Last Action: The Cardinals kicked off their season March 6-7, taking on North Central (Minn.) and Buena Vista in a pair of nonconference doubleheaders at the Rosemount Dome. SMU erupted for 61 runs in those four games, rolling to wins of 29-0 and 14-1 vs. North Central (Minn.), and 8-4 and 10-5 vs. Buena Vista. … Luther squared off against a pair of Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference foes — sweeping Concordia (8-0, 6-2) and Augsburg (5-0, 11-1) at the Augsburg Dome on March 6-7 — before kicking off its spring trip against Saint Mary's on March 22. … Pacific University has had the busiest spring thus far, entering the Tucson Invitational having already played 12 games, boasting a 7-5 record heading into Saturday's Tucson opener against St. Catherine. … Lakeland, Amherst, Central-Iowa, Calvin, St. Joseph's and Mount Mary all kicked off their seasons this week at the Tucson (Ariz.) Invitational.

Last Meeting: The Cardinals will be facing six teams — Lakeland, Amherst, Mount Mary, Calvin, St. Joseph's and Pacific University — for the first time in their history. SMU and Central-Iowa have met eight times, the last being an 8-4 Central win on March 18, 2008 at the Sun West (Calif.) Tournament, while the Cardinals and Luther have squared off on one other occasion, a 10-0 Luther win on March 28, 1986.

Saint Mary's Cardinal Notes: SMU's four wins last weekend mark the first time since 1997 that the Cardinals have opened the season 4-0. That year, SMU won 12 straight to start the year. … The Cardinals' 29 runs vs. North Central last Saturday were the most since SMU set a school record, scoring 43 runs in a 43-2 victory over St. Catherine on April 24, 1997. … Three SMU pitchers combined on a no-hitter vs. North Central in that 29-0 victory. Mallory Betzold (Farmington, Minn.) struck out three in two innings of work, Madeline Salmon (Woodbury, Minn.) struck out two in his one inning, while Kristy Guse (Red Wing, Minn.) fanned four in two innings. Only a fourth-inning lead-off walk kept the SMU trio from a perfect game. … Cassie Otte (Randolph, Minn.) — a first-team All-MIAC and All-Region selection a year ago — opened the season in stellar fashion, hitting .692 (9-for-13) with nine runs, four walks and four stolen bases in SMU's four games in the Rosemount Dome. … Katy Gannon (Roselle, Ill.) belted a pair of home runs among her eight hits last weekend. The SMU sophomore hit .571 and added two doubles and a triple to her two round-trippers, giving her a 1.286 slugging percentage. … Otte and Gannon both had at least one hit in each of the Cardinals' four games last weekend. … The two also drove in two or more runs in three of the team's four games. … Betzold, Angie Diercks (Red Wing, Minn.) and Kellie Simons (Richfield, Minn.) each enjoyed four-RBI games in the Rosemount Dome. … Simons, Danielle Geske (Rosemount, Minn.), Jaci Prondzinski (Ettrick, Wis.) and Joanna Mangan (Chicago, Ill.) also hit home runs last weekend. … As a team, the Cardinals enter their spring trip hitting .436 with 61 hits — including 19 for extra bases — in 140 at-bats.

Lakeland Muskie Notes: Lakeland, coming off a 17-20 record a year ago — including a 15-9 mark in the Northern Athletics Conference — has been picked to finish fourth in the NAC Preseason Coaches' Poll. … Catcher Nicole Holland returns as the lone senior for coach Chad Buchmann's squad. Holland appeared in seven games for the Muskies last season. … Lakeland also returns three of its top hitters from a year ago. KC Blahnik, Chelsea Coenen and Sam Shepeck all hit over .300 as regulars in the Muskie line-up. … Junior Sara Roberts tallied a 14-12 record along with a 3.21 earned run average in 2008. … Lakeland was outscored by just two runs (210-208) a year ago, holding a 54-28 scoring edge in the third inning. … Lakeland was held to two runs or fewer in 12 of their 20 losses a year ago and was 2-12 when its opponent scored first.

Amherst Lord Jeffs Notes: Amherst is coming off a 14-18 season in 2008. … Seven of Amherst's 18 losses a year ago came by three runs or less, including four that were decided by one run. Amherst earned five shutout victories on the season, and finished fourth in the NESCAC in earned run average (3.18) and tied for fourth in batting average (.297). … Junior Jackie Tyler  — a two-time All-NESCAC First-Team selection — returns as the team's offensive leader. Tyler batted .451, scored 30 runs and drove in 14 to earn an ESPN the Magazine Academic All-District Second Team selection to go along with her all-conference and NFCA All-New England First Team honors. … Emily Neill led the team in walks (13), homers (3), RBIs (27), slugging (.527) and doubles (9), while also batted .330 — and recording 11 two-out RBIs — in 2008. …  Pitcher Alex Chang-Graham led the NESCAC in ERA (1.65) and strikeouts looking (32); finished fourth in innings pitched (110.0) and strikeouts (77), fifth in opponents' batting average (.249), tied for sixth in wins (9), and 10th in fewest walks allowed (18, and was named to the ESPN the Magazine Academic All-District Third Team, All-NESCAC First Team and NFCA All-New England Third Team.

