WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University fastpitch softball team kicks off its Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference schedule Wednesday, hosting Augsburg in a 3:30 p.m. doubleheader at the SMU Field.



The Matchup:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (0-0 MIAC | 6-4 Overall)
vs. Augsburg Auggies (0-0 MIAC | 7-11 Overall)

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Last Action:
The Cardinals have been off since March 10, when they concluded their spring trip to Clermont, Fla., with a 5-1 win over Bethany College and a 5-4, nine-inning victory over Elizabethtown. … Augsburg, meanwhile, is coming off a 5-11 showing during their spring trip to Tucson, Ariz., and a 5-2, 9-0 nonconference sweep of Northwestern Tuesday in St. Paul, Minn.

SMU vs. Augsburg — Their Last Meeting:
April 13, 2011: Erin Stenseth (Eau Claire, Wis.) delivered a two-out, two-run home run to lift SMU to a 4-2, extra-inning victory over the Auggies in the first game of their conference doubleheader in Minneapolis, Minn. And the Cardinals were at their late-inning best again in Game 2 — scoring once in the top of the seventh to tie the game at 3-3, getting their second extra-inning home run in as many games on Mallory Betzold (Farmington, Minn.) ninth-inning solo round-tripper, and, finally, getting a two-out, RBI single from Hailey Ohl (Bloomington, Minn.) in the top of the 10th to lift SMU to a 5-4 win and a key conference sweep.

Up Next:
The Cardinals are back in action — and back at home — on Saturday, as SMU hosts Bethel in a 1 p.m. conference doubleheader at the SMU Field. … Augsburg, meanwhile, kicks off its 2012 home schedule on Saturday, hosting St. Thomas in a 1 p.m. MIAC doubleheader.

Saint Mary's Cardinals News and Notes:
2012 Roster | 2012 Statistics | 2012 Schedule | 2012 Media Guide
After playing their first 10 games on the road, Wednesday's DH vs. Augsburg is the home opener for the Cardinals, who play three of their next four doubleheaders at SMU Field. … SMU's 7-6 victory over Emerson on March 9 was the 100th career collegiate coaching win for Cardinal coach Jen Miller. … The Cardinals boasted five players hitting above .300 during their eight-game spring trip — led by Hailey Ohl (Bloomington, Minn.), who hit a .423. … Paige Carter (Rosemount, Minn. / .407), Alex Raske (Chicago, Ill. / .357), Anna Ramboldt (Goodhue, Minn. / .345) and Mel Hamilton ( / .300) are the others. … Ohl and Carter each had 11 spring-trip hits, while Raske and Ramboldt were close behind with 10 each. … Kayla Peterson (Lewiston, Minn.) pitched 47.1 of the team's 51.2 innings during their eight games in Florida, compiling a 3.42 ERA, while walking 16 and striking out 15. … Carter enters Wednesday's conference-opener against Augsburg with a team-leading .429 batting average, while Raske is hitting .317 and Ohl is at .400. … Carter and Raske have each collected 15 hits in SMU's 10 games, one better than Ohl and two more than Ramboldt. … Carter also leads the team in doubles (5) and RBIs (11), while also carrying a team-best .571 slugging percentage and a .459 on-base percentage. … SMU boasts three players — Ohl, Raske and Carter — who have five multiple-hit games, while Carter owns a team-best four multiple-RBI games. … Kristen Thelen (Rochester, Minn.) had her team-best six-game hitting streak snapped against Elizabethtown on March 10. Carter enters Wednesday's DH vs. Augsburg on a five-game hit streak. … Peterson has been the workhorse on the mound for the Cardinals, throwing 57.2 of the team's 64.2 innings. She is 6-4 with a 5.15 ERA, has tossed five complete games and has fanned 19 batters. … The Cardinals have used eight different starting lineups in their first 10 games. … SMU has outscored its opponents 19-5 from the sixth inning on. … The Cardinals are 3-0 in one-run games. … SMU's 7-6, nine-inning win over Elizabethtown on March 10 was the Cardinals' longest game since beating Augsburg 5-4 in 10 innings of the second game of their MIAC doubleheader on April 13.

Augsburg Auggies News and Notes:
2012 Roster | 2012 Statistics | 2012 Schedule
The Auggies' 8-1 win over North Central on March 21 snapped their season-high five-game losing streak. … During that five-game slide, Augsburg scored seven or more runs three times — but surrendered a combined 34 runs in those three games. … Ten of Augsburg's 11 losses have come during a pair of five-game losing streaks. … With their sweep of Northwestern Tuesday, Augsburg has now won four of its last five games. … Bri Dorale enters Wednesday's conference-opener against Saint Mary's as the team's offensive leader, boasting team-highs in batting average (.426), at-bats (54), runs (16), hits (23) and triples (2). … Dorale is one of four Auggies to come out of Augsburg's spring trip hitting .300 or better. Lindsay Helbach (.425), Allyson Rueder (.375) and Kaylee Persing (.306) are the other three. … Helbach and Ruedy both boast slugging percentages over .700 — Ruedy is at .729 and Helbach is at .725. … The Auggies have hit 13 home runs this season — led by Ruedy with five, and Helbach and Persing with three each. … Dorale has collected six multiple-hit games — including three, third-hit performances — while Helbach owns four multiple-RBI games. … Dorale has also put together an 11-game hitting streak this season, a streak that was snapped with an 0-for-2 showing against Whitworth in the Auggies' final spring trip game on March 22. … Augsburg has used four different pitchers this season, with Persing and Eaton carrying the brunt of the pitching load. Persing is 4-5 with an 8.31 ERA in 52.0 innings pitched, while Eaton is 0-4 with a 4.68 ERA in 32.2 IP. … Person also boasts a team-leading 30 strikeouts. … Augsburg has scored 36 of its 68 runs in the first two innings. The Auggies have plated just 32 runs after the second inning. … Augsburg is 2-1 in both one-run and two-run games. … The Auggies 9-0, five-inning Game 2 win over Northwestern was their first shutout win of the season.