SAINT MARY’S CARDINALS

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• 2022: 3-1 MIAC, 11-10 Overall

BETHEL ROYALS

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2022: 5-1 MIAC, 18-3 Overall

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SMU v. BU * A YEAR AGO:

May 6, 2021 * Arden Hills, MN

L, 4-2; W, 9-4 * Series History 

SAINT MARY’S LAST ACTION:

April 10, 2022 * Winona, MN

St. Olaf * W, 5-4 (10); L, 9-0

BETHEL LAST ACTION:

April 10, 2022 * Arden Hills, MN

Saint John’s * W, 4-3; W, 13-3

SAINT MARY’S UP NEXT:

April 14, 2022 * Winona, MN

Augsburg * 2:30

BETHEL UP NEXT:

April 16, 2022 * St. Paul, MN

Hamline * 1:00

• FOR THE RECORD: The Cardinals head into their conference doubleheader against Bethel sitting at 11-0- overall, including a near-perfect 3-1 showing in conference play.

• LAST TIME OUT: The Cardinals pushed their conference-opening winning streak to three — thanks to a walk-off, pinch-hit single by Bob Tilot (Pulaski, Wis.) in the bottom of the 10th inning that gave SMU a 5-4, Game 1 win over St. Olaf last Saturday. The Oles dominated the nightcap, getting a one-hit shutout from Sam Westermeyer in beating the Cardinals 9-1. 

• HOME SWEET HOME: Last Saturday’s doubleheader against St. Olaf marked the first home games of the season for the Cardinals, who played their first 19 games of the 2022 season on the road. Following its DH at Bethel, Saint Mary’s is slated to play its next six games on their home field. 

• LEADING THE CHARGE: Trevon VanEgtern (La Crosse, Wis.)  leads the Cardinals with a .311 batting average, going 23-for-74 through 21 games, while fellow regulars Brandon Merfeld (La Crosse, Wis.) and Cameron Weber (Holmen, Wis.) are also hitting above .300, sitting at .305 and .303, respectively.

… As a team, the Cardinals are hitting .254 (168-for-662).

• ON THE RUN: The Cardinals have scored 114 runs in 21 games, with Merfeld and Weber leading the way, scoring 21 and 19 runs, respectively. Tanner Bauman (Willmar, Minn. / 13), VanEgtern (12), and Tyler O’Brien (Belle Plaine, Minn. / 11) have also scored 10 or more runs this season.

• HIT PARADE: The Cardinals have eight players who have recorded at least 10 hits this season, led by VanEgtern and Weber with 23 hits each. O’Brien is third on the team with 21 hits, followed by Merfeld (18), Daniel Marxen (Maple Grove, Minn. / 18), Ben Coons (Kimberly, Wis. / 17), Jack Arndt (Coon Rapids, 14), and Tanner Bauman (11). … O’Brien has put together a team-leading six multiple-hit games this season, while Weber, Merfeld, VanEgtern, Marxen, and Coons have all recorded five multiple-hit games this season. … SMU has had six players record three hits in a game — including Arndt and O’Brien, who has done it a team-leading twice.

• EXTRA, EXTRA: Saint Mary’s has belted out 52 extra-base hits through 21 games, including 36 doubles, four triples, and 12 home runs. … O’Brien leads the team in doubles with seven, followed by Merfeld with and Marxen with six, and Weber with five. … Weber leads the team with two triples, with O’Brien and Coyle accounting for the other two.

• BOMBS AWAY: With their three home runs against St. Scholastica on April 3, the Cardinals pushed their home run total to 12. Marxen and VanEgtern share the team lead with three HRs, one more than Mercado, while Coyle, Coons, Weber, and Merfeld own the Cardinals’ other four round-trippers. … All seven SMU home run hitters this season have belted their first career HRs this season.

• DRIVING ‘EM HOME: As a team, Saint Mary’s has driven in 100 runs through 21 games, led by Marxen with 16 and VanEgtern with 14. O’Brien and Arndt boast 11 RBIs and Weber has driven in 10. … Arndt delivered a career-high five RBIs in Saint Mary’s 9-7 win over Grove City on Feb. 28, while Marxen — who leads the team with four multiple-RBI games — drove in a career-best four runs in the Cardinals’ season-opening 14-10 win over Concordia the previous afternoon.

