| SAINT MARY'S CARDINALS SCOUTING REPORT |
LEADING OFF: The Cardinals earned a spot in the MIAC Playoff title game with a 6-3 win over St. Thomas on Friday. The win was SMU's third straight in post-season play — the Cardinals opened tournament action with a 6-1 win over Concordia and added a 17-5 victory over Gustavus prior to Friday's victory over the top-seeded Tommies. … SMU's 6-3 win over St. Thomas snapped a five-game losing streak against the Tommies — including all four meetings between the two teams this season. … Thirteen of SMU's 17 runs vs. Gustavus Thursday came with two outs. … The Cardinals had never beaten Gustavus in post-season play, snapping a three-game losing streak against the Gusties with their 17-5 win on Thursday. … The Cardinals — who are 10-3 in their last 13 games— enter Saturday's championship game against St. Thomas sitting at 28-13 overall. The 28 wins are tied for the most in program history. SMU first won 28 games during the 1990 season. … A win over St. Thomas Saturday would earn Saint Mary's the MIAC's automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament, and would mark SMU's first NCAA tournament appearance since 1993.
AT THE PLATE: Will Matthews (Geneva, Ill.) owns the team lead with a .351 batting average, percentage points in front of Liam Belleveau (Middleton, Wis.) and Justin Weinberg (Eagan, Minn.), who are sitting at .349 and .345, respectively. … Matthews leads or shares the team lead in doubles (17), home runs (2), total bases (72), slugging percentage (.537) and on-base percentage (.422). … Weinberg, the team-leader with 142 at-bats, 38 runs, and 49 hits, boasts a team-best 15 multiple-hit games, one more than Matthews. Weinberg's four-hit showing against St. Olaf on April 26 is the Cardinals' first four-hit game of the season. … Weinberg is currently sitting third all-time in career hits with 180. He trails 179, trailing Willie Doll '16 (220) and Ben Buerkle '17 (233). … Andy Tepp (Stevens Point, Wis.) shares the team lead in RBIs (30) with Matthews, and owns a team-high 10 multiple-RBI games . … Joey Costello (Victoria, Minn.) was held without a hit against St. Thomas Friday, snapping the senior's season- and career-high 13-game hitting streak. … Tepp — who had a career-high nine-game hitting streak earlier this season — has reached base safely in 21 straight contests. … The Cardinals' eight home runs this season have come from five different players. Along with two each from Matthews, Weinberg, and Belleveau, Tyler O'Brien (Belle Plaine, Minn.) and Jack Arndt (Coon Rapids, Minn.) have each hit one HR. … Belleveau's HR vs. Concordia on April 17, and O'Brien's and Arndt's round-trippers against Augsburg on April 11, were all collegiate firsts. … Saint Mary's boasts three players who have recorded their first collegiate three-hit games this season — Anderson, O'Brien, and Trevon VanEgtern (La Crosse, Wis.). … Zach Drake's (Westby, Wis.) four runs scored in the nightcap against Crown on March 29 were a single-game career-high and marked the first time since Joe Seegers against Rose-Hulman on March 1, 2018 that a Cardinal has scored four runs in a game. … Belleveau drove in a career-high five runs against Gustavus Thursday — the most RBIs in a game by a Cardinal this season. VanEgtern drove in a career-high four runs in SMU's 14-6, Game 2 loss to the Oles on April 24 — it's the Cardinals' only four-RBI game this season. … Saint Mary's has stolen a single-season, program record 83 bases. Weinberg leads the team with 16 steals in 18 attempts, while Drake has 15 steals on 16 attempts. … Saint Mary's 18 hits against Carleton on April 12 — which came from 12 different players — were a season-high.
