and Matthews with 13 each. … The Cardinals have recorded 48 multiple-hit games, led by Piechowski with nine and Weinberg with eight. … Tepp leads the team with six multiple-RBI games, one more than Matthews. … Weinberg heads into the Carleton doubleheader riding a career-high 11-game hitting streak. … Matthews has reached base safely in each of the Cardinals' last 12 games. … James Green (East Bethel, Minn.) — who tossed the Cardinals' first complete game of the season with a four-hitter against Saint John's last Sunday — has logged a team-leading 25.1 innings, while Ryan Wolfe (Wabasha, Minn. / 23.1 IP), Eli Morison (Minneapolis, Minn. / 18.2 IP), James Green (East Bethel, Minn. / 18.1 IP), Jonathan Cieminski (Fountain City, Wis. / 14.1 IP), and Tyler Stilp (Lindstrom, Minn. / 12.1 IP) have also thrown more than 10 innings this season. … Green (4-0, 2.13 ERA) moved into the team lead with his third win vs. Saint John's last Sunday, while Morison (2-2, 8.20 ERA) is second on the staff with two pitching wins. … Kodey Kiel (Owatonna, Minn.) boasts a team-best 0.93 ERA in six appearances (9.2 IP). … Green — last year's MIAC Rookie of the Year — has thrown six or more innings in all four of his starts this season. … Green has struck out a team-leading 32 batters, followed by Wolfe (21), Cieminski (12), Morison (12), and Kiel (11). … Kiel worked a scoreless, one-hit seventh against St. Scholastica Thursday for his team-leading third save. … 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 (White Bear Lake, Minn.) 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 14 different pitchers, with Stilp having made a team-leading 10 appearances. … Saint Mary's has been outscored 125-120, but has outscored its opponents 21-11 in the first inning and 17-8 in the fifth. … Saint Mary's has scored three or more runs in 16 of their 18 games this season — the lone exceptions, last Sunday's 2-1 win and 12-1 loss to No. 20 Saint John's. … Saint Mary's scored a season-high 14 runs in its 18-14 loss to Rose-Hulman on Feb. 26. … The Cardinals have scored in the first inning in 10 of their 18 games and have scored first 14 times, going 7-7. … Saint Mary's 9-7, 11-inning loss to Concordia on March 22 was its first extra-inning game, and the Cardinals' longest game since dropping a 7-6, 13-inning decision against Wartburg on Feb. 27, 2017. … The Cardinals are 9-3 when leading after the sixth inning, but are winless (0-6) when 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 Carleton Knights:
2019 Roster | 2019 Schedule | 2019 Statistics
• The Knights head into Wednesday's matchup against Saint Mary's having played nine of their first 10 games on the road — the lone home contest, a 12-6 loss to Crown on Tuesday. … After dropping their first four contests, the Knights are 3-3 in their last six. … The Knights are batting .308 as a team, and boast five players with 20 or more at-bats who are hitting above .300. … Matt Rubin leads the team with a .393 batting average, followed by Josh Small (.385), Jacob Small (.367), Paul Hinton (.333), and Brendon Fischel (.313). … Along with his .386 batting average, Josh Small leads or shares the team lead in at-bats (39), runs (7), and hits (15). … Jacob Small and Fischel each own a team-best 10 RBIs, while Fischel also leads the Knights in total bases (19) and slugging percentage (.594). … Twenty-seven of Carleton's 95 hits this season have been for extra bases — including 23 doubles, one triple, and three home runs. … Fischel has accounted for two of the Knights' three round-trippers, with Wilson Battle owning the other. … Five of Battle's eight hits have been for extra bases — three doubles, one triple, and one home run. … Carleton is 12-for-15 in stolen base attempts, led by Josh Small, who is 5-for-6. … The Knights boast three pitchers who have logged 10 or more innings through nine games this season — Austin Heuer (13.0 IP), Blake Anderson (13.0 IP), and Owen Riley (10.2 IP). … Cayten Gardner (1-0, 1.35 ERA), Heuer (1-0, 4.85 ERA), and Anderson (1-2, 5.54 ERA) have earned the Knights' three pitching wins, while Matt Stamets (0-1, 23.62 ERA) has made a staff-leading four appearances, one more than Anderson and Owen Riley (0-1, 10.97 ERA). … Heuer and Gardner lead all Knight pitchers with seven strikeouts. … Carleton has led after six innings in all three of its wins this season, but the Knights are 0-7 when tied or trailing heading into the seventh. … The Knights have scored six or more runs in all three of their wins, and have plated between three and six runs in all seven of their losses. … Carleton scored a season-high 15 runs in beating Oberlin 15-7 on March 25 — it's the only time this season the Knights have plated more than 10 runs in a game.