• STREAKING ALONG: Arndt, O’Brien, and Coons have all put together season-high eight-game hitting streaks this season, but Weber owns the longest active hit streaks at three games. 

• ON THE MOUND: Saint Mary’s has used 12 different pitchers through its first 21 games — and boasts six hurlers who have logged more than 10 innings. Luke Gilbertson (Windom, Minn.) leads the Cardinal staff with 36 1/3 innings pitched, followed closely by Addison Hochevar (Lake Geneva, Wis.) and Jordan Zabel (Elgin, Minn.) with 27 2/3 IP and 26 1/3 IP, respectively. … Andrew Fischer (La Crosse, Wis. / 3-0, 6.10 ERA) leads the staff in appearances with seven, one more than Gilbertson (2-2, 4.71 ERA), Hochevar (1-3, 5.53 ERA), Justin Haugo (Springfield, Minn. / 0-1, 5.19 ERA) and Dylan Westcott (Holmen, Wis. / 0-1, 6.43 ERA). … Hochevar and Gilbertson lead the staff with six starts.

• COMPLETING WHAT THEY STARTED: Gilbertson and Jordan Zabel (Elgin, Minn. / 2-3, 4.4 ERA) 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.

• PITCHING FIRSTS: Timmy Smith 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. … Fischer set Wheaton down in order in the bottom of the seventh to preserve SMU’s 3-2 win and in his first save in a Cardinal uniform.

• SAVING THE DAY: Westcott has recorded four of the Cardinals’ six pitching saves, with Fischer collecting the other two. 

• FANNING THE FLAMES: The SMU pitching staff has struck out 136 batters through 21 games, led by Hochevar with 28, followed by Gilbertson (23), Zabel (20), Fischer (18), Smith (15), and Haugo (12). … Hochevar struck out a season-high eight batters in SMU’s 3-2 win over Wheaton on March 22.

• WALKING OFF: Saint Mary’s and Luther both claimed 7-6, walk-off victories in their nonconference doubleheader split on March 13. Luther got a two-run scoring double to cap a three-run seventh inning in winning the opener, while VanEgtern laced a run-scoring single in the bottom of the 11th to give Saint Mary’s the win in Game 2.

• THIS AND THAT: The Cardinals have scored six or more runs in eight of their 11 wins — 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 eight of its 10 losses. … Saint Mary’s has scored in the first inning in just five of its 21 games — winning all five. … SMU is 9-2 when leading after six innings, but are only 2-8 when trailing heading into the seventh frame. … 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. … Saint Mary’s has played two extra-inning games this season — winning both. SMU beat Luther 7-6 in 11 innings on March 13, before adding its 5-4, 10-inning victory over St. Olaf last Saturday.

• FOR THE RECORD: The Royals head into their conference doubleheader against Saint Mary’s owning an impressive 18-3 overall record, including a near-perfect 5-1 showing through the first six games of the conference season.

• LAST TIME OUT: Bethel maintained a stranglehold on the top spot in the conference standings with a pair of wins over Saint John’s last Sunday at Hargis Park in Arden Hills, Minn. BU slipped past the Johnnies 4-3 in the opener — scoring four runs in the bottom of the seventh inning — before rolling to a 13-3 win in the nightcap.

• LATE-GAME HEROICS: Two of Bethel’s last three wins have come in dramatic fashion. Last Saturday, the Royals scored four runs in the top of the ninth inning to beat St. Scholastica X-X, before rallying for four runs in the bottom of the seventh for a walk-off, 4-3 victory over Saint John’s the following day.

• LOSSES ARE A RARITY: Bethel has lost just three of its first 21 games this season — falling to UW-Platteville (8-3), UW-Stout (7-5), and St. Scholastica (5-2).

• HOME SWEET HOME: The Royals’ games against Saint Mary’s are the fifth and sixth home games of the season for the Royals, who are a perfect 4-0 at Hargis Park this season.

• STREAKING ALONG: After opening the season 4-2 in their first six games — including a season-opening three-game winning streak ­— the Royals rattled off 11 consecutive victories, a run that was snapped by a 5-2 loss to St. Scholastica on April 9. 

