SAINT MARY’S CARDINALS

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• 2022: 8-8 MIAC * 16-17 Overall

CONCORDIA COBBERS

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2022: 6-6 MIAC, 11-10 Overall

FOLLOW ALONG LIVE

Stats: G1 * G2 * Streaming Video

SMU v. CON * LAST MEETING:

Feb. 27, 2022 * Auburndale, FL

W, 14-10 * Series History

SMU v. CON * A YEAR AGO:

W, 10-3; W, 8-7 (10); W, 11-1; W, 6-1

SAINT MARY’S LAST ACTION:

April 27, 2022 * Winona, MN

Saint John’s * L, 10-1; W, 7-5

CONCORDIA LAST ACTION

May 2, 2022 * St. Paul, MN

Macalester * L, 5-4; W, 10-5

SAINT MARY’S UP NEXT:

May 8, 2022 * Northfield, MN

Carleton * 1:00

CONCORDIA UP NEXT:

May 5, 2022 * Moorhead, MN

Carleton * 2:30

SAINT MARY’S CARDINALS SCOUTING REPORT

• FOR THE RECORD: The Cardinals head into their conference doubleheader at Concordia sitting at 16-17 overall, including an 8-8 showing in conference play — which has them sitting fourth in the standings with four regular-season MIAC games remaining.

• LAST TIME OUT: The Cardinals could not find a way to shut down the high-powered Johnnies in the opening game of the teams’ conference doubleheader, falling to Saint John’s 10-1, only to rebound, scoring five unanswered runs to erase a 4-2 SJU lead and push Saint Mary’s to a 7-5 win in the nightcap last Wednesday at Max Molock Field.

• HOME SWEET HOME: SMU’s doubleheader against Saint John’s last Wednesday was the final homestand of the regular season for the Cardinals, who close out the regular-season slate with five straight road contests — beginning with their Bethany Lutheran nine-inning game against Bethany Lutheran, which will be followed by MIAC doubleheaders at Concordia on May 4, and at Carleton on May 8. … SMU ended the year 5-5 on its home diamond, while owning an 11-12 mark away from Max Molock Field. 

• LEADING THE CHARGE: Trevon VanEgtern (La Crosse, Wis.)  leads the Cardinals with a .346 batting average, going 37-for-107. … Brandon Merfeld (La Crosse, Wis.) is also hitting above .300, sitting at .313, while Cameron Weber (Holmen, Wis.) is third on the team with a .292 batting average. … As a team, the Cardinals are hitting .257 (262-for-1018).

• ON THE RUN: The Cardinals have scored 161 runs in 33 games, with Merfeld and Weber leading the way, scoring 28 and 25 runs, respectively. Tanner Bauman (Willmar, Minn. / 18), VanEgtern (17), Tyler O’Brien (Belle Plaine, Minn. / 15), Mason Coyle (Madison, Wis. / 15), Daniel Marxen (Maple Grove, Minn. / 11), and Ben Coons (Kimberly, Wis. / 10) have also scored 10 or more runs this season. … Merfeld scored a single-game season- and career-high four runs in against Rose-Hulman on March 3.

• HIT PARADE: The Cardinals have six players who have recorded at least 20 hits this season, led by VanEgtern with 37 and Weber with 33. Merfeld and Marxen both own 30 hits, one more than O’Brien, with Coons sitting at 25 hits. … SMU had three players collect three hits in Game 2 against Bethel on April 13 and has now had seven players record three hits in a game this season, led by VanEgtern with four. … As a team, SMU has amassed 65 multiple-hit games, led by VanEgtern and Merfeld with nine each, one more than Weber.

• DOUBLING UP: Will Boeckman (Big Lake, Minn.) has had five hits in 15 at-bats this season, three of which have been doubles — including two against Saint John’s on Wednesday.

• EXTRA, EXTRA: Saint Mary’s has belted out 77 extra-base hits through 33 games, including 57 doubles, five triples, and 15 home runs. … Merfeld and O’Brien share the team lead with nine doubles, one more than Weber, and two in front of VanEgtern and Marxen. … SMU’s five triples have come from four different players. Weber owns two, and Merfeld, O’Brien, and Coyle have accounted for the other three.

• BOMBS AWAY: With their home run against Gustavus on April 23, the Cardinals pushed their home run total to 15. VanEgtern and Marxen lead the way with four HRs each, two in front of Mason Coyle (Madison, Wis.) and Jake Mercado (Belle Plaine, Minn.). Coons, Weber, and Merfeld own the Cardinals’ other three 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 138 runs through 33 games, led by Marxen with 26, followed VanEgtern with 18, O’Brien with 17 and O’Brien with 17. Weber is fourth on the team with 13 RBIs, followed by Coons and Jack Arndt (Coon Rapids, Minn.) with 11, and Merfeld with 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 seven multiple-RBI games — has driven in a career-best four runs twice this season. 

