WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University fastpitch softball team is back in action on Saturday, hosting Bethel in a Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference doubleheader at the SMU Field. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m.



The Matchup:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (1-1 MIAC | 7-5 Overall)
vs. Bethel Royals (0-2 MIAC | 6-12 Overall)

GameDay Live On The Web:
Live Stats | GameDay Program

Last Action:
The Cardinals opened Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play with a split on Wednesday, as Augsburg handed SMU a 6-2 setback in Game 1, while SMU bounced back with a 7-5 win in the nightcap at the SMU Field. … Bethel, meanwhile, dropped both games of its conference-opening doubleheader Wednesday, falling to Gustavus 13-3 and 9-0 in Arden Hills, Minn.

SMU vs. Bethel — Their Last Meeting:
April 9, 2012: Bethel scored three runs in the third inning en route to a 4-1 victory in the opener, then scored three runs in the fourth — erasing a 2-0 SMU lead — and completed the sweep with a 7-4 victory in the nightcap in Arden Hills, Minn.

Up Next:
The Cardinals hit the road on Tuesday, traveling to Hamline for an MIAC doubleheader beginning at 3:30 p.m. … Bethel, meanwhile, returns home on Tuesday, hosting St. Thomas in a 3:30 p.m. conference twinbill in Arden Hills, Minn.

Saint Mary's Cardinals News and Notes:
2012 Roster | 2012 Statistics | 2012 Schedule | 2012 Media Guide
With their 7-5 victory in Game 2 vs. Augsburg Wednesday, the Cardinals have now won three of their last four and five of their last seven. … Michelle Carne (Escanaba, Mich.) accounted for two of SMU's six Game 1 hits vs. the Auggies Wednesday, while Alex Raske (Chicago, Ill.), Paige Carter (Rosemount, Minn.), and Kristen Thelen (Rochester, Minn.) all had two hits in the 7-5 Game 2 win. … Nicole Olson (New Brighton, Minn.) drove in both Cardinal runs in their 6-2 to the Auggies with a second-inning home run — the first of her collegiate career. … Olson (.500) and Carter (.415) enter Saturday's DH against Bethel leading the team in batting average. The duo are two of six SMU players hitting above .300 — Raske (.405), Hailey Ohl (Bloomington, Minn. / .390), Thelen (.379) and Anna Ramboldt (Goodhue, Minn. / .341) are the other four. … Carter and Raske share the team lead with 17 hits each, while Raske has also scored a team-best 13 runs, one more than Ohl. … Carter owns the team lead in doubles (5), triples (1) and RBIs (13). … The Cardinals have stolen three bases in three attempts through 12 games, led by Ohl with two. … Erin Stenseth (Eau Claire, Wis.) is riding a five-game hitting streak, while Olson has hit safely in four straight games. … Carter and Raske have both compiled six multiple-hit games, while Carter also owns the team lead in multiple-RBI contests with five. … Along with her performance at the plate, Carter also picked up her first pitching win of the season in Game 2 against Augsburg Wednesday, scattering three hits in 1 2/3 innings of relief. … Kayla Peterson (Lewiston, Minn.) has been the workhorse on the mound for the Cardinals, throwing 70.0 of the team's 78.2 innings. … Peterson is 6-5 with a 5.53 ERA, tossing six complete games and one shutout. She has also struck out 25 batters. … SMU has outscored its opponents 68-61 — including a 24-15 edge through the game's first two innings. … The Cardinals scored a season-high 12 runs in a 12-3, Game 1 win over Lebanon Valley on March 6. … SMU is 3-0 in one-run games this season. … The Cardinals are a perfect 4-0 when outhitting their opponent. … 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. … SMU's 7-6 victory over Emerson on March 9 was the 100th career collegiate coaching win for Cardinal coach Jen Miller.

Bethel Royals News and Notes:
2012 Roster | 2012 Statistics | 2012 Schedule
With their two losses in their conference opener against Gustavus on Wednesday, the Royals have now lost three straight, five of their last six and eight of their last 10. … Gustavus' 13 runs in its 13-3 Game 1 win marked the sixth time this season Bethel has surrendered 10 or more runs. The Royals gave up a season-high 21 runs in a 21-14 loss to Indiana Tech on March 23. … Rachel Gilbert enters Saturday's showdown with Saint Mary's as the Royals' offensive leader, boasting team highs in batting average (.446), at-bats (56), runs (15), hits (25), doubles (6), home runs (1), RBIs (17), total bases (34) and on-base percentage (.530). … Gilbert has also accounted for a team-high six of Bethel's 23 stolen bases. … The Royals have used five different pitchers this season, with Anja Erlandson and Genna Bock seeing the majority of the action. … Erlandson is 5-5 with a 7.19 ERA and seven complete games in 56.1 innings, while Boc, owns a 1-6 record and a 7.63 ERA in 43.2 IP. … Erlandson has struck out a team-leading 46 batters, with Bock chipping in 27 strikeouts. … Bethel has been outscored in all seven innings, including 34-18 in the first, 29-9 in the fifth and 32-15 in the sixth. … Bethel is 4-1 when scoring the game's first run, but the Royals are 2-11 when their opponent scores first.