WINONA, Minn. — After playing their first 12 games on the road, the Saint Mary's University fastpitch softball team — coming off a pair of nonconference losses to UW-Eau Claire on Wednesday — kick of their home season on Thursday, playing host to St. Olaf in a 4 p.m. Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference doubleheader at the SMU Field.
The Records:
Saint Mary's Cardinals: 0-0 MIAC / 3-9 Overall
St. Olaf Oles (1-1 MIAC / 4-12 Overall
Last Action:
The Cardinals dropped back-to-back nonconference games to UW-Eau Claire Wednesday afternoon in Eau Claire, Wis., falling
5-3 in the opener, then dropping a
9-1, five-inning decision in the nightcap. St. Olaf, meanwhile, earned a split against MIAC power Gustavus on Wednesday in Northfield, Minn., winning the opener
8-3, while dropping the second game
12-3.
Last Meeting — April 7, 2009:
The Cardinals got the better of the Oles in their conference meetings a year ago, with SMU posting wins of
11-1 and
8-2 in Northfield, Minn.
Saint Mary's Cardinals Around The Horn:
After 12 straight road games, the Cardinals finally open their home schedule Thursday against St. Olaf. …
Erin Stenseth (Eau Claire, Wis.) swung the hot bat for the Cardinals against UW-Eau Claire Wednesday, going 3-for-4 — including a three-run, bases-loaded double in the sixth — in the opener, before adding two of SMU's four hits in going 2-for-3 in the nightcap. … Thanks to her 5-for-7 effort vs. UW-Eau Claire, Stenseth pushed her team-leading batting average to .457. She also leads the team in hits (16), doubles (5), total bases (21), slugging percentage (.600), and on-base percentage (.486), while sharing the team lead in runs (7) and RBIs (6). … Stenseth, who has recorded four multiple-hit games, while sharing the team lead with two multiple-RBI performances, enters today's DH riding a season-high five-game hitting streak. She has recorded at least one hit in 10 of the team's 12 games. …
Kellie Simons (Richfield, Minn.) and
Julianne Bartosz (Mokena, Ill.) are also hitting above .300 — .378 and .323, respectively — heading into today's conference DH vs. St. Olaf. … The Cardinals have allowed five or more runs in eight of their nine losses. … The Cardinals have been outscored 11-2 in the first inning and 16-3 in the first two combined. … SMU has scored three of more runs in all three of its wins, while scoring two runs or less in eight of its nine losses.
St. Olaf Oles Around The Horn:
The Oles have put an end to a pair of streaks in the last three days. St. Olaf snapped its season-high nine-game losing streak with their two nonconference wins over Bethany Lutheran (9-6 and 9-8) last Monday, then put an end to an 11-year, 21-game losing streak against Gustavus with its 8-3 Game 1 win on Wednesday. … St. Olaf has scored seven or more runs in all four its wins. … Maggie Scholer went 3-for-3 with a two-run home run, while Ali Berens delivered a three-run, first-inning home run to fuel St. Olaf's 8-3 win over Gustavus Wednesday. … Cara Lemmon, who also had three Game 1 hits vs. GAC, boasts a team-best .465 batting average, while Scholer is close behind at .452. … Lemmon also leads the team in hits (20) and has scored 10 runs. … Kjirsten Speer, who leads the team with seven doubles among her 16 hits, has driven in a team-leading 10 runs. … The Oles have been outscored in every inning but the fifth, where they hold a 16-10 edge. … St. Olaf has surrendered 26 first-inning runs. … St. Olaf is 3-1 when out-hitting its opponent.
