DULUTH, Minn. – The St. Scholastica baseball team starts off its Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) season with possibly the toughest conference test of the year as it takes on the Bethany Lutheran College Vikings in Mankato this weekend.

Game Times:
Friday – 3 p.m.
Saturday – Doubleheader beginning at Noon

GameDay Media:
Live Stats

Last Action:
The Saints began play back in Minnesota after their spring break trip with a pair of victories over the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse in the Metrodome last Friday, 5-4 (F/8) and 5-3.  Mickie Keuning (Duluth, Minn./Duluth East HS (Angelo State)) and Kyle Jensen (Wyoming, Minn./Forest Lake HS) got the wins for CSS on the weekend.

St. Scholastica Saints (8-8)
The Saints are once again back to .500 on the year after falling below it at the end of their Florida trip … The doubleheader sweep of the Eagles may be just what the doctor ordered for the Saints entering UMAC play as they look to capture their 16th consecutive UMAC regular season title … Kyle Moody (Maple Grove, Minn./Osseo HS ) has been a big part of the run production this year for the Saints as he has 16 RBIs and 13 runs scored for tops on the team so far this season … Jensen has also been a factor in the Saints' offensive success this year as he has a batting average of .360 along with a team best 18 hits and two triples … Jake Nystrom (Fargo, N.D./Fargo North HS) has led the way on the mound for CSS this season with a 3.54 earned run average along with a team best 20 batters struck out … Nystrom is tied with Jensen and Keuning with two wins on the year … Keuning has the best opposing batting average at .233, while Nystrom and Jensen both have an opposing batting average of .280.

Bethany Lutheran Vikings (7-10)
The Vikings started off hot with going 3-1 in doubleheaders with Hamline and Carleton at the Metrodome, but dropped five of eight games on their trip to Arizona and have lost their last three coming into UMAC play … The Vikings were chosen to finish second this year in the UMAC only to the Saints so this will be a big matchup for BLC … Casey Woodside has a .379 batting average this season as he leads the team with 22 hits … Adam Geiger has been a big part of the Bethany offense as well with a slugging percentage of .542 with a team best nine doubles and 15 runs batted in … Philip Wessberg has had an outstanding season out of the bullpen for the Vikings … In seven appearances Wessberg has an earned run average of 1.17 and eight batters struck out in 7.2 innings of work … Aaron Siefken leads the team with 29 batters struck out in 25 innings of work and is 2-2 in five starts this season.

Last Meeting: (CSS All-Time Record vs. Bethany Lutheran: 24-4)
The Vikings and Saints last met in the UMAC Tournament last season where the Saints defeated the Vikings in two straight games 6-1 and 26-2 in the championship game.