ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University fastpitch softball team hits the road on Friday, traveling to St. Catherine for a key MIAC doubleheader against the Wildcats. First pitch is scheduled for 4 p.m.





The Matchup:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (10-6 MIAC | 17-13 Overall) vs.
St. Catherine Wildcats (2-13-1 MIAC | 5-24-1 Overall)

GameDay Live On The Web:
Live Stats (Not available)

Last Action:
The Cardinals came up with a clutch conference sweep of Hamline last Saturday, as SMU beat the Pipers 4-1 and 7-0 at the SMU Field. … St. Catherine, meanwhile, dropped a pairof conference games on Thursday, falling to St. Olaf 6-5 and 10-2 in Northfield, Minn.

Last Meeting — April 28, 2010:
The Cardinals, in dire need of four straight conference wins to close out the season to maintain any hope of reaching the MIAC Tournament, took care of the first two vs. St. Catherine as SMU swept past the Wildcats, winning the opener 3-0, then adding a 7-1 victory in the nightcap at the SMU Field.

Up Next:
The Cardinals close out conference play this weekend, hosting Carleton for a 1 p.m. conference DH on Saturday, before hitting the road for a pair of MIAC games against Gustavus in St. Peter, Minn., on Sunday. … St. Catherine, meanwhile, is also back in conference play on Thursday, heading to Northfield, Minn., for a 4 p.m. doubleheader at St. Olaf.

Saint Mary's Cardinals Around The Horn:
2011 Schedule | 2011 Roster | 2011 Overall Statistics
With their two wins over Hamline last Saturday, the Cardinals improved to 5-1 in their last six MIAC games. … The Cardinals head into their final six MIAC games holding down the third spot in the conference standings. SMU still faces St. Catherine (2-11-1 MIAC), Carleton (5-9) and Gustavus (11-2-1) in its quest for one of the MIAC's four conference tournament berths. … SMU's 10 Game 1 hits vs. Hamline last Saturday came from eight different players. Ironically, SMU's leading hitter, Paige Carter (Rosemount, Minn.) was the only player held hitless in the opener. … Carter made up for it in the nightcap, going 2-for-3 with a double and two RBIs. … With her two hits in Game 2 Saturday, Carter — who has collected hits in 23 of the team's 30 games — has recorded a team-high 13 multiple-hit games this season. The sophomore also leads the team with eight multiple-RBI games. … Carter was one of five players with two hits in Game 2 vs. Hamline — Katy Gannon (Roselle, Ill.), Mallory Betzold (Farmington, Minn.), Nicole Olson (New Brighton, Minn.) and Kellie Simons (Richfield, Minn.) were the other four. … Erin Stenseth (Eau Claire, Wis.) belted her fifth home run of the season in the nightcap vs. Hamline, giving SMU 17 round-trippers for the season. … Carter enters Friday's DH at St. Catherine boasting a team-best .400 batting average — she is one of seven Cardinals hitting .300 or better. … Carter also leads the Cardinals in hits (38), doubles (10), RBIs (30) and total bases (57). … Stenseth leads the team in at-bats (103) and runs (26), while Gannon 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. … Betzold collected her team-leading 12th win of the season in SMU's 4-1 Game 1 win over Hamline. The 12 pitching wins are a single-season career high for the senior left-hander. … Betzold enters Wednesday's DH at St. Catherine 12-6 with a 2.45 ERA. She boasts eight complete games and has thrown 105.2 innings, striking out 62 and walking just 11. … 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 32-10 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 14 of its 17 wins. … The Cardinals are 6-1 when leading after the sixth inning. … The Cardinals have held their opponents to two runs or less in 13 of their 17 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, 2010.

St. Catherine Wildcats Around The Horn:
2011 Schedule | 2011 Roster | 2011 Overall Statistics
The Wildcats' 3-0 Game 1 win over Macalester on April 21 snapped their season-high 18-game winless streak (0-17-1). … With their 3-0, 8-0 sweep of the Scots, St. Catherine has won back-to-back games for the first time since opening the season with 9-1, 15-1 wins over Crown on March 14. … Kayla Bergerson and Courtney Stender each tossed complete-game shutouts vs. Macalester on April 21. Bergerson allowed five hits and struck out three in the opener, while Sender pitched the nightcap, scattering four hits and striking out five. … Jenna Brady and Shae Elliott each collected two hits — with Elliott also driving in a pair of runs — in SCU's Game 1 win vs. the Scots, while Jessica Kniefel led the Wildcats' 13-hit offensive onslaught in the nightcap vs. Macalester, going 4-for-4 and scoring three times. … Alyssa Luedtke enters Friday's DH vs. Saint Mary's as the team's offensive leader, hitting a team-best .418, while also leading the squad in at-bats (79), hits (33), triples (3) and total bases (39). … Kniefel has scored a team-leading 18 runs, while Bergerson has driven in a team-best 14 runs. … Bergerson is one of five Wildcats who have collected 10 or more RBIs this season. … Elliott has hit four of the team's six home runs, with Bergerson accounting for the other two. … Bergerson and Stender have shared the majority of the pitching duties this season. Bergerson has compiled a 2-9 record and a 6.15 ERA in 71.2 innings, while Stender is 2-6 with a 7.49 ERA in 47.2 innings. … Three of the Wildcats' five wins have come at home.