WINONA, Minn. — "We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the game." - Randy Pausch
 
Saint Mary's University baseball coach Nick Winecke has never heard of Randy Pausch, but he's not about to argue with the logic. 
 
Headed into national competition this Thursday, the Cardinal head coach has been dealt a very special deck of Cards — ones who most definitely know how to play the game.
 
Winecke can take that deck, shuffle it up, fan them out, and pick a Card, any Card, and he can't go wrong.
 
If he pulls out a 6? That's the six super-seniors — Wil Matthews, Justin Weinberg, Joey Costello, Ryan Wolfe, Zach Drake, and Jonathan Cieminski — who returned for a fifth season after having their 2020 season "stolen" by COVID-19, and led the Cardinals to their first-ever MIAC Playoff championship and their first NCAA regional tournament appearance since 1993.
 
A 9? That's the number worn by Matthews — who put up career numbers in every offensive category in leading the Cardinal offense to lofty heights not seen in years.
 
If he yanks out a 5? That's the number of MIAC post-season award-winners — Matthews, Weinberg, Luke Gilbertson, Andy Tepp, and Joey Costello.
 
Chooses a Jack? That's for jack-of-all trades Justin Weinberg, a 2021 All-MIAC catcher who can also play a mean center field — oh, and is sitting third all-time in career hits, after recording 51 this season.
 
Another 6? That's Joey Costello's position, and the Cardinal shortstop is among the best in the business, earning MIAC All-Defense honors in 2021, and committing just six errors in 170 chances (.965 fielding percentage) this season.
 
If he pulls out a King? That represents Coach Winecke himself, who has guided this year's squad to a school-record 29 wins — and has now led Saint Mary's to six 20-win seasons and seven MIAC Playoff appearances.
 
Go ahead, keep going, and pick another Card.
 
Ah, an Ace. There are four in the deck — Gilbertson, Ryan Wolfe, Jake Mercado, and Addison Hochevar — with a stable full of arms ready to lend a helping hand.
 
And as impressive as each and every Card is individually, they are even more special as a full deck.
 
Which is something first-round opponent Aurora and the rest of the Northwestern Regional will soon discover first-hand, as the Cardinals head to Reynolds Field on the campus of the University of Northwestern in St. Paul, Minn., to make that first NCAA Regional appearance in 28 years.
 
"Everyone is really excited to get the chance to keep this season going," said Matthews, who clubbed an MIAC Playoff title-clinching three-run home run in Saint Mary's 6-3 win over St. Thomas last Saturday. "But before we get back to business, we want to also enjoy the moment. We shocked the world big time last weekend — to beat two of the toughest teams in the region in Gustavus and St. Thomas, and to beat the Tommies twice, that's pretty special."
 
According to Winecke, when it comes to this deck of Cards, "special" doesn't quite do them justice.
 
"Top-to-bottom, this team has already accomplished so much — and the sky's still the limit," he said. "Up and down our lineup we have very good balance, good offensive productivity one-through-nine. The goal of a good lineup is to have no breaks — you don't want to get to a spot where an opponent can feel like they can "cruise through this part of the order." Each one of the guys in our lineup brings a different skill set — some can hurt you with one swing, some do a great job of working the count, others can hit-and-run … . You want to find a way to create havoc."
 
Which is what Saint Mary's did during their five MIAC Playoff games. Whether it was coming from behind in wins over Concordia and St. Thomas — or exploding for a season-high 17 runs against Gustavus — the Cardinals' offense was a nightmare for opposing pitchers.
 
And if an opponent does happen to figure out a way to slow down SMU's high-octane, offensive machine, that's only half the battle.
 
They still have to battle a Cardinal pitching staff that is as deep and as talented as any around.
 
"We have a good combination of veterans with a lot of experience, and then some very strong young arms," Winecke said of his pitching corps, which enters tournament play boasting a 4.18 ERA with five complete games and seven saves. "We went into a must-win, winner-take-all final game against St. Thomas going freshman (starter) to freshman (reliever) to Ryan, our veteran.
 
"We've got pitchers whose roles are different this year than in year's past, but it all comes down to doing what they need to do to help us be successful as a team — get the ball into the next pitcher's hand in a good situation."
 
Jordan Zabel and Addison Hochevar certainly used that approach against St. Thomas in the MIAC Playoff championship game.
 
Zabel went the first 3 1/3 innings, holding the high-powered Tommies to one run on five hits. Hochevar came on and allowed an unearned run on one hit in 1 1/3 innings of work, before giving way to Wolfe in the sixth. Pitching on one day's rest, Wolfe went the final four innings, surrendering just one run on four hits to seal the win — and punching the Cardinals' ticket to the NCAA regional.
 
"Ryan is a bulldog," said Winecke of his fifth-year senior right-hander. "To come out and pitch the way he did on just a day's rest … that was unreal. I'm pretty sure if I would have tried to take him out (of the game) he might have come into the dugout and beat me up — he wasn't going to be denied."
 
Neither were the Cardinals.
 
And now, Saint Mary's journey — which started in Winona, before heading north to Collegeville, Minn. — now shifts to St. Paul, Minn., and the Northwestern Regional.
 
"Going into regionals, we really want to stick to our brand of baseball and what we do best," said Tepp, the Cardinals' starting left-fielder all season, who heads into SMU's showdown with Aurora hitting .299 and riding 10-game hitting and a 23-game on-base streaks. "Our pitching staff has been phenomenal throughout the year keeping us in games — giving us an opportunity to win — and all of our position players have done a great job with run support. 
 
"Just like coach Winecke says, 'it's 57-on-1,' and that's exactly how we're going to approach our upcoming games."
 
If they do that, Winecke is confident that a win is in the Cards.