The Saint Mary’s baseball team is back in conference play on Friday, as the Cardinals play host to Concordia in a noon MIAC doubleheader at Max Molock Field.

SAINT MARY’S CARDINALS

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2023: 4-10 MIAC, 8-18 Overall

CONCORDIA COBBERS

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2023: 9-3 MIAC, 15-13 Overall

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SMU-CON * LAST MEETING:

May 4, 2022 * Moorhead, MN

L, 3-2 (8); L, 3-2 (12) * Series History

SAINT MARY’S * LAST ACTION:

April 27, 2023 * Minneapolis, MN

Augsburg * W, 3-2; L, 6-5

CONCORDIA * LAST ACTION:

April 26, 2023 * St. Paul, MN

Hamline * W, 11-2; W, 20-16

SAINT MARY’S * UP NEXT:

April 30, 2023 * Mankato, MN

Bethany Lutheran * 1 p.m./3:30 p.m.

CONCORDIA * UP NEXT: 

April 29, 2023 * Moorhead, MN

Macalester * 1 p.m./3:30 p.m.

SAINT MARY’S SCOUTING REPORT:

• FOR THE RECORD: The Cardinals head into their conference showdown against Concordia sitting at 8-18 overall, including a 4-10 showing through the first 12 games of conference play.

• LAST TIME OUT: The Cardinals collected their second straight conference split on Thursday, battling Augsburg to a pair of one-run decisions. SMU rode the right arm of Andrew Fischer (La Crosse, Wis.) to a 3-2 win in the opener at Parade Stadium in Minneapolis, Minn., only to have Augsburg turn the tables with a 6-5, walk-off win in the nightcap.

• AT THE PLATE: Saint Mary’s boasts a pair of regulars who are hitting above .300 this season, led by Mason Coyle (Madison, Wis.), who has gone 24-for-69 for a team-leading .348 batting average. Cameron Weber (Holmen, Wis.) is also hitting north of .300, boasting a .326 batting average, while Riley Bauman (Stratford, Wis.) is closing in on the .300 mark, sitting at .290. … As a team, Saint Mary’s is hitting .253 (196-for-775).

• ON THE RUN: The Cardinals have plated 104 runs in 26 games thus far this season. Riley Bauman has scored a team-leading 17 runs, three more than Trevon VanEgtern (La Crosse, Wis.), while Coyle and Weber have also reached double figures in runs scored at 12 and 11, respectively. … Coyle and Brandon Merfeld (La Crosse, Wis.) each scored a career-high four runs in a game a year ago — Merfeld’s coming against Rose-Hulman on March 3, 2022, while Coyle achieved the feat against Carleton on May 8, 2022.

• HIT PARADE: Weber sits atop the team lead in hits with 30, three more than Riley Bauman, with VanEgtern (25), Coyle (24) and Merfeld (23) also reaching the 20-hit plateau. … Weber has collected a team-best nine multiple-hit games, one in front of Riley Bauman and three up on Coyle. … Coyle and Daniel Marxen (Maple Grove, Minn.) each own two of SMU’s six, three-hit games, with Weber and VanEgtern accounting for the other two.

• FIRST AS A CARDINAL: Saint Mary’s has had seven players record their first collegiate hits this season — Ryan Campbell (New Berlin, Wis.), Jaxon Vance (Eau Claire, Wis.), Daniel Sherman (Richfield, Minn.), Patrick Schork (Janesville, Wis.), Reese Berg (Green Bay, Wis.), Alex Crusan (Bloomington, Minn.), and Noah Lahner (Waukesha, Wis.).

• EXTRA, EXTRA: Saint Mary’s has collected 196 hits in its first 26 games, including 41 for extra bases — 30 doubles, three triples, and eight home runs. … Coyle leads the team with six doubles, two more than Weber and Schork, while Coyle, Merfeld, and Campbell own the team’s three triples.

• BOMBS AWAY: After belting 15 home runs a year ago, SMU has hit eight round-trippers this season. Coyle and Riley Bauman lead the team with three home runs, with VanEgtern and Marxen launching the other two. … Bauman’s first home run of the season against Franklin on Feb. 26 was the first of his collegiate career. 

• DRIVING ‘EM IN: Coyle owns the team lead in RBIs with 15, with Riley Bauman (13) and VanEgtern (12) also reaching double figures. … Coyle, Tanner Bauman, Riley Bauman, and VanEgtern have all recorded three multiple-RBI games this season, one more than Marxen and Miller. … Riley Bauman delivered a single-game career-high four RBIs against St. Olaf on April 8.

