ROCHESTER, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University fastpitch softball team kicks off its season on Saturday, traveling to the Rochester Regional Stadium & Bubble for a pair of nonconference games against Cornell (Iowa). First pitch is set for 10 a.m.



The Matchup:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (2012: 0-0 Overall | 2011: 23-16 Overall)
vs. Cornell Rams (2012: 0-0 Overall | 2011: 25-14 Overall)

Last Action:
Today's nonconference doubleheader at the UW-La Crosse Softball Invitational Saturday is the season opener for both the Cardinals and the Rams.

SMU vs. Cornell — Their Last Meeting:
March 26, 2005: Jenny Schipp scattered six hits and struck out seven, while the SMU defense was flawless — playing errorless ball for the second time this season — as the Cardinals blanked Cornell 3-0 at the Sun West Tournament in Orange, Calif.

Up Next:
The Cardinals are off until March 6, when they square off against Lebanon Valley College for the first two of SMU's eight spring trip games in Clermont, Fla. … Cornell, meanwhile, is right back in action on Sunday, square off against UW-River Falls (10:30 a.m.) and Concordia (Wis.) (2:30) in Rochester, Minn.

Saint Mary's Cardinals News and Notes:
2012 Roster | 2012 Schedule | 2011 Statistics | 2012 Media Guide
With their 23 wins in 2011, the Cardinals eclipsed the 20-win barrier for the first time since 2007, when SMU finished 24-14. … SMU closed out the regular-season winning 10 of their last 12 conference games to lock up their first conference tournament appearance since 2007. … There was no sophomore slump for SMU's Paige Carter (Rosemount, Minn.) in 2011, as she boasted team-highs in batting average (.413), hits (52), doubles (14), RBIs (35) and total bases (78). … Carter — a First-Team All-MIAC and Third-Team All-Midwest Region selection a year ago — was one of seven Cardinals to finish the season hitting .300 or higher. … Katy Gannon closed out an illustrious collegiate career in memorable fashion, belting two home runs — her team-leading eighth and ninth of the season — in SMU's season-ending MIAC Tournament loss to Gustavus on May 7. … Gannon's nine home runs ranked second to Jill Hocking's single-season record 13 hit in 2000, while her 21 career home runs are also second to Hocking's record 26. … Gannon started every game of her four-year collegiate career, a span of 155 straight games — all at shortstop. … With Gannon leading the way, the Cardinals hit a single-season school-record 27 round-trippers in 2011 — including nine in their last five games. … Kellie Simons, Mallory Betzold and Joanna Mangan — all seniors a year ago — hit home runs in their final collegiate home games vs. Carleton on May 3. Mangan's three-run HR in Game 2 was the first of her collegiate career. … SMU's four Game 1 home runs vs. Carleton on May 4 were the most in one game since 2005, when the Cardinals belted four against both Pacific University and St. Olaf. … SMU finished the season with eight players with 10 or more RBIs and nine who scored 10 or more runs. … Betzold, who finished second to Carter with a .368 batting average, was also the team's top pitcher, throwing 130.1 innings, while compiling a 3.01 ERA and a 14-8 record. … Betzold's 14 pitching wins were a career high. … Betzold also fanned a team-leading 76 batters, while tossing nine complete games. … Betzold walked just 12 batters in her 130 innings of work — including just two in her last 60 innings — spanning 14 games. … Kayla Peterson (Lewiston, Minn.) and Angie Bates (Roselle, Ill.) each earned their first collegiate pitching wins in 2011, while Peterson finished the year 6-3 with a 3.34 ERA and Bats was 3-5 with a 4.28 ERA. … SMU scored a season-high 14 runs twice — beating Concordia 14-1 on April 17 and Carleton 14-4 on May 3. … 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. … With their eight-inning Game 1 win vs. St. Catherine on April 29, the Cardinals finished 4-0 in extra-inning games last season. … 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 vs. Augsburg on April 13 was their longest game since April 27, 2006, when UW-La Crosse outlasted SMU 3-2 in 11 innings. … The Cardinals won eight games by the eight-run rule a year ago. …  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. … The Cardinals outscored their opponents 41-17 in the first inning. … SMU scored first in 18 of its 22 wins. … The Cardinals were 10-1 when leading after the sixth inning. … The Cardinals held their opponents to two runs or less in 16 of their 23 wins.

Cornell Rams News and Notes:
2012 Roster | 2012 Schedule | 2011 Statistics
Cornell is coming off a record-setting 2011, in which the Rams compiled a 25-14 record, reached the Iowa Conference Tournament and made their program's debut in the regional rankings. … Cornell will be youthful in 2012, boasting 16 freshmen or sophomores among its 21-player roster. … Cornell opens its season with 22 straight road games, while the Rams' scheduled 10 home games will be played in a two-week span from April 10-24. … Pitcher Jill Trzaska is coming off a solid 10-5 campaign in which opponents batted a school-record low .216 against her. …  Trzaska sported a 3.18 earned run average with 73 strikeouts in 79.1 innings pitched. Trzaska led the Rams to their first-ever IIAC Tournament win last spring with a complete-game effort over Loras. … Fellow pitcher Amanda Engel, meanwhile, finished 5-6 with a 2.90 ERA in 70 innings as a freshman. She posted 45 strikeouts to 22 walks. Engel tossed a two-hitter against nationally-ranked Coe in an IIAC Tournament loss. … Jackie Sernek went 7-2 on the mound with a team-low 1.76 ERA in 75.2 innings. She fanned 63 batters while walking 28. … The Rams return three regular position players in shortstop Rebekah Ozga, second baseman Rachel Aubry and outfielder Chrissy Rasor. … Ozga scored a school-record 40 runs last spring, while batting .333 with 43 hits, five home runs, 30 RBIs and a .504 slugging percentage. … Aubry had 14 runs scored, and like Ozga, started every game in the middle infield. … Rasor hit .361 with 14 RBIs and a .459 slugging percentage. … Cornell has several big bats to replace in the lineup, most notably Second Team All-American Carly Goolsby (.424 BA, 53 hits, 30 runs) and First Team All-IIAC selection Nicole Duncan (.357 BA, 32 RBIs, 32 runs), who graduated with 10 career school records.