DULUTH, Minn. (csssaints.com) – For the final time in program history, the St. Scholastica baseball team will play at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome on Thursday for a doubleheader against regional-foe University of Wisconsin-La Crosse.
Game Schedule: (Game Day Media)
Thursday vs. UW-La Crosse – 12:15 p.m. (DH)
(Live Video on Saints Sports Net | Live Stats)
Schedule Updates
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The three-game Crown College series that was scheduled to begin on Friday in St. Bonifacius has been postponed to a later undermined date as all Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) games have been postponed on what was supposed to be the league's opening weekend.
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Next Tuesday's home game against Northland College has also been postponed to a later undetermined date.
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The Northwestern College series that was scheduled to take place in Duluth on April 5th and 6th has been moved to Northwestern's home field in St. Paul.
About the Saints
Record: 8-3
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The Saints were last in action on its Spring Trip in Florida March 11th-16th. CSS went 6-1 on the trip with its lone loss coming against then 12th-ranked Keystone College (Pa.) by a 1-0 score.
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The Saints were scheduled to play at Concordia College-Chicago this past weekend, but those two games were wiped out.
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The Saints are just outside the D3baseball.com Top 25 poll, receiving the third-most votes of those outside the rankings.
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The Saints' record at the Metrodome all-time is 47-22-1. CSS, who has a record of 2-2 at the dome already this season, has not lost more than two games at the dome in a given year since the 2002 season.
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CSS has seen its batting average climb since being at .087 after the Macalester doubleheader to open the season. The Saints are now at .245 after having four games of 10 or more hits down in Florida.
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Freshman Austin Colvard (Little Canada, Minn./Roseville HS) recorded a hit in every game down in Florida and is tied with Jake Casareto (International Falls, Minn./Falls HS) with four multi-hit games already this season.
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In their victory over Hilbert College, the Saints tied a program record with 11 stolen bases.
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Senior Jordan O'Neill (Blaine, Minn./Totino-Grace HS) has played well at third for the Saints during the Spring Trip. He not only led the team in hitting with a 5.29 batting average, but also had a perfect fielding percentage in 21 chances.
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Kyle Jensen (Wyoming, Minn./Forest Lake HS) has been tremendous on the mound this season even though he doesn't have a win to show for it. Jensen has a 0.69 earned run average in 13 innings and a .184 opponents' batting average.
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Thomas Rogers (Cloquet, Minn./Cloquet HS ) has picked up where he left off last season with four saves already this year. Rogers had a scoreless streak of 34.1 innings before St. Thomas ended it earlier this season.
About the Eagles
Record: 6-4
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La Crosse dropped out of the D3baseball.com poll this week and is first team left out of the poll, receiving the most votes.
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The Eagles just wrapped up its Spring Trip in Tucson, Ariz. where it went 5-3, but lost their final two games of the trip to Hamline and Cal Lutheran.
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La Crosse opened the season by splitting a doubleheader with St. Thomas at the Metrodome. The Eagles also defeated Macalester 10-0 in Tucson, a team the Saints split with in the dome.
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Last season, the Eagles went 34-11 with a program-record 34 wins and won the WIAC outright for the first time since 1978.
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La Crosse also won its second WIAC Tournament title in program history and made its second NCAA Tournament appearance where it went 1-2.
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The Eagles are picked to finish second in the WIAC this season, according to the preseason poll.
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The La Crosse pitching staff received a bolster this year. Not only did First Team All-WIAC pitcher Tim Vertein return, but the Eagles also picked up Division I transfer Joel Effertz.
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So far this season Effertz has a 0.57 earned run average in 15.2 innings and 17 strikeouts. Effertz was drafted by the Dodgers in 2009 in the 37th round and by the White Sox in 2011 in the 43rd round.
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Effertz is the top NCAA Division III prospect for the 2013 MLB Draft, according to Baseball America.
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Offensively, back for the Eagles are senior outfielders Brooks Braga and Adam Cordova. Braga was a second team All-Region selection a year ago, while Cordova currently leads the team with 13 RBIs on the year.
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Cole Cefalu leads the team with a .444 batting average.
Series History: (CSS is 3-0 vs. UW-La Crosse)
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The Saints have won all three games against the Eagles with all of the contests taking place at the Metrodome.
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CSS swept the Eagles in a doubleheader last season.