• OUCH: The Cardinals have been hit by a pitch 25 times in 26 games, led by Weber, who has been beaned five times. … Saint Mary’s had two games in 2022 — vs. Rose-Hulman on March 3, 2022 and vs. Carleton on May 8, 2022 — in which five Cardinals were hit by a pitch. … Individually, SMU had a player hit by a pitch twice in a game five times.

• CATCH ME IF YOU CAN: Saint Mary’s has stolen 49 bases on 62 attempts through 26 games, led by Weber (12-for-14), Tanner Bauman (8-9), Riley Bauman (6-7), VanEgtern (5-6), and Cam Miller (Kimberly, Minn. / 5-6). SMU has gotten at least one stolen base from 12 different players. 

• ON THE MOUND: Saint Mary’s has used 13 different pitchers this season — including seven who have logged 10 or more innings. Timmy Smith (South St. Paul, Minn. / 5-1, 4.00 ERA) leads the staff with 45.0 IP, followed by Addison Hochevar (Lake Geneva, Wis. / 1-5, 2.82 ERA, 38 1/3 IP) and Andrew Fischer (La Crosse, Wis. / 1-4, 7.39 ERA, 35 1/3). TJ Bergland (Farmington, Minn. / 0-3, 8.10 ERA, 23 1/3 IP), Dylan Westcott (Holmen, Wis. / 0-3, 3.86 ERA, 14.0 IP), Eric Stomberg (St. Paul, Minn. / 0-2, 5.54 ERA, 13.0 IP), and Mason Windschitl (Excelsior, Minn. / 0-0, 3.00 ERA, 12.0 IP) have also reached double figures in innings pitch.. … Westcott has made a team-leading nine appearances, one more than Windschitl and Bergland, while Smith, Hochevar, and Fischer have all made a team-high seven starts.

• PITCHING FIRSTS: Smith tossed his first collegiate nine-inning complete game against Northwestern on March 22, holding the Eagles to one run on five hits in a 3-1 SMU victory. Smith tossed his second nine-inning complete game in SMU’s 5-4 win over Gustavus last Sunday. … Eric Charest (Blaine, Minn. / 1-0, 6.43 ERA, 7.0 IP) picked up his first collegiate pitching win against Calvin on March 2, allowing two runs (one earned) on six hits in five innings of SMU’s 8-2 win over the Knights. The freshman right-hander also collected his first save in a Cardinal uniform with one inning of scoreless relief in SMU’s 3-2 win over MSOE on Feb. 27. … Fischer tossed his first collegiate complete game in SMU's 6-0, Game 1 loss to Saint John’s on April 7.

• SAVING THE DAY: Westcott collected his team-leading third save of the season against Augsburg on Thursday, while Charest and Stomberg each own one save. … Fischer closed out the 2022 season as team’s saves leader with six, one more than Westcott.

• FANNING THE FLAMES: The SMU pitching staff has struck out 139 batters in 26 games, led by Hochevar with 41, Smith with 25, and Fischer with 24. … Hochevar fanned a career-high 10 batters in last Saturday’s 1-0 loss to Carleton. … Smith struck out a career-high eight batters against Northwestern on March 22.

• CRUNCHING THE NUMBERS: The Cardinals have scored 104 runs in 26 games, including a season-high nine runs three times. SMU has plated nine runs in beating St. Scholastica (9-2) and Russell Sage (9-6), while falling to Aurora (13-9). … Saint Mary’s is 7-9 when scoring at least three runs, but winless (0-9) when being held under three runs. On the flip side, SMU has allowed six runs or more in 12 of its 18 losses, including a season-high 13 runs in its 13-9 loss to Aurora on March 21. … The Cardinals are 8-3 when leading or tied after the sixth inning, but are still searching for their first win (0-15) when trailing heading to the seventh. … Saint Mary’s owns two four-run innings this season. … SMU has played just one extra-inning year this season — falling to Aurora 13-9 in 10 innings on March 20.

CONCORDIA SCOUTING REPORT:

• FOR THE RECORD: The Cobbers head into their conference doubleheader against Saint Mary’s sitting at 15-13 overall, including a 9-3 mark through the first 12 games of their MIAC slate.

• LAST TIME OUT: The high-octane Cobber offense was in high gear against Hamline on Wednesday, as CC erupted for 31 runs — including 20 in Game 2 — in sweeping the Pipers 11-2 and 20-16 at CHS Field in St. Paul, Minn.

