MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University fastpitch softball team returns to MIAC play on Wednesday, heading to Augsburg for a 4 p.m. conference doubleheader against the Auggies





The Matchup:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (5-5 MIAC | 12-10 Overall) vs.
Augsburg Auggies (4-4 MIAC | 15-11 Overall)

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Last Action:
The Cardinals dropped their second straight doubleheader on Sunday, as 11th-ranked Luther handed SMU 10-2 and 6-2 setbacks in Decorah, Iowa. … Augsburg, meanwhile, is coming off a split of its MIAC doubleheader against Carleton on Saturday. The Auggies opened with an 8-7 win, but fell in the nightcap 9-5.

Last Meeting — April 17, 2010:
Runs came in bunches for SMU, as the Cardinals scored 18 runs against Augsburg — 14 of which came in three innings. And it was those three innings — an eight-run first in the opener and a pair of three-run innings in the nightcap — that lifted SMU to an 11-6, 7-4 MIAC sweep of the Auggies at the SMU Field.

Up Next:
The Cardinals return home on Saturday, hosting Hamline in a 1 p.m. conference doubleheader at the SMU Field. … Augsburg, meanwhile, hits the road for the first of three straight road doubleheaders, as the Auggies travel to Macalester for a 5 p.m. conference twinbill.

Saint Mary's Cardinals Around The Horn:
2011 Schedule | 2011 Roster | 2011 Overall Statistics
Katy Gannon (Roselle, Ill.) had her home run streak snapped at four straight with an 0-for-3 showing in Game 1 vs. the Royals last Saturday, but the Cardinal senior promptly delivered her fifth home run in six games in the nightcap. Luther, meanwhile, held Gannon hitless in three at-bats Sunday, as she closed out the week hitting .318, with seven hits in 22 at-bats. … In her last eight games, Gannon belted a game-winning HR in SMU's 1-0 win over St. Olaf last Tuesday, and followed that up with a three-run, sixth-inning shot in Game 2 vs. the Oles. Against Macalester last Thursday, Gannon drilled a two-run HR in the opener and another three-run bomb in the nightcap. … Five of Gannon's seven hits last week were home runs. She also scored seven runs and tallied 11 RBIs, while also boasting a 1.000 slugging percentage. … Gannon has now hit as many home runs in an eight-game span as she has in any of her first three complete seasons. … The five HRs equal her career best of a year ago. … Gannon's 17 career home runs tie her with Jennifer Meyer for No. 2 all-time. She is nine shy of career home run leader Jill Hocking. … In two of SMU's last four games, the Cardinals did not have a player with more than one hit — the Cardinals' seven hits in Game 1 last Saturday vs. Bethel came from seven different players, while SMU's six hits in Game 2 vs. Luther on Sunday were from six different players. … Mallory Betzold (Farmington, Minn.) went 4-for-4 with a pair of doubles in Game 1 vs. Macalester last Thursday. It was the fourth time in her career that Betzold has had four hits in a game. The two doubles also equaled her single-game career high. … Hailey Ohl (Bloomington, Minn.), who recorded her second three-hit performance of the season with a 3-for-4 effort in the opener vs. Macalester last Thursday, leads the Cardinals with eight multiple-hit games. … Paige Carter (Rosemount, Minn.) has driven in two or more runs a team-high six times this season — including a three-hit, five-RBI effort against the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford on March 10. … Carter is currently riding a seven-game hitting streak, one shy of Oh's season-high eight-game run. … Ohl enters Wednesday's DH at Augsburg with a team-leading .418 batting average, while also leading the team with 28 hits. … Ohl is one of six Cardinal regulars hitting .300 or better. … Carter, who is hitting .357, leads the team in doubles (7), RBIs (24), and total bases (41), while Gannon boasts a team-leading .590 slugging percentage. … Carter has hit three home runs this season — including a pair of grand slams. … Betzold enters Wednesday's DH at Augsburg with team-highs in ERA (2.69), wins (8), appearances (14), innings pitched (75.1) and strikeouts (41). The senior left-hander has allowed just 10 walks in those 75.1 innings. … Last Thursday's 9-1, five-inning victory over Macalester marked the fifth time this season SMU has won by the eight-run rule. … Last Tuesday's 1-0, 8-0 sweep of St. Olaf was the Cardinals' first sweep by shutout since SMU blanked St. Catherine 3-0, 7-0 on April 28, 2019. … Four of the Cardinals' 10 losses this season have been by one run — 6-5 vs. Wheaton (Ill.), 5-4 vs. Southwestern (Texas) and 3-2 vs. St. Thomas and Saint Benedict. … The Cardinals have outscored their opponents 19-5 in the first inning and 20-9 in the sixth.. … SMU has scored first in 10 of its 12 wins. … The Cardinals are 5-1 when leading after the sixth inning. … SMU banged out a season-high 19 hits and 12 runs vs. UP-Bradford. … With their split against Saint Benedict on April 2, the Cardinals and Blazers have now played six straight one-run games in the last three seasons — including five being decided by the same 3-2 score.

Augsburg Auggies Around The Horn:
2011 Schedule | 2011 Roster | 2011 Overall Statistics
After putting together a season-high 10-game winning streak from March 14-April 2, the Auggies are 2-4 in their last six — including doubleheader splits in each of its last two conference twinbills. … Emily Smith leads the team with a .476 batting average. She is one of seven Auggies hitting above .300. … Jessa Hinz enters Wednesday's DH vs. Saint Mary's tied or leading the team in runs (21), hits (30), triples (2), home runs (4), triples (16), total bases (49) and slugging percentage (.620). … Bri Dorale shares the team lead in runs and hits, while leading the Auggies with 82 at-bats. … Hinz and Kylee Persing share the team's HR lead with four each. … Hinz and Stephanie Saxe have each compiled eight multiple-hit games, while Hinz also boasts a team-best six multiple-RBI games. … Laura Strandell and Dorale have each put together lengthy hitting streaks this season. Strandell owns a season-best 12-game streak, while Dorale hit safely in 10 straight. It's Smith, however, who owns longest current streak, hitting in eight straight games. … Persing has been the workhorse on the mound for the Auggies, hurling 109.1 of the team's 166 innings. She owns an 11-8 record and a 3.07 ERA, while striking out 53. … Persing has hurled 11 complete games and owns the team's lone save. … Augsburg is 8-3 when it scores first. … The Auggies are a perfect 10-0 when leading after six innings, but are just 2-7 when tied or trailing heading into the seventh. …