DULUTH, Minn. (csssaints.com) – The St. Scholastica baseball team will face bridge rival University of Wisconsin-Superior for the first time in the postseason to begin the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) Tournament Thursday night at Wade Stadium.
 
Where:
Wade Stadium – Duluth, Minn.
 
When:
Thursday
Game 1: #2 Bethany Lutheran vs. #3 Minnesota Morris – 4 p.m.
Game 2: #1 St. Scholastica vs. #4 UW-Superior – 7 p.m.
Friday
Game 3: Loser of Game 1 vs. Loser of Game 2 – 1 p.m.
Game 4: Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2 – 4 p.m.
Game 5: Winner of Game 3 vs. Loser of Game 4 – 7 p.m.
Saturday
Game 6: Championship #1: Winner of Game 4 vs. Winner of Game 5 – 1 p.m.
Game 7: Championship #2: If necessary only if winner of game 5, wins game 6 – 4 p.m.
 
Tournament Web Site: http://umacathletics.com/tournaments/?id=107
Live Video/Stats: http://www.csssaints.com/ssn
 
Social Media:
Twitter: www.twitter.com/cssbaseball  
Instagram: www.instagram.com/cssbaseball  
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cssbaseball/
 
St. Scholastica Saints
Stats
Record: 29-8, 16-0 UMAC
Upper Midwest Athletic Conference: Standings | Stats
 
Last Action: The Saints closed out the regular season over the weekend by sweeping Crown College on Saturday to finish perfect in UMAC action and then split a doubleheader with regional rival University of St. Thomas on Sunday.
 
Perfect UMAC Regular Season: St. Scholastica did not suffer a loss in league play for the first time since the 2013 season … In fact the Saints have only gone unbeaten in the conference play during the regular season three times in the last 11 years.
 
UMAC Tournament History: The Saints have won every UMAC Tournament, that is 19 total … CSS has hosted the tournament every year since the 2006 season, with the exception of the 2014 tournament, due to Wade Stadium not being playable … That tournament was played Bethel University.
 
More Milestones for Minks: Senior third baseman Brian Minks (St. Cloud, Minn./St. Cloud Cathedral HS ) reached a pair of milestones last week … In the doubleheader against Northland College on Wednesday, Minks became the ninth player in program history to eclipse 300 total bases … Then against Crown College on Saturday he became the seventh player in program history to reach 200 career hits by hitting a three-run home run.
 
NCAA Statistical Rankings: CSS ranks in the top 10 of NCAA Division III in doubles per game (2.64-4^th), doubles (98-5^th), scoring (9.0 runs per game-6^th), fielding percentage (.972-9^th) and shutouts (9-3^rd).
 
UMAC Leaders: In league games only, Minks led the UMAC with 26 runs scored and 16 walks … Conor Wollenzien (North Mankato, Minn. /Mankato West HS) tied for the conference lead with nine doubles … Trevor Bernsdorf (Elmer, Minn./Floodwood HS ) struck out only one time against conference pitchers … Grant Rindal (Superior, Wis./Superior HS ) tied for the conference lead with four wins.
 
Fear the Long Ball: The Saints have hit 28 home runs this season, the most since 2008 and the eighth-highest output in program history … CSS have hit at least 30 home runs in a season six times … Steven Neutzling (St. Cloud, Minn./St. Cloud Cathedral ) enters the weekend with nine home runs on the year … No Saint has hit more than 10 home runs in a season since Greg Young belted 13 in 2002.
 
Streaks/Trends: Neutzling has reached base safely in 28 straight games … Joey Zwak (Duluth, Minn. /Duluth East HS ) saw his hit streak end at 19, but has reached base in 21 consecutive games.
 
Tough to Beat at Wade: Since 2006, the Saints are 136-8 at Wade Stadium, including 71-2 since 2011 … On the resurfaced turf, the Saints are 43-2 … In UMAC Tournament play, the Saints are 31-2 at Wade Stadium with the two losses coming against Bethany Lutheran College … CSS went 14-0 during the regular season … With a tournament championship this weekend, the Saints will set a program record for home wins in a season.

