By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota baseball team returns to conference play on Saturday, as the Cardinals entertain Concordia in an MIAC doubleheader at Max Molock Field. First pitch in Game 1 is set for 1 p.m.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (7-5 MIAC, 15-13 Overall) vs. Concordia Cobbers (4-8 MIAC, 10-16 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—April 18, 2019 * CHS Field * St. Paul, Minn.: The Cardinals picked up their fourth straight conference split, rebounding from a 5-0 Game 1 loss with a 2-1 victory in the nightcap in their MIAC twinbill against Hamline | Recap
• Concordia—April 17, 2019 * St. Peter, Minn.: The Cobbers dropped both games of their conference doubleheader against Gustavus, allowing three runs in both games — falling 3-2 in Game 1 and 3-1 in Game 2 | Game 1 Box * Game 2 Box
 
Saint Mary's vs. Concordia — Earlier This Year:
• March 22, 2019 * Lee Pfund Stadium * Carol Stream, Ill.:  It was a game of big innings when Saint Mary's and Concordia squared off in a nine-inning nonconference contest. Unfortunately, while the Cardinals may have had the bigger, big inning — a five-run sixth — it was the Cobbers who had more of them, scoring three times in the first and four times in the ninth, before breaking a 7-7 deadlock with two runs in the 11^th in dealing Saint Mary's a 9-7 setback | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Concordia — A Year Ago:
• April 29, 2018 * Moorhead, Minn.: James Green (East Bethel, Minn.) did his part, as the freshman right-hander tossed a complete-game four-hitter in the opening game of Saint Mary's doubleheader against Concordia. Unfortunately, the Cardinals could not provide Green with any offensive support, as Concordia scored the game's only run in the bottom of the second inning in dealing Saint Mary's a 1-0 setback. The Cardinals were much more generous to their Game 2 pitchers, erupting for eight runs — including five in the sixth inning — as Saint Mary's earned the split with an 8-3 victory | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals hit the road on Tuesday, heading to Parade Stadium in Minneapolis, Minn., for a conference doubleheader against Augsburg. First pitch is set for 2:30 p.m.
• Concordia: The Cobbers step out of conference play next Friday, traveling to Dickinson, N.D., for a nine-inning nonconference game against Mayville State.
 
Scouting the Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2019 Roster | 2019 Schedule | 2019 Statistics
• With their split against Hamline on Thursday, the Cardinals have now split seven of their nine doubleheaders this season — including four straight conference splits against St. Olaf, St. Thomas, Macalester, and Hamline. Saint Mary's has also split against John Carroll, St. Scholastica, and Saint John's, while sweeping Carleton and MSOE. … Thursday's Game 1 loss to Hamline marked the first time in the last six doubleheaders that the Cardinals have lost the opening game. … The Cardinals' loss to Hamline in the opener Thursday marked the third straight doubleheader in which Game 1 was decided by shutout — Saint Mary's beat Macalester (2-0) and St. Thomas (4-0) in its previous two twinbills. … Saint Mary's has now held its opponents to two runs or less in each of their last eight wins. … With their 4-0, eight-inning win over St. Thomas on April 9, the Cardinals have 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. … Saint Mary's five hits in Game 1 against Hamline came from five different players, while Andy Tepp (Stevens Point, Wis.) went 3-for-4, and Matthew Piechowski (Hutchinson, Minn.) and Hunter Gustafson (Webster, Wis.) each had two hits in the nightcap. … Justin Weinberg (Eagan, Minn.), who collected one of Saint Mary's five hits in Game 1 against Hamline Thursday, was held hitless in the nightcap, snapping the junior's hitting streak at a career-high 20 games. It was the longest hitting streak since Ben Buerkle hit safely in 20 consecutive games during the 2014 season. … Weinberg did induce a Game 2 walk against Hamline and has now reached base in 21 straight games, tying Will Matthews' (Geneva, Ill.), who had his 21-game on-base run ended vs. the Pipers. … Piechowski heads into the Cardinals twinbill against Concordia leading the team with a .419 batting average. He is one of five Cardinal players hitting above .300, being joined by Weinberg (.391), Matthews (.333), Gustafson (.319), and Tepp (.314). … Piechowski also leads or shares the team lead in runs (23), hits (39), triples (4), home runs (1), total bases (53), slugging percentage (.570), on-base percentage (.495), 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 … Tyler O'Brien (Belle Plaine, Minn.) picked up his first two collegiate hits in the second game against Macalester last Monday — delivering a lead-off single in both the seventh and ninth innings. … 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 248 hits this season, including 52 for extra bases — 42 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 111 walks this season — led by Matthews and Tepp with 18. … The Cardinals have recorded 69 multiple-hit games, led by Piechowski and Weinberg with 13, 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 last Monday. … Green, who now owns two career complete-game shutouts, struck out 11 Scots en route to last 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. / 32.2 IP) have also logged more than 30 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 28 games this season — the lone exceptions, a 2-1 win and 12-1 loss to No. 20 Saint John's on March 30, a 13-2 loss to St. Olaf on April 6, and the 5-0 loss and 2-1 win over Hamline Thursday. … 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 13-3 when leading after the sixth inning, while going 2-10 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 Concordia Cobbers:
2019 Roster | 2019 Schedule | 2019 Statistics
• With their 3-2, 3-1 losses to Gustavus Thursday, the Cobbers have now dropped three straight and are 3-6 in their last nine games. … Concordia has been held to two runs or less in each of their games during their current slide — and have been outscored 18-3. … Concordia is hitting .276 as a team, and boasts four players who are hitting above .300 — Luke Schultz (.375), Mason Penske (.357), Sean McGuire (.307), and Andy Gravdahl (.304). … Gravdahl leads of shares the team lead in runs (16), hits (24), total bases (29), and stolen bases (10). … Penske leads the team with nine doubles, two triples, 33 total bases, and a .589 slugging percentage. … CC has three players — Gravdahl (24), McGuire (23), and Penske (20) — with 20 or more hits. … Alec Sames (.284) has hit the team's lone home run, while also leading the Cobbers with 13 RBIs. … Cole Christensen (35.2 IP), Ty Syverson (35.0 IP), and Austin Ver Steeg (31.2 IP) have all logged over 31 innings to lead the Cobber pitching staff. … Ver Steeg (2-3, 1.71 ERA) and Christensen (3-3, 3.03 ERA) have made a team-high six starts, while Tanner McBain (0-1, 2.25 ERA) and Colin Richards (1-3, 5.51 ERA) led the staff with nine pitching appearances. … Ver Steeg, Syverson (2-2, 2.57 ERA), and Christensen have all tossed one complete game. … The Cobber pitching staff has struck out 187 batters, led by Christensen with 45, Ver Steeg with 34, and Syverson with 32. … The Cobbers have outscored their opponents 143-99 — including 20-11 in the second, 25-11 in the sixth, and 27-9 in the seventh. On the flip side, CC has been outscored 13-9 in the first and 21-7 in the fourth. … Concordia has been involved in eight one-run games — including Thursday's 3-2, Game 1 loss to Gustavus — and have lost all eight. … Concordia has been held to two runs or less in 11 of their 15 losses. … The Cobbers are a perfect 9-0 when leading after the sixth inning, but are 1-15 when tied or trailing heading to the seventh.