By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota baseball kicks off the home portion of its schedule on Saturday, as the Cardinals play host to St. Olaf in a 1 p.m. conference doubleheader at Max Molock Field.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (3-1 MIAC, 11-9 Overall) vs. St. Olaf Oles (4-0 MIAC, 13-4 Overall), 1 p.m.
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—April 3 2019 * Mel Taube Field * Northfield, Minn.: The Cardinals got a pair of pitching gems from Ryan Wolfe (Wabasha, Minn.) and Eli Morison (Minneapolis, Minn.) — and some timely, two-out hitting en route to a 3-2, 3-1 conference sweep of Carleton | Recap
• St. Olaf—April 3-4, 2019 * Mark Almli Field * Northfield, Minn.: Ryan Torbenson hit a walk-off home run in the bottom of the seventh inning to lift the Oles to a 9-8, Game 1 win over Augsburg, before rolling to a 9-0 victory in Game 2 — a contest that was halted due to darkness Wednesday and completed the following afternoon | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. St. Olaf — Their Last Meeting:
• May 6, 2018 * Northfield, Minn.: Less than 24 hours after getting a walk-off home run by Will Matthews (Geneva, Ill.) in the bottom of the seventh inning of their 3-2 win over Hamline, the Cardinals found themselves deadlocked with St. Olaf 8-8 heading into the eighth inning. And while it wasn't another walk-off win, it was a win just the same, as Saint Mary's erupted for three runs in the top of the eighth — and Nathan Mathwig (Woodbury, Minn.) completed 2 1/3 innings of one-hit, scoreless relief with a strikeout and 6-4-3 double play — to record an 11-8 victory. The Cardinals picked up right where they left off in the nightcap, scoring four runs in the top of the first inning and scoring in double digits for a second straight game, beating the Oles 10-4 | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: Saint Mary's is back on the road on Tuesday, heading to St. Thomas' Koch Diamond for a 2:30 p.m. MIAC doubleheader against the Tommies.
• St. Olaf: The Oles step out of conference play on Monday, traveling to Northwestern's Reynolds Field for a 4 p.m. nonconference doubleheader against the Eagles.
 
Scouting the Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2019 Roster | 2019 Schedule | 2019 Statistics
• After playing their first 20 games of the season on the road, the Cardinals kick off the home portion of their schedule against St. Olaf. Saint Mary's finished 4-4 in its eight games at Max Molock Field a year ago. … The Cardinals' 3-2 and 3-1 wins over Carleton Wednesday marked the second time in five doubleheaders that Saint Mary's has posted a sweep. SMU swept MSOE during its spring trip, while splitting doubleheaders against John Carroll, St. Scholastica, and Saint John's. … Saint Mary's has held its opponents to two runs or less in each of their last four wins. … Justin Weinberg (Eagan, Minn.) had a pair of two-hit games against Carleton last Wednesday, while Hunter Gustafson (Webster, Wis.) and Matthew Piechowski (Hutchinson, Minn.) each finished the DH with three hits. … Weinberg has now had three straight two-hit games and has recorded seven multiple-hit games in the last nine contests. … Piechowski heads into the Cardinals twinbill against St. Olaf leading the team with a .423 batting average. He is one of four Cardinal players hitting above .300, being joined by Weinberg (.400), Will Matthews (Geneva, Ill. / .328), and Andy Tepp (Stevens Point, Wis. / .313). … Piechowski also leads or shares the team lead in runs (19), hits (30), triples (3), home runs (1), total bases (41), slugging percentage (.577), on-base percentage (.512), 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 … Dixon Irwin (Red Wing, Minn.) notched his first collegiate three-hit game against Concordia-Moorhead on March 22. … Liam Belleveau (Middleton, Wis.) — who moved into a share of the team lead with his third triple of the season against Carleton Wednesday — 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. … Gustafson, Taylor Anderson (Waukesha, Wis.), and Joe Bauer (Pine Island, Minn.) all collected their first collegiate hits during the Cardinals' spring trip. … Saint Mary's has collected 187 hits this season, including 44 for extra bases — 38 doubles, eight 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 94 walks this season — led by