Saint John's plays host to Saint Mary's for a 2:30 p.m. doubleheader today at Saint John's Field in Collegeville.
A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Concordia-Moorhead batted only .173 (9-for-52) on the day but defeated Saint John's (9-8, 0-2 MIAC) 3-2 and 5-4 in nine innings in the conference opener for both teams April 7. SJU left 10 men on base in each game and out-hit the Cobbers 14-9 on the afternoon, but batted only .056 (1-for-18) with runners in scoring position.
CLINE ON BASE: Senior Connor Cline (Bloomington, Minn./Jefferson) has reached base safely in all 16 games he has started in the lineup this season and touts a .500 on-base percentage. He leads the team with 16 walks, including two intentional.
UNCHARTERED TERRITORY: The Johnnies lost their first two MIAC games of the season for the first time since 2001. SJU's opponent that April 13? Concordia-Moorhead. Saint John's entered the April 7 opener with an 18-4 record in the MIAC-opening doubleheader since that day in Moorhead.
<2: Five of SJU's eight losses this season have been decided by two runs or less, including three in extra innings.
STRANDED: SJU has left 159 men on base, an average of 1.3 per inning, while scoring 105 runs in 126 innings this season.
THREE LOSSES: The Johnnies out-hit their opponents 22-17 but left 29 men on base in the last three games, their first three-game losing streak since the end of the 2011 season.
A LOOK AT THE CARDINALS: Saint Mary's (9-8, 0-2 MIAC) dropped its MIAC-opening series 7-0 and 11-2 at nationally-ranked St. Thomas April 7. Junior infielder Kevin Gannon leads the Cardinals in hits (21), total bases (31) and RBI (16), and is second on the team in doubles (5) and stolen bases (6). Junior first baseman Jon Schlemmer leads the team in doubles (7) and slugging percentage (.590), and is second on the team in RBI (11). Opposing teams are hitting .300 against the Cardinals' pitching staff, which has an ERA of 5.13 and only 74 strikeouts in 135 innings pitched.
SERIES HISTORY: SJU is 32-21 against Saint Mary's since 1987, including a 17-11 record in Collegeville. The Johnnies, however, have won 13 of the last 15 meetings overall and each of the last eight on the home field.
