Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 | Box Score 3 | Box Score 4 Hamline baseball coach Jim Weyandt hopes what he is seeing in Tucson is a sign of things to come. With three games remaining on their western swing, the Pipers have been battering their opponents at a furious pace. Hamline stands 6-5 overall after splitting two freewheeling games with Buena Vista Tuesday. Led by Mitch Benson's 5-for-5 game with four RBI, HU banged out 16 hits en route to a 16-6 win. Unfortunately, they saw the other side of the spectrum in the second game in a 17-3 loss.

Benson had three doubles and a pair of singles against BVU.. It was part of an attack that saw HU collect eight extra base hits. Among the heavy blows: Rick Tormey doubled and homered. Tyler Summers also went long distance. Nick Kukurich gave up just one earned run in 4.2 innings to earn the win. Benson had one of the Pipers' three hits in the second game. 

The doubleheader with Williams on Monday, March 21 had the reverse pattern. The Eephs swung the big sticks in the opener for a 13-7 win with the Pipers unleashing an 11-run sixth inning for a 16-6 win in the second game. Benson went 3-for-3 and Joe Setrum homered and scored twice for Hamline in the first game. In Game 2, both sides hit 'em hard early and the matter was tied at 5 after three innings. It stayed that way until the Piper sixth. That's when Hamline sent 15 batters to the plate. Domenic Dandrea took his turn at going 5-for-5, including a pair of singles in that wild sixth frame. Jake Picht had a pair of doubles and Colin Olstad knocked in three runs. Aaron Stoneberg, the second of three pitchers Hamline used, toiled a solid 4.2 innings in middle relief to earn his second win of the spring. 

Picht currently leads the MIAC with a .559 batting average. Dandrea is next at .529. Hamline's team average of .363 tops the MIAC by 16 points. The Pipers also lead their brethren in On-Base Percentage (.473), Hit By Pitch (32) and Doubles (28). 

The bats and arms get a rest Wednesday. HU returns to the field Thursday with a nine-inning game against DePauw. They finish their Arizona schedule with a doubleheader against Oberlin on Friday, March 25. The MIAC slate starts April 2 at St. John's.