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 Wednesday, as the Cardinals play host to league-leading Gustavus in a key MIAC doubleheader at Max Molock Field. First pitch in Game 1 is set for 2:30 p.m.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (11-7 MIAC, 19-15 Overall) vs. Gustavus Gusties (12-4 MIAC, 21-9 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—April 28, 2019 * Max Molock Field * Winona, Minn.: The Cardinals earned a split in their MIAC doubleheader against Bethel, riding James Green's (East Bethel, Minn.) five-hit shutout in a 1-0 Game 1 victory, while the Royals took the nightcap, scoring twice in the seventh and four more times in the eighth for a 7-2 victory | Recap
• Gustavus—April 28, 2019 * Gustie Field * St. Peter, Minn.: The Gusties maintained their stranglehold on the top spot in the conference standings with a sweep of Augsburg — GAC blanked the Auggies 4-0 in the opener, before completing the sweep with a 9-3 victory in the nightcap | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Gustavus — A Year Ago:
• April 21, 2018 * Becker Park * Collegeville, Minn.: James Green (East Bethel, Minn.) gave the Cardinals their second straight pitching gem, as the freshman pitched all seven innings — the fifth time in as many starts he has gone seven innings — allowing just one earned run, while striking out six in leading Saint Mary's to a 3-2 victory over Gustavus at Saint John's Becker Park. The Cardinals took a different approach to earn the victory in Game 2, erupting for 15 runs—including seven in the fifth inning—as Saint Mary's completed the conference sweep with a 15-6 win | Recap
• May 10, 2018 * CHS Field * St. Paul, Minn.: The last time Saint Mary's was in the MIAC Tournament, the Cardinals made a run all the way to the tournament's title game. The Cardinals — back in the post-season after a one-year hiatus — took the field against Gustavus with their sights set on another deep playoff run. Gustavus' Cole Pengilly, however, had other ideas. The Gustie freshman went 4-for-5 and drove in four of GAC's five runs, as Gustavus dealt the Cardinals a 5-2, elimination-game loss at CHS Field | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals close out their regular-season schedule — and honor their seven graduating seniors — on Sunday, hosting Coe in a 1 p.m. nonconference doubleheader at Max Molock Field.
• Gustavus: The Gusties return home to Gustie Field in St. Peter, Minn., on Saturday, squaring off against St. Olaf in a 1 p.m. MIAC doubleheader.
 
Scouting the Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2019 Roster | 2019 Schedule | 2019 Statistics
• The Cardinals' doubleheader against Gustavus is the third of four straight home doubleheaders to close out the regular-season. Saint Mary's is 4-4 in its eight games at Max Molock Field this season. … With last Sunday's 1-0 win and 7-2 loss against Bethel, the Cardinals have now split six of their last seven doubleheaders — and eight of their 11 twinbills this season. … Saint Mary's has now split doubleheaders against St. Olaf, St. Thomas, Macalester, Hamline, Concordia, Bethel, Saint John's, John Carroll, and St. Scholastica, while sweeping Augsburg, Carleton and MSOE. … With their 1-0 victory in the opener against Bethel last Sunday, the Cardinals have now won Game 1 in eight of their last nine doubleheaders. … With their win over Bethel in Game 1 last Sunday, three of the Cardinals' last four wins have been 1-0 victories. … The Cardinals' win over Bethel in the opener last Sunday was also their sixth game decided by shutout this season —the Cardinals are 5-1 in those six contests. … Saint Mary's has held its opponents to two runs or less in 11 of their last 12 wins. … Will Matthews (Geneva, Ill.) picked up two hits in both games against Bethel last Sunday, while Andy Tepp (Stevens Point, Wis.) went 3-for-7 in the doubleheader. … Matthew Piechowski (Hutchinson, Minn.) heads into the Cardinals twinbill against Gustavus leading the team with a .425 batting average. He is one of four Cardinal players with 50 or more at-bats hitting above .300, being joined by Justin Weinberg (Eagan, Minn. / .351), Tepp (.324), and Matthews (.311). … Piechowski also leads or shares the team lead in runs (29), hits (48), triples (4), home runs (2), total bases (69), slugging percentage (.611), on-base percentage (.492), and stolen bases (9). … Piechowski belted his first collegiate home run — a grand slam — in the Cardinals' 11-1, season-opening win over Cabrini on Feb. 24, before adding his second of the year in Game 1 against Augsburg on April 23. … Weinberg was held hitless in the nightcap against Hamline on April 18, 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 has reached base safely in 26 of the team's last 27 games — the lone exception, Game 1 against Bethel last Sunday. … David French's (Winona, Minn.) two hits in Game 2 against Augsburg on April 23 marked his first collegiate two-hit game. … 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. … Tyler O'Brien (Belle Plaine, Minn.) picked up his first two collegiate hits in the second game against Macalester on April 15 — delivering