• FOR THE RECORD: The Cardinals head into their three-game set against Luther sitting at 4-4 after their eight-game spring trip. Saint Mary’s beat Concordia (14-10) and Grove City (9-7), lost to University of Dubuque (10-7) and MSOE (5-4), while splitting two games against both Rose-Hulman (W, 16-7; L, 8-6) and Northwestern (W, 6-4; L, 5-1).
• LAST TIME OUT: Saint Mary’s got complete-game pitching performances from Luke Gilbertson (Windom, Minn.) and Jordan Zabel (Elgin, Minn.) in its doubleheader split against Northwestern on March 5. Gilbertson allowed four runs on seven hits in a 6-4 win, while Zabel surrendered five runs on six hits in suffering the 5-1, Game 2 loss.
• LEADING THE CHARGE: Jack Arndt (Coon Rapids, Minn.) led the Cardinals’ offensive attack during its eight-game spring trip, hitting .400 — going 12-for-30 with a double, four runs scored and 11 RBIs. … Brandon Merfeld (La Crosse, Wis. / .389), Ben Coons (Kimberly, Wis. / .357), and Cameron Weber (Holmen, Wis. / .333) also hit above .300 in SMU’s eight contests.
• EXTRA, EXTRA: Saint Mary’s belted out 17 extra-base hits in its eight spring trip games, including 11 doubles, three triples, and three home runs. … Merfeld, Weber, and Tyler O’Brien (Belle Plaine, Minn.) lad the team with two doubles each, while Weber, O’Brien, and Mason Coyle own the team’s three triples.
• BOMBS AWAY: Weber, Daniel Marxen (Maple Grove, Minn.), and Trevon VanEgtern (La Crosse, Wis.) have all hit their first collegiate home runs to account for SMU’s three round-trippers this season.
• DRIVING ‘EM HOME: As a team, Saint Mary’s has driven in 54 runs through eight games, led by Arndt with 11 and VanEgtern, Marxen, and O’Brien with seven each. … Arndt delivered a career-high five RBIs in Saint Mary’s 9-7 win over Grove City on Feb. 28, while Marxen drove in a career-high four runs in the Cardinals’ season-opening 14-10 win over Concordia the previous afternoon.
• RUNNING HOME: Merfeld has scored a team-leading 12 runs — including a single-season career-high four runs scored against Rose Hulman on March 3.
• RACKING ‘EM UP: Saint Mary’s has compiled 16 multiple-hit games, led by Coons with three. SMU has had six players record three hits in a game — including Arndt, who has done it a team-leading twice. … Arndt leads the team with three multiple-RBI games — including his season-high five-RBI effort against Grove City on Feb. 28. He is one of four Cardinals with at least two multiple-RBI games this season.
• STREAKING ALONG: Arndt picked up at least one hit in all eight games the Cardinals have played this season, while Coons is riding a seven-game hitting streak.
• ON THE MOUND: Saint Mary’s used 12 different pitchers during its eight-game spring trip, with Dylan Westcott leading the way with three appearances. … Luke Gilbertson (Windom, Minn.) logged a team-high 11.0 innings in Florida, followed by Jordan Zabel (Elgin, Minn.) with 9 1/3 and Andrew Fischer (La Crosse, Wis.) with 8 2/3 innings. … Zabel and Addison Hochevar (Lake Geneva, Wis.) share the team lead with eight strikeouts.
• COMPLETING WHAT THEY STARTED: Luke Gilbertson (Windom, Minn.) and Jordan Zabel (Elgin, Minn.) tossed back-to-back complete games in SMU’s spring trip-ending split against Northwestern on March 5. Gilbertson allowed four runs on seven hits in a 6-4 win, while Zabel surrendered five runs on six hits in suffering the 5-1, Game 2 loss. The complete game was the first of Zabel’s career, while Gilbertson owns four career complete games.
• THE WIN, AND THE SAVE: Timmy Smith (South St. Paul, Minn.) picked up his first collegiate pitching win and Westcott earned his first save as a Cardinal in SMU’s 14-10 win over Concordia on Feb. 27. Smith allowed three runs – only one of which was earned — on five hits in four innings of relief, while Wescott worked a scoreless ninth. Westcott picked up save No. 2 the following day, working a one-run ninth in SMU’s 9-7 win over Grove City.
• THIS AND THAT: The Cardinals scored six or more runs in all four of their wins during their eight-game spring trip — including a season-high 16-run showing in dropping Rose-Hulman 16-7 on March 3. On the flip side, Saint Mary’s has been held to five runs or less in three of its four losses. … Saint Mary’s has scored in the first inning in just one of its eight games — plating three runs in its 14-10, season-opening win over Concordia on Feb. 17. … Saint Mary’s has scored four or more runs in an inning five times — posting five, four-run innings, as well as a season-high eight-run second inning in its 16-7 win over Rose-Hulman on March 3.
?• A YEAR TO REMEMBER: The Cardinals captured their first-ever MIAC Playoff title — beating St. Thomas 6-3 in the championship game. … Saint Mary’s made its first NCAA National Tournament appearance in 28 years, opening with a 15-13 win over Aurora, before falling to both Northwestern (Minn.) 3-1 and Johns Hopkins 7-2.
• A LONG TIME COMING: Saint Mary’s appearance in the NCAA Regional last season marked the first time since 1993. Saint Mary’s finished 4-2 in regional play that year, falling to UW-Oshkosh 6-0 in the opener, before bouncing back with wins over UW-Whitewater (5-3), Concordia (12-7), and UW-Oshkosh (4-2), before falling to the Titans 5-2 in the championship game.
• MAKING HISTORY: The Cardinals’ win over Aurora in their NCAA Regional opener on May 28 was their program-record 30th of the season. SMU surpassed the previous single-season record of 28 with its 6-3 win over St. Thomas in the MIAC Playoff title game on May 22. … Saint Mary’s has won 20 or more games five times under current head coach Nick Winecke. … Speaking of records, the Cardinals also stole a program-record 88 bases in 2021, while breaking the single-season school record for games played with 46. … Individually, Will Matthews surpassed Willie Doll ’16 for the single-season record in doubles (18) and O’Brien shattered the program marked for times hit by a pitch with 17.
