DULUTH, Minn. (
csssaints.com) – After having last weekend's home opener postponed, the St. Scholastica baseball team will have its opener this weekend when it welcomes the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference's (WIAC) University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh on Saturday and University of Wisconsin-La Crosse on Sunday for doubleheaders at Wade Stadium.
Where:
Wade Stadium – Duluth, Minn.
When:
Saturday vs. UW-Oshkosh – 1 p.m. (DH)
Sunday vs. #11 UW-La Crosse – 1 p.m. (DH)
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St. Scholastica Saints
Stats
Record: 7-6, 0-0 UMAC
Upper Midwest Athletic Conference: Standings | Stats
Last Action: The Saints began action in the Midwest by beating Saint Mary's University on Tuesday 10-4 and then splitting a doubleheader at No. 4 University of Wisconsin-Whitewater on Wednesday.
Neutzling Swinging a Hot Stick: In Wednesday's game two win over the fourth-ranked Warhawks,
Steven Neutzling (St. Cloud, Minn./St. Cloud Cathedral ) was 4-for-6 with three doubles, one triple, five runs batted in and four runs scored … The three doubles tied a program record and the five RBIs was a career high … The previous day against Saint Mary's, Neutzling was 3-for-4 with three RBIs and four runs scored … Neutzling was a triple shy of the cycle against the Cardinals … He leads the team with a .392 batting average, four home runs and 19 RBIs on the year.
Against Top Five Teams: Wednesday's game two win over the Warhawks was the first victory over a nationally-ranked top five team since defeating the same UW-Whitewater squad at the 2013 NCAA Regional Tournament in Whitewater … In fact, the Saints beat two top five teams at that regional, defeating second-ranked University of St. Thomas as well.
The Bullpen: The CSS bullpen has allowed 16 earned runs in 42.2 innings of relief …
Joe Gonrowski (Elk River, Minn./Elk River HS ) has not allowed an earned run and has struck out 11 in 9.2 innings …
Grant Rindal (Superior, Wis./Superior HS ) has allowed only one run and also struck out 11 in his two relief appearances …
Isaac Rocha (Owatonna, Minn./Owatonna HS) pitched four solid innings of relief to earn the win at Whitewater on Wednesday … The Saints are 5-0 when leading after six innings.
Streaks/Trends: Freshman
Joey Zwak (Duluth, Minn. /Duluth East HS ) enters the weekend on a five-game hit streak and has reached base safely in 12 consecutive games … CSS is 6-2 when it scores first and 1-4 when the opponent records the first run
Tough to Beat at Wade: Since 2006, the Saints are 122-8 at Wade Stadium, including 57-2 since 2011 … On the resurfaced turf, the Saints are 29-2.
Against the WIAC: The Saints are 26-50 all-time against current members of the mighty WIAC … Of those 76 contests, St. Scholastica has only hosted a WIAC school in Duluth four times; a doubleheader against UW-Stout in 2003 and a doubleheader against UW-Stevens Point last season … The Saints went 3-1 in those games … With Whitewater on Wednesday and Oshkosh and La Crosse coming to town this weekend, the Saints will have played the top three projected teams in the WIAC.
Upcoming Opponents
UW-Oshkosh Titans
Record: 7-4, 0-0 WIAC
The Titans have played their first 11 games outside of the Midwest with three games in early March down in Alabama and then going 5-3 during their Spring Break trip in Central Florida … After having games postponed during the week, the Titans will enter Saturday's matchup on a five-game winning streak … Of those five wins, one was against St. Thomas by a 3-2 final … Junior Logan Reckert has a .419 batting average and leads the team with 11 RBIs … The Titans are the top hitting team in the WIAC with a 332 average … The team features only three seniors … One of those seniors is Johnny Eagan, who was a standout on the national runner-up football team in the fall and is two-time First Team All-WIAC performer on the diamond … On the mound, sophomore Colin Treml is 2-0 with one complete game and a 1.80 earned run average … Junior Jesse Sustachek ranks 11
th in NCAA Division III with a 13.0 strikeout-to-walk ratio … The Titans have been picked to finish third in the WIAC this season.
#11 UW-La Crosse Eagles
Record: 10-3, 0-0 WIAC
The Eagles will enter Sunday's game on a seven-game win streak after starting the season 3-3 … Two of the three losses were by one run … La Crosse is coming off a doubleheader sweep of Saint Mary's on Wednesday by scores of 4-3 and 7-3 … The Eagles also faced Cornell College (Iowa) in Iowa last weekend and swept a doubleheader … The Eagles lost a lot offensively from last year's regional championship squad … Brennan Schmitt leads the team with a .361 average, while Brady Stolzman has a team-high eight RBIs … La Crosse likes to steal bases with 29 already this season … Nate Roethle is 9-for-9 in stolen base attempts … The Eagles do return solid arms from last year led by Caleb Boushley, who is 3-1 with a 0.58 earned run average … Boushley was the WIAC Pitcher of the Year last season … Prior to the Saint Mary's games, the Eagles ranked second in the nation with a team ERA at 2.32 … The Eagles are picked to finish second in the WIAC this season after winning the league last year.
Series Records:
-UW-Oshkosh leads CSS 10-3
(Last Meeting: 3-2 CSS – 3/18/2016)
-CSS leads UW-La Crosse 8-7
(Last Meeting: 12-8 CSS – 4/3/2016)
Series Histories: The Saints defeated UW-Oshkosh 3-2 down in Florida last year, marking the third straight win over the Titans … This will be Oshkosh's first trip to Duluth /// CSS went 1-2 in a three-game set at UW-La Crosse last season, but defeated the Eagles in the final game of the series by scoring 10 runs in the final two innings … This will be La Crosse's first trip to Duluth.
Looking Ahead: The Saints open Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) action on Saturday, April 8 with a doubleheader against the University of Minnesota Morris at Wade Stadium.
