WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University fastpitch softball team returns to conference play on Saturday, hosting Hamline in a key MIAC doubleheader at the SMU Field. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m.





The Matchup:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (8-6 MIAC | 15-13 Overall) vs.
Hamline Pipers (7-5 MIAC | 14-13 Overall)

GameDay Live On The Web:
Live Stats | GameDay Program

Last Action:
The Cardinals dropped a pair of nonconference games on Thursday, as SMU fell to 25th-ranked UW-Eau Claire 9-0 and 8-0 at the SMU Field. … Hamline, meanwhile, picked up a pair of conference wins on Thursday, as the Pipers cruised to an 11-2, 4-0 sweep of Carleton in St. Paul, Minn.

Last Meeting — April 20, 2010:
After scoring just one run in a 3-1 eight-inning loss to Hamline in the opener of their MIAC doubleheader, the Cardinals erupted for two runs in the first inning and three more in the second — and they needed every one of them — as SMU held off a late Piper rally to collect a 6-4 Game 2 victory in St. Paul, Minn.

Up Next:
The Cardinals return to the field on Wednesday, traveling to St. Paul, Minn., for a 4 p.m. MIAC doubleheader against St. Catherine. Hamline, meanwhile, is back on the road on Tuesday, heading across town to Macalester for a 5 p.m. conference twinbill against the Scots.

Saint Mary's Cardinals Around The Horn:
2011 Schedule | 2011 Roster | 2011 Overall Statistics
The Cardinals come into Saturday's conference DH vs. Hamline having won three of their last four conference contests. … SMU's two losses to UW-Eau Claire Thursday dropped the Cardinals to 7-7 in nonconference play this season. … Thursday's losses to the Blugolds also marked the first time this season the Cardinals had been shut out. … Hailey Ohl (Bloomington, Minn.) and Michelle Carne (Escanaba, Mich.) accounted for the Cardinals' two hits in their 9-0 loss to UW-EC in the opener Thursday, while Paige Carter (Rosemount, Minn.) and Erin Stenseth (Eau Claire, Wis.) each had two hits in the nightcap. … With her two hits in Game 2 Thursday, Carter has now recorded a team-high 12 multiple-hit games this season. The sophomore also leads the team with seven multiple-RBI games. … Carter was held without a hit in the opener vs. UW-Eau Claire Thursday, snapping her season- and career-high 11-game hitting streak. … Carter enters Saturday's DH vs. Hamline boasting a team-best .404 batting average — she is one of seven Cardinals hitting .300 or better. … Carter also leads the Cardinals in hits (36), doubles (9), RBIs (28) and total bases (54). … Stenseth — who collected her second four-hit game of the season against Augsburg on April 13, going 4-for-6 — leads the team in at-bats (95) and runs (24), while Katy Gannon (Roselle, Ill.) owns a team-high six home runs. … Gannon delivered her team- and single-season career-high sixth home run against Concordia on April 17. The SMU senior has now hit 18 career home runs — ranking her second all-time, eight HRs back of career leader Jill Hocking. … As a team, the Cardinals have hit 16 home runs — six by Gannon, four by Stenseth, three by Carter — including two grand slams — two by Mallory Betzold (Farmington, Minn.) and one by Kellie Simon (Richfield, Minn.). … Betzold picked up her single-season career-high 11th win in SMU's 14-1 win over Concordia on April 17, and enters the weekend 11-6 with a 2.55 ERA. She boasts seven complete games and has thrown 98.2 innings, striking out 60 and walking just 10. … SMU's 14 runs in its 14-1, five-inning Game 1 win vs. the Cobbers on April 17 were a season high. … SMU erupted for 10 first-inning runs vs. Concordia in the opener on April 17, marking the most runs scored in a single inning since scoring 13 runs in the second inning of a 27-0 win over Mount Mary College in Tucson, Ariz., on March 20, 2009. … SMU's two extra-inning wins vs. Augsburg on April 13 marked the first time both games of a Cardinal doubleheader have gone to extra inning since SMU dropped 3-2 and 7-6 decisions to Saint Benedict on April 25, 2010. … The Cardinals' 5-4, 10-inning win in Game 2 last Wednesday was their longest game since April 27, 2006, when UW-La Crosse outlasted SMU 3-2 in 11 innings. … The Cardinals' 14-1, five-inning win vs. Concordia on April 17 marked the sixth time this season SMU has won by the eight-run rule. … The Cardinals have outscored their opponents 31-10 in the first inning. … With their two wins over Augsburg on April 13, SMU improved to 3-0 in extra-inning games this season. … SMU has scored first in 12 of its 15 wins. … The Cardinals are 6-1 when leading after the sixth inning. … The Cardinals have held their opponents to two runs or less in 11 of their 15 wins. … SMU's 1-0, 8-0 sweep of St. Olaf on April 5 was the Cardinals' first sweep by shutout since SMU blanked St. Catherine 3-0, 7-0 on April 28, 2019. … 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.

Hamline Pipers Around The Horn:
2011 Schedule | 2011 Roster | 2011 Overall Statistics
The Pipers snapped a season-high six-game losing streak with an 8-5 Game 1 win over Saint Benedict on April 13. Since then, Hamline has rattled off seven straight wins. … With their 11-2 win in the opener against Carleton Thursday, the Pipers have now scored 10 or more runs six times this season — including a season-high 14 runs three times. HU beat Bowdoin 14-8 on March 23, dropped Kalamazoo 14-3 on March 24 and bounced Augsburg 14-8 in the first game of their conference doubleheader on April 19. … Kelsey Tacheny and Lauren Clouston each went 2-for-3 in the opener vs. Carleton Thursday, while Heidi Larsen and Laura Randall both collected two hits in the nightcap. … Seven different players had RBIs vs. HU in Game 1 vs. Carleton Thursday. … Hamline enters Saturday's DH at Saint Mary's hitting .316 as a team and boasts 11 players hitting .300 or better. … Bethany Hine leads the way for the Pipers, hitting .360, while also boasting team highs in at-bats (89), runs (25), hits (32) and triples (2). … Larsen owns the team lead in home runs with four, while Randall and Erin Farley have each belted three. … Randall also leads the team in RBIs with 27. She is one of seven Pipers with 10 or more RBIs this season. … Kelsey Tacheny, who picked up her 12th and 13th complete games of the season vs. Carleton Thursday, heads into the SMU DH with a 10-5 record and a 4.27 ERA. She has thrown 105.1 innings and has struck out 44 batters. … The Pipers are a perfect 10-0 when leading after the sixth inning, but they have won just once (1-10) when tied, or trailing, heading into the seventh inning. … Hamline has had two games called due to darkness — falling to Bethel in six innings 11-8 on April 5, while their second game against Gustavus two days later was suspended with the score tied 7-7 after seven innings. The Pipers' Game 2 showdown with Augsburg on April 19, meanwhile, was suspended due to darkness with Augsburg leading 11-10 after five innings.