DULUTH, Minn. (
csssaints.com) – The St. Scholastica baseball team is expected to finally have its home opener Thursday when it hosts the University of Northwestern (Minn.) for a doubleheader at Wade Stadium.
Where:
Wade Stadium – Duluth, Minn.
When:
Thursday vs. Northwestern – 11 a.m. (DH)
Saturday vs. Minnesota Morris – 1:30 p.m. (DH)
Sunday vs. Martin Luther – 11 a.m. (DH)
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St. Scholastica Saints
Stats
Record: 8-5, 2-0 UMAC
Upper Midwest Athletic Conference: Standings | Stats
What you need to know about the Saints:
-The Saints swept Bridge Rival University of Wisconsin-Superior last week, plating 39 runs in the doubleheader.
-CSS scored 17 runs in the first inning of game one.
-The Saints drew eight walks in the inning, the most in a NCAA Division III game since the 2002 season.
-Sophomore
Aaron Weber (Sauk Rapids, Minn./Pierz HS) hit a home run in each game and for his efforts was named the UMAC Player of the Week.
-Senior
Steven Neutzling (St. Cloud, Minn./St. Cloud Cathedral) extended his on-base streak to 48 consecutive games dating back to last season.
-Neutzling recorded his 150
th career RBI last week, which puts him in a tie for seventh in program history with
Trevor Bernsdorf (Elmer, Minn./Floodwood HS).
-
Drew Colvard (Little Canada, Minn./Roseville HS) also extended his hitting streak to 16 games.
-Neutzling, Colvard and
Conor Wollenzien (North Mankato, Minn./Mankato West HS) are the only Saints to reach base safely in every game this season.
-Colvard ranks third in the UMAC with a .396 batting average and leads the league with 18 runs scored.
-Wollenzien and sophomore
Joey Zwak (Duluth, Minn./Duluth East HS) are tied for the UMAC lead with 14 RBIs each.
-Wollenzien is seven hits shy of 100 for his career.
-Junior
Riley Bernsdorf (Meadowlands, Minn./Floodwood HS) is second in the conference with six doubles.
-CSS is third in NCAA Division III, averaging 2.9 doubles per game.
-The Saints are 14-for-14 in stolen base attempts.
-Sophomore
Dan Hansen (Brooklyn Center, Minn./Park Center HS) has three wins on the mound and ranks second in the conference with 27 strikeouts.
What You Need to Know about Northwestern:
-The Eagles will enter Thursday's matchup with a 7-14 overall record and 2-2 in league play.
-UNW has split league doubleheaders with Northland College and Bethany Lutheran College.
-It also split a doubleheader with Bethel University, a team the Saints defeated in 15 innings, and lost to Macalester College 12-3, a team the Saints swept to open the season.
-Northwestern has played the most games among conference teams (21).
-The Eagles have drawn the most walks in the league (97).
-They have also committed the most errors in the conference (45).
-Wyatt Morrell leads the team offensively with a .484 on-base percentage, 17 runs scored.
-He leads the conference with 21 walks.
-Aaron Krahn is tied for the conference lead with three home runs.
-Philip Wall leads the conference with four wins on the mound.
-Nathan Ehnstrom is fourth in the league with 24 strikeouts and has a conference-high two saves.
-Carlton Lindow is tied with
Riley Bernsdorf (Meadowlands, Minn./Floodwood HS) for the conference lead by throwing out eight base runners from their catcher position.
Series Record: CSS leads 83-10
(Last Meeting: 16-3 CSS – 4/29/2017)
Series History: The Saints have dropped just one game to the Eagles in the last 77 meetings … CSS has scored at least 10 runs in each of the previous three victories.
What You Need to Know about Minnesota Morris:
-The Cougars will enter Saturday's matchup with a 3-13 overall record and 2-0 in league play.
-Morris swept Crown College in its only UMAC doubleheader thus far.
-The Cougars were also swept by Macalester at the beginning of the season.
-Jackson Gessell leads the conference with seven doubles and was named to the D3baseball.com Team of the Week on Tuesday.
-Gessell is also tied for the conference lead with two triples; in fact, he is Morris' career leader in triples.
-Thomas Eckstein has a conference-best .548 slugging percentage.
-Sam Melchoir leads the conference with 29 strikeouts on the mound.
-Michael Head has recorded two of the team's three wins.
Series Record: CSS leads 43-3
(Last Meeting: 11-1 CSS – 4/8/2017)
Series History: St. Scholastica has won 41 of the last 42 meetings against the Cougars … The Saints have scored at least 10 runs in each of the last five games.
What You Need to Know about Martin Luther:
-The Knights have only played eight games, the fewest among UMAC teams, and have yet to play a conference game.
-They are scheduled to face North Central University (Minn.) on Thursday in Minnetonka.
-MLC last played a game on March 6 down in Florida.
-Dillon Solomon leads the offense with a .409 batting average.
-Tyler Roecker has a team-best seven RBIs.
-Soloman and Matt Baehman have each recorded wins on the mound.
Series Record: CSS leads 72-9
(Last Meeting: 10-0 CSS – 4/22/2017)
Series History: The Saints have won nine straight in the series, scoring at least 10 runs in eight of those wins.
UMAC Preseason Poll
1. St. Scholastica- 64 points (8 First Place Votes)
2. Bethany Lutheran - 55 points (1 First Place Votes)
3. Wisconsin-Superior - 45 points
4. Minnesota Morris - 40 points
5. Northland - 39 points
6. Northwestern - 36 points
7. North Central - 19 points
8. Crown - 17 points
9. Martin Luther - 9 points
Looking Ahead: The Saints are scheduled to host North Central University (Minn.) at Wade Stadium next Wednesday.