ON THE MOUND: Jake Mercado (Belle Plaine, Minn.) picked up the pitching win against St. Thomas Friday, allowing two hits on six hits through six innings. Kodey Kiel (Owatonna, Minn.) tossed a perfect 1-2-3 ninth for his team-leading fourth save. … Ryan Wolfe (Wabasha, Minn. / 7-3, 4.37 ERA) picked up the pitching win against Gustavus Thursday, going the first six innings, allowing four runs on eight hits over six innings. Justin Haugo (Springfield, Ill.) tossed the final three innings, surrendering one run, while striking out four. … Luke Gilbertson (Windom, Minn.) tossed his third nine-inning complete game of the season on May 15, limiting Augsburg to just one run on five hits — and only one hit over the game's final five innings. With his win against Augsburg, Gilbertson (7-0, 2.35 ERA) — who had a no-decision against Concordia Wednesday, allowing one run on seven hits in 5.1 innings — has thrown 57.1 innings — including three nine-inning complete games. … Gilbertson notched a complete-game, six-hit shutout in Game 2 against Macalester on April 22 for his first collegiate complete game, and first collegiate shutout. … Wolfe tossed a complete-game, one-hit shutout against Augsburg on April 10. Wolfe faced just 22 batters — one over the minimum, and allowed one a third-inning single. It was his third career shutout and fifth career complete game. … Haugo (1-1, 1.80 ERA) collected his first collegiate pitching win against Augsburg on April 11, tossing four innings of shutout relief in the Cardinals' 5-4 victory. … Addison Hochevar (Lake Geneva, Wis. / 3-1, 2.03 ERA) earned his first win as a Cardinal against Augsburg on March 16, and notched his first collegiate save against Hamline last Thursday. … Jordan Zabel (Elgin, Minn. / 2.2, 5.57 ERA) collected his first collegiate pitching win against Gustavus on March 26. … Jonathan Cieminski (Fountain City, Wis.) picked up the pitching win in SMU's playoff-opening victory over Concordia on May 19, allowing one hit, while striking out a career-high seven in 3.2 innings of scoreless relief. … Cieminski (1-0, 2.84 ERA) recorded his first collegiate save in the nightcap against Carleton on April 6, facing the minimum nine batters in three innings of relief. Cieminski picked up the pitching win against Concordia Wednesday, allowing just one hit, while striking out a career-high seven in 3.2 innings. … Saint Mary's used a single-game, program-record nine pitchers in last Wednesday's 11-10 win over Carleton. Four days later, SMU used seven pitchers — one in each inning of its 6-1 loss to Augsburg last Sunday.
BY THE NUMBERS: The Cardinals had seven players score two or more runs in their 17-5 MIAC Playoff win over Gustavus Thursday. Weinberg and Matthews each scored three times, while O'Brien, Anderson, Tepp, Costello, and Drake all scored twice. … Saint Mary's has played 13 games decided by two runs or less — including seven one-run contests. SMU is 6-1 in those seven one-run games, with its 3-2 decision against SJU on April 15 being the only loss. … Saint Mary's 8-7, 10-inning win over Concordia on April 17 was the Cardinals' first extra-inning game of the season. … The Cardinals' 17 runs against Gustavus Thursday were a season high — and the most scored in a game since plating 19 against Finlandia on March 1, 2017. Saint Mary's has now scored 10 or more runs in a game six times this season. … Saint Mary's is 15-0 when holding its opponent to two runs or less — and 16-2 when scoring the game's first run. … SMU is 23-1 when leading after six innings, and 15-0 when leading heading into the eighth. … The Cardinals' DH vs. Luther on March 14 was their first home game in 683 days, dating back to a conference DH vs. Gustavus on May 1, 2019. |
| GUSTAVUS GUSTIES SCOUTING REPORT |
LEADING OFF: The Gusties entered the MIAC Playoffs as the No. 2 seed, beating Carleton in the qualifier series. GAC opened its three-game series with the Knights with an 8-2 victory, but dropped the second game 8-3, before rebounding in the winner-take all third game for a 6-2 victory. … Despite the loss to Carleton on Sunday, GAC enters post-season play having won eight of its last 11. … Gustavus heads into the weekend's neutral-site, four-team double-elimination tournament boasting an 11-3 road record this season.
