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Saint Mary's Cardinals   7-7 MIAC, 15-11 Overall		St. Catherine Wildcats    9-5 MIAC, 10-16 Overall

Live In-Game Statistics

Last Action: The Cardinals experienced both ends of the spectrum Thursday afternoon, erupting for 13 hits and 12 runs in a 12-4, five-inning victory over Augsburg in the opening game of their Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference doubleheader at SMU Field, then managed just two hits and a seventh-inning unearned run in falling to the Auggies in Game 2, 5-1. … St. Catherine, meanwhile, also had to settle for a split in its Wednesday conference doubleheader, dropping the first game to Macalester 4-3, before coming back with a 3-0 win in the nightcap.

Last Meeting: Amy Zimniewicz belted a run-scoring double to ignite a four-run SMU second inning, then followed that up with a two-run double to jump-start the Cardinals' seven-run fifth, as Saint Mary's rallied from a 7-0, second-inning deficit to beat St. Catherine 11-8 in the first game of the teams' Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference doubleheader at Cotter Field. The Cardinals were in a come-from-behind mode in Game 2 as well, erasing Wildcat leads of 1-0 and 3-2 to complete the sweep with a 5-3 victory in the nightcap.

Saint Mary's Cardinal Notes: With their split vs. Augsburg, the Cardinals' road to the MIAC Tournament became a bit more rocky. SMU enters today's doubleheader trailing fifth-place St. Catherine (9-5) by two games and fourth-place Bethel (8-4) by three with eight conference games to play, including doubleheaders against the MIAC's top two teams — Gustavus (Sunday) and St. Thomas (on April 26). … Cassie Otte (Randolph, Minn.) went 4-for-4 with a pair of RBIs and two runs scored in SMU's 12-4 Game 1 win over Augsburg on Thursday. It was Otte's first four-hit game of the season — and second of her illustrious four-year collegiate career. Otte's other four-hit effort was a 4-for-5 performance vs. UW-Stout on March24, 2007. It was also Otte's team-leading 16th multiple-hit game of the season. … Otte also leads the team in average (.475), at-bats (99), runs (30), hits (47), total bases (50) and stolen bases (18). … Katy Gannon (Roselle, Ill.) is the team's RBI leader (27), while also leading the team in home runs (4) and slugging percentage (.573). Gannon also boasts a team-best eight extra-base hits and five multiple-RBI games — including a career-best 5 RBIs during a 3-for-3 showing against Mount Mary on March 20. … Gannon was held hitless in Game 1 vs. Saint Benedict on April 4, snapping her season-, team- and career-high 14-game hitting streak. … Thirteen of SMU's 15 hits vs. Augsburg were singles. … Jessica Sharpe (Ottawa, Ill.) belted her first collegiate home run vs. Concordia last Saturday, launching a solo shot in the opener. … SMU's pitching staff enters today's DH boasting a 3.25 earned-run-average. … Mallory Betzold (Farmington, Minn.) has thrown a team-leading 101.2 innings, posting a 3.44 earned-run-average and a 10-8 record, while also striking out a team-best 42. …The Cardinals were held to a season-low two hits in their Game 2 loss to the Auggies. … SMU's 7-2, Game 1 loss vs. Concordia last Saturday was the Cardinals' first extra-inning game of the season and the longest extra-inning game since the 2006 season, when SMU played two nine-inning games, one 10-inning contest and one 11-inning marathon. … The Cobbers' seven runs in Game 2 Saturday marked the most allowed by SMU in a win since the Cardinals beat Buena Vista 17-9 on March 8, 2008. … SMU's 27 runs vs. Mount Mary on March 20 marked the second time this season the Cardinals have plated 20 or more runs. SMU opened the season with a 29-0 rout of North Central (Minn.) on March 14. … SMU's 27- and 29-run outbursts were the second- and third-most runs scored in school history, behind the 43 runs the Cardinals plated in a 43-2 win over St. Catherine on April 24, 1997. … The Cardinals' 12-run outburst vs. Augsburg Thursday was the ninth time this season they scored 10 or more runs. … The Cardinals have outscored their first 26 opponents 191-93 — including 36-6 in the second inning and 51-19 in the third. SMU has given up 26 runs combined from the sixth inning on. … SMU is 8-0 when scoring in the first inning and 11-0 when scoring the game's first run. … Five of SMU's 14 wins have come via shutout, while the Cardinals are 11-0 when holding their opponent to two runs or less … On the flip side, SMU has been held under three runs in nine of its 11 losses.

St. Catherine Wildcat Notes: Thursday's Game 2 win vs. Macalester was the Wildcats' third win in their last four games. St. Catherine has outscored its opponents 18-6 during that four-game span. … Nine of St. Catherine's 10 wins have come in conference play — CSC Jessica Kniefel enters today's doubleheader as the team's offensive leader, boasting team highs in batting average (.451), at-bats (82), runs (19), hits (37), on-base percentage (.427) and stolen bases (13). … All 37 of Kniefel's hits have been singles. … Jessi McGehee has belted a team-best four home runs. St. Catherine has launched nine home runs as a team. … McGehee also leads the team in RBIs (20), total bases (38), slugging percentage (.559) and walks (12). … Tiana Allen and Kayla Bergerson have combined to pitch all 159 innings for the Wildcats. Allen boasts a 4.11 earned-run-average and a 6-8 record in 92 innings. She has struck out 79 and walked 26. Bergerson, meanwhile, owns a 5.33 ERA and a 4-8 record in 67 innings with 32 Ks and 23 walks.