• STREAKING ALONG: Arndt, O’Brien, and Coons have all put together season-high eight-game hitting streaks this season, but no Cardinal has an active streak longer than two. … Merfeld has reached base safely in 13 of SMU’s last 14 contests. 

• ON THE MOUND: Saint Mary’s has used 12 different pitchers through its first 33 games — and boasts eight hurlers who have logged more than 10 innings. Luke Gilbertson (Windom, Minn.) leads the Cardinal staff with 50 1/3 innings pitched, followed closely by Addison Hochevar (Lake Geneva, Wis.) and Jordan Zabel (Elgin, Minn.) and with 43 2/3 IP and 39 1/3 IP, respectively. … Andrew Fischer (La Crosse, Wis. / 3-1, 4.45 ERA) leads the staff in appearances with 12, three more Justin Haugo (Springfield, Minn. / 1-1, 4.42 ERA), Gilbertson (2-4, 5.36 ERA), Hochevar (2-4, 4.74 ERA), Timmy Smith (South St. Paul, Minn. / 4-0, 4.74 ERA), and Dylan Westcott (Holmen, Wis. / 0-1, 3.46 ERA). … Hochevar and Gilbertson lead the staff with eight starts.

• COMPLETING WHAT THEY STARTED: Gilbertson and Zabel 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: 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. … Keegan Majerus (Pine Island, Min.) recorded his first win in a Cardinal uniform, going 3 1/3 innings, allowing two runs on four hits in a 9-7 win over Grove City on Feb. 28. … 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. … Haugo notched his first career save in SMU’s Game 2 win over Hamline on April 19, blanking the Pipers on three hits over the final four innings of the nine-inning contest.

• SAVING THE DAY: Fischer and Westcott both share the team lead in saves with five, while Haugo owns the Cardinals’ other save.

• FANNING THE FLAMES: The SMU pitching staff has struck out 216 batters through 33 games, led by Hochevar with 51, followed by Zabel (30), Gilbertson (29), Fischer (29), Smith (20), and Haugo (19). … Hochevar struck out a career-high nine batters in SMU’s 3-0, Game 2 loss to Macalester on April 16. The nine Ks were one more than his previous career-best of eight 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 12 of their 16 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 15 of its 17 losses. … The Cardinals are 11-4 in games decided by two runs or less — 5-3 in one-run games and 6-1 in two-run contests. … Saint Mary’s has scored in the first inning in eight of its 31 games — going 7-1. … SMU is 13-2 when leading after six innings, but are only 3-15 when tied or trailing heading into the seventh frame. … Saint Mary’s has scored four or more runs in an inning seven times — including a seven-run fourth inning against Hamline on April 19, and a season-high eight-run second inning in its 16-7 win over Rose-Hulman on March 3. … Saint Mary’s has played three extra-inning games this season — beating Luther 7-6 in 11 innings on March 13 and topping St. Olaf 5-4 in 10 innings on April 9, before dropping a 2-1, eight-inning decision to Macalester on April 16.

• FOR THE RECORD: The Cobbers head into their conference doubleheader against Saint Mary’s sitting at 11-10 overall, including owning a 6-6 record in conference play.

• LAST TIME OUT: The Cobbers maintained their .500 record with a split of their conference doubleheader against Macalester Monday in St. Paul, Minn. The host Scots jumped out to a 5-1 lead and held off a furious CC rally to win the opener, 5-4, while the Cobbers rallied from another early deficit, scoring the game’s final six runs — including three in the top of the ninth, in earning the MIAC split with a 10-5, Game 2 win.

• BUSY, BUSY, BUSY: The Cobbers doubleheader against Saint Mary’s is the second of five conference doubleheaders in a seven-day span. Along with Macalester (Monday) and Saint Mary’s, the Cobbers will also face Carleton (Thursday), Bethel (Saturday), and Gustavus (Sunday).

• HOME SWEET HOME: The Cobbers have had plenty of success on their home diamond, boasting a 4-1 record in five contests at Bucky Burgau Field, while sporting a 6-8 mark on the road — including 5-5 in neutral-site contests.