AT THE PLATE: As a team, the Gusties are hitting .321, and boast five regulars who are hitting above .300, led by Bryce Novak (.455) and Jack Hanson (.402). … Along with his team-leading .455 batting average — tops among all MIAC hitters — Novak also leads GAC in at-bats (121), runs (27), hits (55), doubles (10), triples 3), total bases (80), and on-base percentage (.489). … The Gusties have amassed 94 extra-base hits through 31 games — including 58 doubles, 13 triples, and 23 home runs. … Hanson has accounted for seven of the Gusties' 23 home runs and also leads the team in RBIs (20) and slugging percentage (.691). … Novak boasts 18 multiple-hit games — including four four-hit performances — and Hanson owns a team-best eight multiple-RBI contests. … Gustavus owns 62 stolen bases on 79 attempts, led by Dalton Thelen with 14, Novak with 13, and Cole Pengilly with 11.
ON THE MOUND: Gustavus has four pitchers who have logged more than 20 inning this season, led by Weston Lombard (7-0, 1.26 ERA) with 57.0 IP and Charlie Hutchinson (3-0, 2.80 ERA) with 35.1 IP. … Damon Rademacher (6-0, 0.72 ERA, 25.0 IP) leads the team with 15 appearances and has recorded three of the Gusties' four saves. … Lombard has tossed three complete games among his nine starts and leads the Gusties with 70 strikeouts. … As a staff, GAC owns a 2.52 ERA and teams are hitting just .208 against them.
BY THE NUMBERS: Pengilly is the only Gustie to have started all 31 games this season — all at shortstop. … Three of the Gusties' five losses have been by one run, the lone exceptions — a 9-5 loss to Saint Mary's March 26 and Sunday's 8-3 loss to Carleton. … Gustavus opened the season winning 14 of its first 15 games, before closing the regular-season 11-4 in its last 15. … Gustavus has outscored its opponents 205-94 heading into post-season play — including 50-17 in the fourth and 29-9 in the fifth. … Gustavus is unbeaten (18-0) when scoring six or more runs in a game. GAC has been held under six runs in all five of its losses. … Gustavus boasts a 16-0 mark when limiting its opponents to two runs or less — including three shutout wins. … GAC is 18-2 when scoring first and 21-0 when leading after the sixth inning. |
| ST. THOMAS TOMMIES SCOUTING REPORT |
LEADING OFF: With their Thursday win over Bethel, the Tommies — the tournament's No. 1 seed — improved to 27-5 overall, and extended their winning streak to 13. St. Thomas has not lost since dropping a 3-1 decision to Gustavus on April 21. … Four of St. Thomas' five losses have come against teams in the six-team MIAC Playoffs — Saint John's (L, 3-2/L, 3-2), Bethel (L, 7-1), and Gustavus (L, 3-1).
AT THE PLATE: As a team, the Tommies are hitting .289 and boast five players who are hitting above .300 — Sam Kulesa (.407), Charlie Bartholomew (.365), Jake Porter (.357), Avery Lehman (.327), and Max Moris (.315). … Along with his team-leading batting average, Kulesa also leads UST in runs (24), hits (37), triples (2), total bases (46), slugging percentage (.505), and on-base percentage (.486). … Porter and Kyle Halverson share the team lead in RBIs with 23 each, two more than Bartholomew. … Matthew Enck has induced a team-leading 17 walks, one more than Halverson. … Kulesa has collected 13 multiple-hit games, two more than Moris, while Bartholomew is the team-leader with eight multiple-RBI games. … Halverson has hit three of the Tommies' seven home runs, with Porter, Josh Thorp, and Bartholomew accounting for the other three.
ON THE MOUND: The Tommies boast five pitchers who have logged 20 or more innings this season, led by Graham Laubscher with 54.0 IP, Andrew Tri with 46.2 IP, and Duke Coborn with 36.0 IP. … Tri boasts a 5-2 record and 0.96 ERA in nine appearances, while Laubscher (5-2, 18.3 ERA) and T.J. Consterlina (1-0, 9.59 ERA) have also made nine pitching appearances this season. … Tri and Coborn have each tossed three complete games, one more than Laubscher. … The Tommie pitching staff — which boasts a 1.58 team ERA — has struck out 291 batters, led by Laubscher with 86 and Tri with 67.