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Tournament Teams
Bethany Lutheran Vikings
Record: 20-17, 12-4 UMAC
 
The Vikings won their final seven conference games of the season, but were swept by Hamline University in non-conference action to close the regular season on Sunday … The Vikings were in the UMAC Tournament championship in 2015, but missed the tournament entirely last season … Bethany Lutheran has been in the UMAC Tournament championship game against the Saints five times since 2008 … In conference games this season, Brandyn Olson did it all for Bethany Lutheran … He led the league with a .530 batting average, .848 slugging percentage, .588 on-base percentage, 35 hits, 26 RBIs and five home runs … On the mound, he led the conference with 42 strikeouts and tied for the league lead with four wins … UMAC hitters had only a .152 average against Olson … Alex Babcock was 3-0 in the conference and opponents hit only .160 off of him … Trent Saharek hit .424 against conference opponents and tied for a conference-high with nine doubles … The Vikings pushed the Saints to extra-innings during the regular season.
 
Minnesota Morris Cougars
Record: 18-18, 12-4 UMAC
 
The Cougars are making their second consecutive appearance in the UMAC Tournament after not being involved since 2007 … Minnesota Morris was in second place for much of the season, but suffered a series split against Northland College in the final series of the season, which dropped it into a tie with Bethany Lutheran … The Vikings then earned the tiebreaker over the Cougars … The Cougars was another team that threatened the Saints during the regular season, leading by five runs in the five inning, before the wheels came off … Morris split with Bethany Lutheran and swept UW-Superior during the regular season … In conference games, Chandler Erickson led the team with a .420 batting average and was second in the league with 29 hits, while striking out only one time … He also threw out the second-most base runners (11) in the UMAC … Jackson Gessell recorded three triples and Donnie Mavencamp was second in the conference with nine stolen bases … Michael Dockendorf led the pitching staff, tying for a conference-high four wins, while having the third-most strikeouts (30) in the UMAC … Tyler Hannen led the conference with seven saves.
 
UW-Superior Yellowjackets
Record: 15-25, 9-7 UMAC
 
The Yellowjackets earned their second straight trip to the UMAC Tournament in thrilling fashion over the weekend … UWS needed to sweep its final two UMAC series, while playing eight games in five days … The Yellowjackets swept North Central University (Minn.) on Saturday and then after winning game one on Sunday, trailed the University of Northwestern (Minn.) by two runs entering the bottom of the eighth in game two … Superior tied the game in the eighth and then won in the bottom of the ninth when Chad Patko stole home for the walk-off win … Superior went a combined 0-6 against the other three teams in the tournament … In UMAC games, Cory Albertson tied for the conference lead with five home runs and was fourth in the league with a .720 slugging percentage … The aforementioned Patko, hit three home runs, two triples and tied for second with nine stolen bases against UMAC pitching … The 'jackets tied with Saints 13 home runs in league play … Rich Vanden Branden was 3-1 in the league, while Grant Schneider led the team with 21 strikeouts

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Series Records:
-CSS leads Bethany Lutheran 43-4 (Last Meeting: 1-0 CSS – 4/13/2017)
-CSS leads Minnesota Morris 43-3 (Last Meeting: 11-1 CSS – 4/8/2017)
-CSS is tied with UWS 8-8 (Last Meeting: 11-3 CSS – 4/19/2017)
 
Postseason Histories: The Saints have never faced UW-Superior in the postseason /// CSS is 5-0 all-time in the UMAC Tournament against Minnesota Morris, including an 11-0 victory last year … The Saints have never allowed more than two runs against the Cougars in the five previous postseason meetings /// St. Scholastica is 11-2 all-time against Bethany Lutheran College in the UMAC Tournament … The two losses took place in 2009 and 2010 … In 2010, the Vikings came the closest to knocking off the Saints, being one out away from capturing the title.

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Looking Ahead: The winner of the UMAC Tournament receives the conference's automatic qualifier into the NCAA Division III Tournament. The tournament field will be announced Sunday night.