• STREAKING: After opening conference play with back-to-back losses to Gustavus on April 7, Concordia rattled off seven straight wins — sweeping Augsburg (16-10, 10-9), St. Scholastica (13-2, 14-5), and Carleton (5-3, 15-1), and adding an 18-1 win over Saint John’s in Game 1 on April 18. The run ended with an 18-2 loss to the Johnnies in Tuesday’s nightcap … After opening the season 2-7, CC is 13-6 in its last 19 contests.

• PUTTING UP BIG NUMBERS: Concordia has scored 69 runs in its last six games — including 10+ runs in four of those six contests. CC plated a season-high 20 runs in Wednesday’s 20-16 Game 2 win over Hamline on Wednesday.

• AT THE PLATE: Concordia, which sports a .314 team batting average, boasts seven regulars who have hit above .300 this season. Andy Gravdahl leads the CC offense with a .411 batting average, followed by Jake Christianson (.353), Thomas Horan (.340), Matt Gruber (.348), Caiden Kjelstrom (.328), Isaac Hinkemeyer-Howe (.327), and Max Boran (.324).

• ON THE RUN: The Cobbers have plated a whopping 201 runs in 28 games, led by Gravdahl, who has crossed the plate 36 times. Gravdahl is one of nine CC players to score 10+ runs this season, being joined by Kjelstrom (24), Horan (21), Hinkemeyer-Howe (20), Christianson (19), Gruber (19), Justin Kloster (12), and Carter Mulcahy (12). … Gravdahl scored a single-game season-high five times against Augsburg on April 10.

• HIT PARADE: Gravdahl is the Cobber leader in hits with 44, while Horan (35), Hinkemeyer-Howe (32), Horan (30), Gruber (31), and Christianson (30) have also eclipsed the 30-hit plateau. … Gravdahl and Horan lead the Cobbers with 11 multiple-hit games, one more than Christianson. … Gravdahl posted CC’s first five-hit game in Game 1 against Saint John’s on April 18, going 5-for-5.

• EXTRA, EXTRA: Concordia boasts 270 hits in 26 games, including 60 for extra bases — 52 doubles, eight triples, and one home run. … Gruber owns the team lead in doubles with nine, one more than Gravdahl and three up on Hinkemeyer-Howe, while Gravdahl has accounted for five of the team’s eight triples. … Gravdahl owns Concordia’s lone home run against Augsburg on April 10.

• DRIVING ‘EM HOME: Hinkemeyer-Howe leads the Cobbers in RBIs with 30, with Gravdahl (28), Gruber (21), Horan (21), David Dorsey (13), Christianson (11), and Kjelstrom (10) having also driven in 10 or more runs this season. … Hinkemeyer-Howe has amassed a team-best eight multiple-RBI games, while Gravdahl owns two games of five or more RBI — including the single-game team-high with six RBIs against Carleton on April 14.

• STREAKING ALONG: Gravdahl was held hitless in Game 2 against Saint John’s on April 18, snapping his season-high 12-game hitting streak. … Horan owns the team’s longest active streak at 10 straight games. … Kjelstrom has reached base safely in a season-high 17 consecutive games.

• ON THE MOUND: The Cobbers have used 15 different pitchers this season, including eight who have logged more than 10 innings. Ashwin Stratton (4-3, 4.38 ERA) and Jacoby Nold (2-2, 7.16 ERA) have been the workhorses of the Cobber staff, throwing 37.0 and 31 1/3 innings, respectively. … Luke Levasseur (1-0, 1.80 ERA, 15.0 IP) has made a team-leading 10 pitching appearances, while Stratton and Nold share the team lead with seven starts apiece. … Alex Rudquist (2-1, 1.90 ERA) and Gruber (0-0, 3.00 ERA) own CC’s two saves.

• COMPLETING WHAT THEY STARTED: Stratton has tossed two of Concordia’s three complete games, with Nold throwing the other.

• FANNING THE FLAMES: Concordia pitchers have combined to strike out 127 batters this season, led by Stratton with 25. Nold (16), Levasseur (14), Mitch Porter, (12), Dylan Inniger (12), and Alex Rudquist (11) have also fanned 10+ batters. … All 15 CC pitchers have recorded at least one strikeout.

• CRUNCHING THE NUMBERS: Concordia has outscored its opponents 201-150 through 28 games and has scored 10 or more runs 10 times. … The Cobbers have scored 16 or more runs in a game three times, plating 16 in beating both Augsburg (16-10) and Saint John’s (16-1), and scoring a season-high 20 in outslugging Hamline 20-16 on Wednesday. … CC has held its opponents to two runs or less in nine of its 15 wins, while going 0-8 when held under three runs. … Concordia is 14-5 when leading or tied after the sixth inning, but just 1-8 when trailing heading into the seventh.