SCOUTING THE OLES    
Loras opens action in Florida against St. Olaf University, a program which was suspended from play in 2015. Kap Davis returns as the team's leading batter from two seasons ago in which he hit .339. Jake Mathison returns with expereience in the field and on the mound, having hit .294 with a 4.69 ERA in 2014. In 2016, the Oles have been led offensively by Nate Bauer who hit .500 over a two-game series again IIAC-foe Wartburg. On the mound, Mathison has held strong, tossing eight scoreless innings against the Knights on March 12.

SCOUTING THE GRIFFINS    
Fontbonne finished with a record of 18-20 last season and had a team batting average of .270. The Griffins offense is anchored by Ben Greenway, an All-SLIAC performer from last season. Greenway led the conference with a .462 batting average, getting on base at a .520 clip. On the mound, Fontbonne returns their top two arms from last season in Tanner Carter and Vince Santarsiero. Through 11 games in the 2016 season, Ethan Boyer has led the Griffins offensively, hitting at a .349 clip in 43 at-bats. On the mound, Carter and Santarsiero have had some lumps, but still lead the staff in ERA. Carter has been prone to giving up the long ball, which may help the Duhawks in warm Florida weather.

SCOUTING THE PIONEERS    
Despite an 18-19 record last season, Grinnell returns five of their top six bats from a season ago, each of which hit over .300. Tied for the team lead in batting average at .382 a year ago, Sam Galanek is a sophomore projected to see more playing time this season. Graham Fisher returns as the team's leading run creator having hit for seven home runs and 31 RBIs last season. Galanek has picked up from where he left off, hitting .333 in Grinnell's first two contests while driving in the team's lone RBI. On the mound, Graham Fisher led the Pioneers to their first win of the year, tossing six innings, while striking out seven. Last season, Fisher was named an All-Midwest Conference First Team selection.

SCOUTING THE TERRIERS    
Thomas adds to the list of teams the Duhawks will face in florida who finished their 2014-2015 seasons with a record below .500. Having finished 18-22 a year ago, Thomas graduated four student-athletes. Returning are the team's five batters with a batting average above .300 in over 100 at-bats. Alongside five solid bats are four pitchers who finished last season with an ERA below 4.00. As a freshman, Matt Rutherford led the team with an ERA of 2.60. Offensively, Nik Beeson and Anree Benitez ranked in the NAC top five for batting average, hitting .383 and .371 respectively. Benitez has a knack for blazing the base-paths, stealing 15 bags in 17 attempts last season.

SCOUTING THE DOLPHINS    
Mount Saint Vincent returns each .300-plus hitter from the 2015 squad, including Nicholas Pace and Keith Brodesser. Tyler Krolikowski made four appearances as a starter, but was the most effective pitcher on the staff. Pace and Brodesser combined for 51 hits in 169 at-bats and 42 RBIs. Last season, the Dolphins went 1-7 at the RussMatt Central Florida Invitational. The Dolphins dropped each of their first three contests of 2016, losing to Bridewater and Eastern Mennonite. Sophomore Brandon Pasquale is the offensive leader through the first three games, hitting .500 while tallying a team-high four RBIs. On the mound, Evan Brown has had success in relief, tossing six innings while giving up one earned run.

SCHWIND NAMED IIAC PITCHER OF THE WEEK    
Sophomore Brad Schwind performed admirably in his first start of the season, sending down 12 Bluejays on strikes through seven innings. Elmhurst entered Sunday's action at 5-1, averagng 10.6 runs scored per game. In the second start of his young career, Schwind allowed no earned runs  and three hits. Following this performance, Schwind lowered his season ERA to 1.00 over nine innings pitched.

COMING THROUGH IN THE CLUTCH    
Through the first four games of the 2016 season, sophomore Danny Weis has assumed the roles of starting center fielder and lead-off hitter. The Oswego, Ill. product is off to an impressive start during his 2016 campaign, hitting .412, adding four RBIs and two extra base hits. Weis has showcased his talents in the clutch, hitting .571 with runners in scoring position, while advancing runners on 6-of-9 occasions.

CAREER WEEKEND FOR NUNEZ    
Senior Adrian Nunez had a weekend to remember, starting in each of the Duhawks three games in Jacksonville, Ill. The Joliet, Ill. native hit .500, recording a 5-of-10 performance at the plate. Nunez drove home five runs on the weekend, a team-high for the season. Two of his five RBIs came on sacrifice flies.

JACQUE SHOWCASES IMPROVEMENT ON OFFENSE    
Senior Lucas Jacque continued his torrid offensive start to the season this past weekend, going 7-of-13 at the plate, good for a .538 batting average. Jacque drove in three RBIs, while recording two doubles. The senior raised his batting average from .333 to .500 in the process. On Sunday, Jacque recorded a season-high four hits against Elmhurst, helping the Duhawks win 9-5.

STEINES EARNS FIRST VICTORY OF SENIOR SEASON    
Senior Alex Steines picked up his first win of the season against MSOE, tossing six innings, while surrendering six hits and one walk. The senior struck out four in the effort. Steines aims to take on the ace role this season after slotting in behind Adam Schwoebel last season. In his nine innings of work this season, Steines has averaged 9.0 K/9, which ranks third on the team behind Brad Schwind (14.0) and Brian Pall (12.0).