BY THE NUMBERS: St. Thomas leads all 371 NCAA III programs with the lowest ERA at 1.48, and its .979 clip also ranks first in fielding percentage (among teams with 20 or more games). … UST has outscored its opponent 85-15 during its current 13-game winning streak. … The Tommies' 9-3 win over Northwestern on May 14 was St. Thomas' last Division III varsity contest on campus in any sport, with next year's move to NCAA Division I competition. The victory also let the Tommies close out a 12-0 home-field record in 2021. … St. Thomas, ranked third in the Midwest Region, has won 12 in a row and 23 of its last 25 contests. … With their regular season-ending 9-3 win over Northwestern on May 14, the Tommies improved to 5-1 on the season against the Eagles (29-9), the UMAC conference champion and the No. 5-ranked team in the region. … In May 1920, St. Thomas won the first Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference baseball title contested, two months after the conference was formed. On May 9, 2021 — 101 years later — the Tommies secured their 38th and final league regular-season championship, pulling away late to record a 7-1 victory over Concordia. … St. Thomas has allowed just 29 runs in its 26 wins. … St. Thomas has posted eight wins via shutout this season. … St. Thomas has scored 10 or more runs in a game four times this season, including a season-high 17-run showing in a 17-2 win over Saint Mary's on April 2. … |
| BETHEL ROYALS SCOUTING REPORT |
LEADING OFF: The Royals, the lowest seed remaining in the MIAC Playoffs, knocked off fourth-seeded Saint John's 16-8 Wednesday to earn a spot in the double-elimination portion of the conference tournament. … Thursday's loss to St. Thomas was just the third setback in the last 11 games. … Bethel split its regular-season series against the Tommies, falling 4-1 in the first game, before rallying for a 7-1 victory in the nightcap.
AT THE PLATE: The Royals boast three players who are hitting above .300 through 39 games this season — Caleb Brandt (.315), Thomas Friesen (.304), and Marcus Krupke (.302). … Along with his team-leading batting average, Brandt also leads the Royals in at-bats (124), runs (30), hits (30), total bases (62), and on-base percentage (.388). … Bethel has recorded 105 extra-base hits this season, including 73 doubles, 13 triples, and 19 home runs. … Nick Wibben leads the team with nine doubles, two more than James Woelfel, Keenan Hodgkin, Matthew Carlsen, and Joey Fredrickson. … Justin Winterfeldt has hit a team-high five home runs, followed by Woelfel with three, and Wibben, Brandt, and Friesen with two each. … Fredrickson leads the team with 25 RBIs. He is one of four Royals with 20 or more RBIs this season. … Brandt boasts a team-leading 12 multiple-hit games, while Carlsen has recorded three of BU's four, season-high four-hit games. … Carlsen is riding a team- and season-high eight-game hitting streak. Knupke, meanwhile, has reached base safely in 12 straight games.
ON THE MOUND: Bethel boasts four pitchers who have logged more than 30 innings this season — Marcus Krupke (9-2, 3.43 ERA, 78.2 IP), Matthew Bohlke (7-1, 3.84 ERA, 70.1 IP), Jordan Krupke (3-1, 3.86 ERA, 35.0 IP), and Peyton Gallagher (1-4, 8.37 ERA, 33.1 IP). … Blake Williams (2-2, 3.20 ERA) has made a team-high 16 appearances — all in relief. … Marcus Krupke has thrown all five BU complete games, while Blake Williams (2-2, 3.20 ERA) is the team's saves leader with three. … Bohlke owns a team-high 87 strikeouts, The 87 Ks are a single-season program record, breaking the 34-year-old mark of 85, set Jon Sorenson during the 1987 season.
BY THE NUMBERS: With their 16-8 win over Saint John's Wednesday, the Royals pushed their winning streak to a season-high five — a streak that came to an end with Thursday's 7-2 loss to St. Thomas. … BU's 16 runs against the Johnnies marked the fifth time this season the Royals have scored 10 or more runs in a game. BU plated a season-high 24 runs against Concordia in the Royals' 24-4 win over the Cobbers on May 1. … Bethel improved to 15-7 on the road this season with Wednesday's win over SJU. … With Wednesday's win over Saint John's, the Royals snapped a four-game losing streak against the Johnnies, dating back to an 8-0 win on May 13, 2018. The 8-0 win locked up Bethel's first-ever MIAC Playoff title and earned the Royals their first-ever NCAA Tournament berth.
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