Central-Iowa Dutch Notes: The Dutch, who have won four national championships and earned two runner-up finishes, are coming off a 24-16 season a year ago. Central failed to qualify for the NCAA tournament for the second straight season in 2008 — the longest of Coach George Wares' 24-year tenure. … Wares ranks third in career victories (804) and fourth in winning percentage. Among active Division III coaches, he ranks second in career victories, first in NCAA playoff appearances (20) and first in NCAA playoff victories (79). … Central will be without the services of graduated senior Kelly Harris. Harris, a third-team All-American pick in 2008 — not to mention the Iowa Conference MVP — batted .462, the second-highest season average in school history. She scored a record 49 runs with nine doubles, two triples, a record nine home runs and 30 RBIs. She also stole a team-high 19 bases, helping the Dutch rack up a 101-21 stolen base advantage on opponents. Harris compiled a .978 fielding percentage. Her slugging percentage of .798 was the highest in school history while her .549 on-base percentage ranked second.

Calvin Knights Notes: Calvin finished 2008 with a 12-23 record, finishing seventh in the MIACC at 5-11. … Whisper Miller led the team in virtually every offensive category a year ago, including average (.282), at-bats (103), runs (21), hits (29) and stolen bases (17). … Miller also led the team with nine multiple-hit games. Jenn Vanden Akker, meanwhile, recorded the team's lone three-hit performance. … Pitchers Kristin Folkerts and Amanda Johnson combined to post a 3.33 earned-run-avearge, allowing 298 hits and 67 earned runs in 231.1 innings. … Calvin was outscored 178-111 a year ago, including 29-6 in the second inning. … The Knights were held to two runs or less in 17 of their 23 losses. … Seven of Calvin's 12 wins came on the road. The Knights were 5-8 on their home turf.

St. Joseph's Bears Notes: The Bears are coming off a 10-21 season in 2008, including a 4-4 mark in the Hudson Valley Women's Athletic Conference (HVWAC). … St. Joseph's is just one season removed from an HVWAC regular-season championship and a berth in the USCAA national tournament. … The Bears closed out the 2008 season dropping four of their last five games — giving up 10 runs in each of those four losses. … Theresa Mendez returns as the Bears' offensive leader, after batting .326 with 30 hits, 21 runs, 11 RBIs, and a perfect 14-for-14 in stolen bases. … The Bears are without graduated pitching workhorse Julianne Basmagy, who appeared in 27 of the team's 30 games, allowing 93 earned runs and 182 hits in 132.1 innings. … St. Joseph's was just 1-18 on the road in 2008, going 9-4 on their home field. … The Bears were fast starters in 2008, outscoring their opponents 42-32 in the first inning and 40-37 in the second. From there, however, St. Joseph's was outscored in every inning. … The Bears were held to two runs or less in 13 of their 21 losses and, on the flip side, allowed 10 or more runs in 13 of their 21 losses. … St. Joseph's did not play an extra-inning game in 2008 and were 0-3 in one-run games.

Luther Norse Notes: The Norse, coming off their second straight 30-win season — going 30-12 in 2008 — begin the 2009 season ranked No. 13 in the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Preseason Top 25. … Luther was also tabbed to win the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference titles in the IIAC Preseason Coaches' Poll. … The Norse led the nation in home runs (56) and slugging percentage (.587) in 2007. Luther boasted five All-IIAC First-Team selections, while also landing four players on the NFCA All-Region teams and one — Tami Magner — was a First-Team All-American. … Luther will be without Magner, a two-time All-American, 2007 All-American Ashley Hoffman, and all-conference pitcher Shallyn Duffy, who have all graduated. … Magner led the team in virtually every offensive category in 2008, including average (.394), runs (41), hits (52), home runs (14), RBIs (42), total bases (105), and slugging percentage (.795). … Kim Hess, a two-time all-conference selection, entered the season have started 125 consecutive games. … Luther outscored its opponents in every inning a year ago, including 37-5 in the second inning and 28-2 in the seventh. … Luther scored 229 runs a year ago, while holding its opponents to just 80.

Pacific Boxers Notes: The Boxers are coming off an impressive 31-9 season in 2008, racking up the second-most wins in school history. … Pacific also posted a 19-8 record in the Northwest Conference, good enough for a second-place finish — the Boxers' best showing since wining the conference crown in 1998. … The Boxers opened the season ranked No. 20 in the NFCA Preseason Top 25 and are expected to challenge five-time champion Linfield and Willamette for the conference's top spot. … The Boxers return seven all-conference performers, as well as three of their top five offensive players in Kristen Croxfond (.410, 39 runs, 48 hits, 16 doubles), Brooke Fogwell (.344, 20 runs, 42 hits, 4 home runs, 45 RBIs) and Brooke Toy (.358, 28 runs, 34 hits, 6 home runs, 31 RBIs). … Two-time All-NWC and all-region pitcher Miranda McNealy is back after posting a school-record 18 wins, while boasting one of the nation's best ERA's at 1.09. She also pitched two no-hit games and had three one-hitters. … Pacific outscored its opponents 279-114 in 2008, and did not allow more than 19 combined runs in any inning. … The Boxers were 22-2 when holding their opponents to two runs or less and 25-2 when scoring the game's first run.

Mount Mary Blue Angels: No information available.