a leadoff 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. … Saint Mary's has collected 289 hits this season, including 60 for extra bases — 49 doubles, nine triples, and two home runs. … The Cardinals, who set a single-game school record with 16 walks against Milwaukee School of Engineering on Feb. 25, have drawn 118 walks this season — led by Tepp with 20 and Matthews with 18. … The Cardinals have recorded 78 multiple-hit games, led by Piechowski (15), Weinberg (13), Matthews (12), and Tepp (10). … Tepp leads the team with seven multiple-RBI games, two more than Matthews. … James Green (East Bethel, Minn.) recorded his third straight complete-game shutout with a five-hit gem against Bethel last Sunday. Green has now gone 21 consecutive innings without allowing a run, scattering 15 hits — all singles — while walking three and striking out 22 during that span. … Green, who now owns four career complete-game shutouts, struck out 11 Macalester batters on April 15. 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. … Green — who has pitched six or more innings in all eight of his starts this season — has logged a team-high 51.2 innings, followed by Ryan Wolfe (51.1 IP) and Eli Morison (Minneapolis, Minn. / 38.2 IP). … With his latest win against Bethel, Green — last year's MIAC Rookie of the Year — improved to 7-0 and lowered his ERA to 1.38. … Wolfe recorded 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. … Jake Kramlinger (White Bear Lake, Minn.) picked up a win and a save in the Cardinals' sweep of Augsburg on April 23, throwing 1.1 innings of scoreless relief in Saint Mary's 5-4, eight-inning victory in the opener, while striking out two and working out of a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the bottom of the seventh to preserve the Cardinals' 1-0 win in the nightcap. … 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. / 1-0, 8.16 ERA) has made a team-high 15 appearances on the mound — all in relief — while Jake Kramlinger (1-3, 4.50 ERA) has made 14 relief appearances. … Green has struck out a team-leading 60 batters, followed by Wolfe with 39. … Luke Gilbertson (Windom, Minn. / 3-1, 5.23 ERA) 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 24-15 in the first inning and 21-10 in the fifth. On the flip side, the Cardinals have been outscored 24-11 in the eighth inning and 12-2 in the ninth. … Saint Mary's has scored three or more runs in 24 of their 34 games this season. … The Cardinals have played three extra-inning games this season — beating St. Thomas (4-0) and Augsburg (5-4) — both in eight innings — while falling to Concordia 9-7 in 11. … 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. … 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 scored a season-high 14 runs in its 18-14 loss to Rose-Hulman on Feb. 26. … The Cardinals are 16-4 when leading after the sixth inning, while going 3-11 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 Gustavus Gusties:
2019 Roster | 2019 Schedule | 2019 Statistics
• With their two wins over Augsburg last Sunday, the Gusties remained atop the conference standings with a 12-4 record, one game in front of Saint John's. … The Gusties head into their doubleheader showdown against Saint Mary's riding a nine-game winning streak — their longest since 2008. … GAC has outscored its opponents 49-18 during its current nine-game run — including three shutout victories. … The Gusties head to Saint Mary's boasting a .271 team batting average, including three players — Cole Pengilly (.394), Matt Berkner (.361), and Brice Panning (.320) — who are hitting above .300. … Along with his team-leading .394 batting average, Pengilly also leads or shares the team lead in runs scored (23), hits (39), home runs (2), total bases (51), and slugging percentage (.515). … Pengilly is one of three Gusties with 30 or more hits, being joined by Berkner (35), and Penning (33). … Berkner owns the team lead in triples (2) and RBIs (22), while Carter Clemensen (.260) has belted a team-best seven doubles. … Pengilly and Nick Azar (.148) have each launched two home runs, with Berkner, Sam Archer (.258), and Jack Hanson (.217) accounting for the Gusties' other three round-trippers. … Gustavus' pitching staff has four hurlers — Christian Johnson (42.1 IP), Archer (42.1 IP), Adam Stockwell (39.1 IP), and Charlie Hutchinson (31.1 IP) — who have thrown 30 or more innings this season. … Hutchinson (2-3, 2.30 ERA), Johnson (4-2, 2.98 ERA), and Archer (4-1, 4.04 ERA) have all made a team-high seven starts, one more than Stockwell (4-1, 2.75 ERA), while Damon Rademacher (3-0, 2.61 ERA) has appearance in a staff-leading 14 games. … Archer and Hutchinson share the team lead with two complete games, while Rademacher (4) and Stockwell (3) have accounted for seven of the team's nine saves. … Johnson has struck out a team-high 53 batters, followed by Stockwell with 44 strikeouts. … The Gusties have outscored their opponents in every inning but the first and sixth — including 22-13 in the third and 2811 in the seventh. … Gustavus is unbeaten (8-0) when scoring six or more runs, and are a perfect 16-0 when scoring the game's first run.