• SPLITSVILLE: The Cobbers’ split against Macalester on Monday was its third straight MIAC split — and fourth MIAC split in six conference doubleheaders. CC won Game 1 in MIAC splits against Augsburg, St. Scholastica and St. Olaf, while picking up the Game 2 win against Macalester on Monday. The Cobbers own one MIAC sweep, beating Hamline 2-0 and 11-4, while being swept by Saint John’s.

• STREAKING ALONG: Concordia has recorded a pair of season-high, three-game winning streaks, and have not lost more than two games in a row all season.

• AT THE PLATE: Isaac Henkemeyer-Howe and Andy Gravdahl head into CC’s showdown against Saint Mary’s leading the Cobber offense, hitting .456 and .405, respectively. The duo are two of six Cobber regulars who are hitting above .300, being joined by Carter Mulcahy (.344), Matt Gruber (.338), Thomas Horan (.338), and Wyatt Gunkel (.333). … As a team, Concordia is hitting .303, going 203-for-669 through 21 games.

• RUNNING WILD: Concordia has scored 132 runs this season, and boasts six players who have scored at least 10 runs. Gravdahl leads the way for CC, scoring 26 times, followed by Horan with 21 runs scored and Henkemeyer-Howe with 17. … 

• HIT PARADE: Gravdahl is the team’s hits lead with 34, three more than Henkemeyer-Howe, while Horan (26), Gruber (25), Gunkel (24), and Mulcahy (22) have also collected 20 or more hits this season. … Concordia has collected 56 multiple-hit games, led by Gravdahl with 11 and Henkemeyer-Howe with 10. … Henkemeyer-Howe, Mulcahy, and Gunkel have all recorded a four-hit game this season.

• EXTRA, EXTRA: Concordia has recorded 51 extra-base hits this season, including 36 doubles, eight triples, and seven home runs. … Mulcahy leads the club with eight doubles, two more than Gruber and three in front of Horan, while Gravdahl has accounted for five of the Cobbers’ eight triples.

• GOING DEEP: Henkemeyer-Howe owns a team-leading three home runs, followed by Mulcahy with two. Gravdahl and Horan have hit CC’s other two round-trippers.

• DRIVING ‘EM IN: Gravdahl (20), Henkemeyer-Howe (19) and Mulcahy (18) are the team’s RBI leaders, with Gunkel (14), Gruber (12), Horan (11), and Justin Kloster (11) also driving in more than 10 runs through 21 games. … Mulcahy and Henkemeyer-Howe share the team lead with six multiple-RBI games, while Gravdahl and Jake Christianson have each posted a team-best five-RBI game this season.

• STREAKING ALONG: Horan and Gravdahl both enter CC’s matchup against Saint Mary’s riding 10-game hitting streak, with Henkemeyer-Howe sporting a nine-game hit streak — all three are season-highs. … Gruber and Horan have both reached base safely in all 21 Cobber games this season.

• ON THE MOUND: The Cobbers have used 16 pitchers this season, including six that have logged 10 or more innings. Ashwin Stratton leads the staff in innings pitched with 32.0, followed by Mitch Porter (28.0), Jacoby Nold (23.0 IP), Alex Rudquist (19 1/3 IP), Luke Levasseur (16 2/3 IP), and Dylan Inniger (10 1/3 IP). … Levasseur (2-1, 5.94 ERA) has made a team-high eight appearances, one more than Kyle Cluff (0-0, 5.00 ERA, 9.0 IP), and two in front of Stratton (3-2, 3.94 ERA), Porter (0-1, 6.11 ERA), and Inniger (0-2, 7.84ERA). … Porter has made a staff-leading six starts. 

• SAVING THE DAY: The Cobbers have had four pitchers account for their six saves, led by Gruber (0-0, 1.50 ERA) with three saves. Cluff, Levasseur, and Inniger own CC’s other three saves.

• FANNING THE FLAMES: The Cobber pitching staff has struck out 93 batters through 21 games. Stratton leads the CC staff with 25 strikeouts, followed by Alex Rudquist (1-2, 3.26 ERA) with 15, Porter with 12, and Cluff with 10. … Stratton struck out a single-game, season-high seven batters against MSOE on Feb. 28.

• BY THE NUMBERS: Concordia has scored six or more runs in seven of its 11 wins, while being held to five runs or less in seven of its 10 losses. … The Cobbers have scored — and allowed — 10 or more runs five times. CC is 4-1 when scoring 10 or more runs, while going 1-4 when its opponent scores in double figures. … Concordia is 1-3 in one-run games and 2-0 in two-run contests. … CC has played one extra-inning game — losing to XXXX — and is 2-1 in games decided by shutout. … Concordia is 11-2 when leading after the sixth inning, but are winless (0-8) when tied or trailing heading to the seventh.