Matthews with 15 and Tepp with 13. … The Cardinals have recorded 53 multiple-hit games, led by Piechowski and Weinberg with 10 each. … Tepp leads the team with six multiple-RBI games, one more than Matthews. … Weinberg heads into the Carleton doubleheader riding a career-high 13-game hitting streak. … Ryan Wolfe (Wabasha, Minn.) and Eli Morison (Minneapolis, Minn.) picked up the pitching wins against Carleton Wednesday — both going six innings — while Tyler Stilp (Lindstrom, Minn.) notched the save in both contests. … Wolfe (2-1, 2.45 ERA) now leads the pitching staff with 29.1 innings pitched, while James Green (East Bethel, Minn. / 25.1 IP) and Morison (24.2 IP) have also thrown more than 20 innings this season. … Green (3-0, 2.13 ERA) tossed the Cardinals' first complete game of the season with a four-hitter in Saint Mary's 2-1 win over Saint John's on March 30. … Kodey Kiel (Owatonna, Minn.) boasts a team-best 0.87 ERA in seven appearances (10.1 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 (26), Morison (14), Jonathan Cieminski (Fountain City, Wis. / 12), and Kiel (11). … With his two saves against Carleton last Wednesday, Stilp moved into a tie for the team lead in saves (3) with Kiel. … 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 12 appearances. … Saint Mary's has been outscored 128-126, but has outscored its opponents 21-11 in the first inning and 17-9 in the fifth. … Saint Mary's has scored three or more runs in 18 of their 20 games this season — the lone exceptions, their 2-1 win and 12-1 loss to No. 20 Saint John's on March 30. … Saint Mary's scored a season-high 14 runs in its 18-14 loss to Rose-Hulman on Feb. 26. … 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 10-3 when leading after the sixth inning, while going 1-6 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 St. Olaf Oles:
2019 Roster | 2019 Schedule | 2019 Statistics
• With their sweep of Augsburg last Wednesday/Thursday, the Oles head into their MIAC showdown against Saint Mary's riding a five-game winning streak. … With their 6-0 win over Augsburg in Game 2, the Oles have now held their opponents to two runs or less in nine of their 13 wins this season. … Sam Pressman heads into the Oles' showdown against Saint Mary's leading the team with a .407 batting average. Pressman is one of six Oles who are hitting above .300 — being joined by Dylan Blake (.394), Matthew Muller (.383), Sam Stuckmayer (.354), T.J. Rogers (.345), and Tommy McDonald (.333) are the other five. … McDonald (23) and Rogers (21) lead eight Oles who have scored 10 or more runs, while Blake (26) and Pressman (24) are the team-leaders in hits. … Blake, Rogers, and McDonald all share the team lead in doubles with six each, with McDonald also owning a team-best three triples. … St. Olaf's three home runs have come from three different people — McDonald, Jake Ossell, and Ryan Torbenson. … Torbenson's HR was a three-run, game-winning shot in the bottom of the seventh inning against Augsburg Wednesday. … Pressman has collected a team-high 21 RBIs, while McDonald leads the Oles with 37 total bases and a .561 slugging percentage. … Pressman and Blake have each recorded eight multi-hit games, and Blake also owns a team-high seven multiple-RBI performances. … Matthew Muller heads into the Oles' DH against Saint Mary's riding a season- and team-high nine-game hitting streak, not to mention having reached base safely in each of the Oles' 17 games this season. … St. Olaf boasts six pitchers who have logged 10 or more innings this season, led by Sam Westermeyer (24.2 IP), Jesse Retzlaff (24.1 IP), and Hunter Barber (21.2 IP). … Retzlaff (3-0, 1.48 ERA) and Barber (3-0, 3.32 ERA) share the team lead with four starts, while Ben Arndt (1-0, 5.40 ERA), Elliot Syverson (0-0, 3.234 ERA)_, and Thomas Peterson (0-0, 22.85 ERA) share the team lead with five pitching appearances. … Westermeyer (3-0, 1.09 ERA) and Redzlaff have each tossed two complete games and Retzlaff owns the staff's lone shutout. … Westermeyer has fanned 20 batters, one more than Hanson Devine (0-2, 13.85 ERA). … St. Olaf has outscored its opponents 129-82 — including 29-16 in the third inning, 23-5 in the sixth, and 24-8 in the seventh. … St. Olaf has held its opponents to two runs or less in nine of its 13 wins this season. … The Oles are unbeaten (11-0) when leading after the sixth inning.