WINONA, Minn. — There's something about the start of the baseball season that brings out the best in Saint Mary's University of Minnesota's Ben Buerkle (Roseville, Minn.).
 
• As a freshman, Buerkle hit safely in all 11 of the Cardinals' spring trip games.
 
• As a sophomore, Buerkle had at least one in all 10 of Saint Mary's spring trip contests.
 
• As a junior, Buerkle collected hits in nine of the team's 10 games during their stay in Auburndale, Fla.
 
In other words, it doesn't take Buerkle long to find his groove.
 
This season was no different, as the senior put together the best spring trip of his illustrious four-year career, banging out 25 hits in 36 at-bats for an eye-popping .694 batting average.
 
And, yes, at least one hit in each of the Cardinals' 10 games.
 
Buerkle's early season performance did not go unnoticed, either, as the Cardinal senior was named Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Athlete of the Week, the league office announced Monday.
 
Buerkle kicked off his Florida week going 2-for-5 and 4-for-4 in the Cardinals' sweep of Milwaukee School of Engineering, and followed that up with 3-for-3 and 2-for-4 efforts in a split against Wartburg. Buerkle put together two more 3-for-3 showings against Franklin and Finlandia, went 1-for-4 and 3-for-4 against Alma and Rockford, respectively, before ending the week with back-to-back 2-for-3 performances against both Capital and Coe.
 
All told, Buerkle went 25-for-36 en route to his .694 batting average, while also leading the team in runs (16), hits (25), doubles (5), triples (1), home runs (4), RBIs (11), total bases (44), slugging percentage (1.222), walks (7), stolen bases (4), and on-base percentage (.756).
 
With his second of his three hits against Rockford on March 3—a third-inning double—Buerkle became just the second player in program history to reach the 200 career-hit milestone. And with his 25 spring-trip hits, Buerkle moved within 15 hits of the school record of 220, held by Willie Doll.
 
Fueled by his current 10-game hitting streak, Buerkle has now collected at least one hit in 119 of the 128 games he's played in, while reaching base safely in 125 of those 128 games.
 
The Cardinals (7-3 overall) are scheduled to return to action, weather permitting, on March 17-18, squaring off against Aurora, Wheaton (Ill.), and Cornell (Iowa) in Wheaton, Ill.