• AT THE PLATE: Matthew Carlsen and Justin Winterfeldt lead the Royals’ offensive attack, hitting .418 and .403, respectively. The duo are two of seven BU players who are hitting above .300, being joined by Ty Koehn (.365), Nolan Jurgenson (.354), Tommy Friessen (.347), Nick Kulseth (.328), Keenan Hodgkin (.317), and Marcus Krupke (.306). … As a team, the Royals enter their DH against Saint Mary’s hitting .336.

• RUNNING WILD: The Royals have scored a whopping 187 runs through 21 games and boast 11 players who have scored at least 10 times – led by Carlsen (27), Wenberg (21), Hodgkin (19), and Kulseth (18). … Carlsen, Winterfeldt, Jordan Krupke, Kulseth, and Nolan Jurgenson have all scored three runs in a game this season.

• HIT PARADE: Carlsen leads the team in hits with 33, four more than Winterfeldt, with Koehn (23) and Kulseth (22) have also collected 20 or more hits this season. … Winterfeldt has recorded a team-high 10 multiple-hit games, one more than Carlsen and two in front of Kulseth. … Winterfeldt, Carlsen, Koehn, and Wenberg have all posted four-hit games this season.

• EXTRA, EXTRA: Bethel has amassed 71 extra-base hits this season, including 46 doubles, 12 triples and 13 home runs. … Winterfeldt leads the squad with 10 doubles, followed by Hodgkin with seven and Wenberg with six. BU has gotten at least one double from 13 different players. … Krupke has recorded a team-leading three triples, one more than Wenberg, Friesen, and Carlsen. 

• GOING DEEP: Carlsen and Winterfeldt have accounted for nine of the team’s 13 homers, with Carlsen belting five round-trippers, one more than Winterfeldt. Friesen, Hodgkin, Koehn, and Luke Carlson own BU’s other four home runs.

• DRIVING ‘EM IN: Bethel boasts seven players with 10 or more RBIs, led by Carlsen with 31 and Winterfeldt with 21. Koehn (19), Hodgkin (15), Marcus Krupke (13), Friesen (11), and Kulseth (10) have also driven in 10 or more runs this season. … Winterfeldt owns a team-best six multiple-RBI games, one more than both Koehn and Carlsen. Carlsen drove in eight runs — including a three-run home run and a grand slam HR — in the Royals’ 12-1 win over Macalester on April 4.

• STREAKING ALONG: Carlsen had his season-high 17-game hitting streak snapped in the opening game of last Saturday’s matchup against Saint John’s. Carlsen has had a hit in 18 of the team’s 21 games this season. … Jordan and Marcus Krupke boast BU’s longest active hitting streaks at five games each.

• ON THE MOUND: Bethel has used 13 different pitchers through 21 games, and boasts six hurlers who have logged 10 or more innings. Max Sutter has been the workhorse on the mound for the Royals, throwing 44.0 innings, while Marcus (17 2/3 IP), Koehn (17 1/3 IP), Blake Williams (15 2/3 IP), Jordan Krupke (13.0 IP), and John Solfest (11 1/3 IP) have also thrown more than 10 innings this season. … Williams (3-0, 1.15 ERA) has made a staff-leading eight appearances — all in relief – while Sutter (6-0, 1.23 ERA) is second in appearances, and first in starts (6) and complete games (3).

• FANNING THE FLAMES: The Bethel pitching staff has struck out 151 batters, led by Sutter with 45 Ks. Koehn (0-0, 5.71 ERA) is second on the staff with 27 strikeouts, followed by Jordan Krupke (1-0, 0.69 ERA) and Williams with 13 and 12 Ks, respectively.

• BY THE NUMBERS: BU has scored eight or more runs in 13 of its 21 games this season — including reaching double figures in runs 10 times. … Bethel plated a season-high 17 runs in beating Saint Michael’s 17-4 on March 15. On the flip side, BU surrendered a season-high eight runs in falling to UW-Platteville 8-3 on March 9. … The Royals outscored their eight opponents 89-27 during their eight-game spring trip to Fort Myers, Fla., in mid-March.