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Saint Mary's Cardinals   5-1 MIAC, 13-5 Overall		Bethel Royals   2-2 MIAC, 10-10 Overall

Live In-Game Statistics

Last Action: The Cardinals rebounded from a disappointing 3-2, Game 2 loss to Saint Benedict in impressive fashion Tuesday, rolling to wins of 11-1 and 8-2 over St. Olaf. … The Royals, meanwhile, dropped both games of their conference doubleheader against fourth-ranked St. Thomas Tuesday, falling 8-1 in the opener and 5-0 in Game 2.

Last Meeting: SMU left 12 runners on base, including failing to score at least one run with the bases loaded and no one out — not once, but twice — but the Cardinals still managed to come away with a 3-2 victory over the Royals in the opener of their Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference doubleheader at the Cotter Field a year ago. The Cardinals didn't have that stranded feeling in Game 2 — probably because they couldn't get any runners on to begin with. Bethel pitcher Nea Harkness held SMU to just four hits — all singles and all by different players — as the Royals salvaged a splt with a 5-1 win.

Saint Mary's Cardinal Notes: With their two wins over St. Olaf, the Cardinals improved to 5-1 in conference play and have now won five of their last six games. … The Cardinals banged out 19 hits in the opener vs. St. Olaf, getting three hits each from Danielle Geske (Rosemount, Minn.), Jessica Sharpe (Ottawa, Ill.), Nicole Olson (New Brighton, Minn.) and Angie Diercks (Red Wing, Minn.). … Cassie Otte (Randolph, Minn.) went 3-for-4 in the nightcap vs. St. Olaf. It was the fourth time in SMU's last six games — and sixth time this season — that the SMU senior has had three hits in a game. Otte also leads the team with 12 multiple-hit games, while Geske and Katy Gannon (Roselle, Ill.) share the team lead with four multiple-RBI games each. … Geske belted two home runs vs. St. Olaf, including a third-inning, Game 2 grand slam. Gannon also collected a home run vs. the Oles. … Gannon was held hitless in Game 1 vs. the Blazers, snapping her season-, team- and career-high 14-game hitting streak and marking the first time this season she has failed to collect at least one hit. … Otte is the team's offensive leader, posting team-bests in average (.515), at-bats (66), runs (24), hits (34), on-base percentage (.549) and stolen bases (13). … Gannon and Geske share the team lead in home runs (3), while Gannon is also the team-leader in RBIs (19) and walks (8). … SMU's pitching staff enters today's DH boasting a 2.38 earned-run-average. … Betzold tossed her second straight complete game in Saturday's Game 1 win vs. CSB. She has thrown a team-leading 67 innings, posting a 2.61 earned-run-average and an 8-4 record, while also striking out a team-best 28. … Madeline Salmon (Woodbury, Minn.), who tossed a six-inning, two-hit, complete-game shutout in her first collegiate start vs. St. Joseph's on March 21, earned her first collegiate save Tuesday, tossing three innings of three-hit relief vs. St. Olaf. … SMU's game-winning, seventh-inning run vs. Saint Benedict in the opener Saturday marked the first time this season the Cardinals had scored a run in their final at-bat. … 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 have now scored 10 or more runs eight times this season. … The Cardinals have outscored their first 18 opponents 155-48 — including 29 3 in the second inning and 45-10 in the third. … SMU is 7-0 when scoring in the first inning and 9-0 when scoring the game's first run. … Five of SMU's 13 wins have come via shutout. … SMU is a perfect 11-0 when leading after the fourth inning and is unbeaten (11-0) when holding its opponents to two runs or less. On the flip side, SMU has been held under three runs in all five of its losses.

Bethel Royal Notes: Bethel's Game 1 loss to St. Thomas Tuesday snapped their season-high three-game winning streak. … St. Thomas' eight runs in the opener Tuesday were the most allowed by the Royals this season. … Bethel has scored one run or less in eight of their 10 losses. … The Royals have played just two of their first 20 games at home, sweeping Macalester 2-1 and 9-4 on March 30. … Ashley Lindberg is the team's offensive leader, boasting a team-best .316 batting average, while also leading the team in doubles (6) and slugging percentage (.474). … Lisa Patnode is the team-leader in at-bats (59), runs (10), hits (17), and stolen bases (4). … Lauren Habisch has driven in a team-leading nine runs. … Bethel has three pitchers with 37 or more innings pitched, and, as a staff, the Royals boast a 2.58 earned-run-average.