CLERMONT, Fla. — The Saint Mary's University fastpitch softball team heads south for its spring break from March 6-10, as the Cardinals get set to play eight games in a five-day stretch beginning with a doubleheader against Lebanon Valley at 9 a.m. on March 6.



The Cardinals' Spring Trip Matchups:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (2012: 0-2 Overall | 2011: 23-16 Overall) vs.
March 6: Lebanon Valley Dutchmen (2012: 0-0 Overall | 2011: 28-9 Overall), 9 a.m.
March 7: The College of New Jersey Lions (2012: 0-0 Overall | 2011: 28-14 Overall), 9 a.m.
March 7: Muhlenberg Mules (2012: 0-0 Overall | 2011: 25-17 Overall), 1 p.m.
March 9: Emerson Lions (2012: 0-0 Overall | 2011: 26-12 Overall), 1 p.m.
March 9: Bellevue Bruins (2012: 0-0 Overall | 2011: 32-19 Overall), 3 p.m.
March 10: Bethany Bison (2012: 0-0 Overall | 2011: 29-16 Overall), 9:30 a.m.
March 10: Elizabethtown Blue Jays (2012: 0-0 Overall | 2011: 19-18 Overall), 11 a.m.

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Last Action:
The Cardinals kicked off their season last Saturday, squaring off against Cornell (Iowa) in a pair of nonconference games at the Rochester Bubble in Rochester, Minn. The Rams handed SMU a pair of setbacks, using eight home runs to beat the Cardinals 9-6 and 13-10. … The spring games in Clermont, Fla., will be the season opener for all of the Cardinals' opponents.

Cardinals vs. Spring Trip Field — Their Last Meeting:
SMU and the College of New Jersey squared off in their only meeting in program history during the Cardinals' run to the 2000 NCAA Division III national championship. The Cardinals, with current head coach Jen Miller leading the way as SMU's starting catcher, cruised to a 7-0 victory over the Lions. … SMU has not faced any of its other spring trip opponents before.

Cardinals Up Next:
The Cardinals kick off Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on March 28, as SMU hosts Augsburg in a 3:30 p.m. conference doubleheader at the SMU Field.

Saint Mary's Cardinals News and Notes:
2012 Roster | 2012 Schedule | 2012 Statistics | 2012 Media Guide
Alex Raske (Chicago, Ill.) kicked off her collegiate career in stellar fashion, going 5-for-8 with three runs scored in her first two games in a Cardinal uniform against Cornell on Feb. 25. … Kristen Thelen (Rochester, Minn.) and Paige Carter (Rosemount, Minn.) each chipped in four hits, while Carter also drove in a pair of runs vs. Cornell. … Haley Ohl (Bloomington, Minn.) drove in a team-best three runs against the Rams on Feb. 25, while Thelen, Carter, Mel Hamilton (Homewood, Ill.) and Sam Borawski (Stickney, Ill.) all had a double. … 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 its last 12 conference games to lock up their first conference tournament appearance since 2007. … Carter boasted team-highs in batting average (.413), hits (52), doubles (14), RBIs (35) and total bases (78) a year ago. … Carter — a First-Team All-MIAC and Third-Team All-Midwest Region selection a year ago — was one of seven Cardinals to finish the 2011 season hitting .300 or higher. … Katy Gannon's nine home runs in her senior season in 2011 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. … 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. … SMU finished the season with eight players with 10 or more RBIs and nine who scored 10 or more runs. … 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.

Lebanon Valley Dutchmen News and Notes:
2012 Roster | 2012 Schedule | 2011 Statistics
Lebanon Valley is coming off a 29-9 season a year ago, reaching the Commonwealth Conference post-season tournament after going 11-3 in conference play. … The Dutchmen were picked to finish second in the Commonwealth Conference in the preseason coaches' poll. … The Dutchmen beat Lycoming (1-0) in their first of three games during the 2011 CC post-season tournament, before falling to Messiah (2-0) and Arcadia (2-1) in the double-elimination tournament. No team scored more than two runs in any of the three games. … Lebanon Valley made several appearances in the final 2011 NCAA Division III national rankings — most notably, the Dutchmen finished first in the nation in fielding percentage, tying with Salisbury University for the top spot at .975. The team also finished ninth in earned run average (1.46), while pitcher Laura Snyder ranked ninth in hits allowed per seven innings (3.14), 15th in ERA (1.32), and 17th in strikeouts per seven innings (6.66). … Meghan Donoghue led the team in batting average at .385. She was one of six Dutchmen to hit above .300. … Kristen Palmerio owned a team-best 42 hits, while Katie Deardorff scored a team-high 28 runs. … As a team, the Dutchmen hit 17 home runs and drove in 158 runs. Donoghue and Allison Hartman led the team with four home runs, while Palmerio was one of four LV players with 20 or more RBIs, driving in a team-high 25 runs. … Lebanon Valley was a perfect 14-0 at home a year ago.

The College of New Jersey Lions News and Notes:
2012 Roster | 2012 Schedule | 2011 Statistics
TCNJ went 28-14 last season and lost in the conference finals. The Lions are picked to finish second in the NJAC preseason poll. … Senior pitcher Lauren Fitzsimmons boasts a 38-9 career record, including a 17-1 mark in 2010 and will once again anchor the staff. Fitzsimmons led the team with 12 victories last season. … Fitzsimmons will be joined on the mound by sophomore Alex Carisone, who was named All-NJAC Second Team in 2011, after collecting nine wins in her first collegiate season. … Senior Crystal Lee is a three-time All-NJAC honoree and in 2011 led the NJAC in both triples (6) and stolen bases (33). She also scored 35 runs and drove in 35. … Junior Liz Huttner returns after starting all 42 games and landing All-NJAC Second Team honors last season. … Huttner finished with a team-leading .358 batting average last season, while Lee was close behind at .350. … Kelly Hommen hits for both average and power for the Lions, as she hit .341 with 16 doubles and 29 RBIs in 2011. … Michelle Kent has started 143 games behind the plate during her career. She ranks among the best defensive catchers, boasting a fielding percentage of .991 last spring, which tied her for 15th among all players in the NJAC. … TCNJ coach Sally Miller enters the season nine wins shy of earning her 450th career win. She embarks on her 17th season at the helm of TCNJ's program and has recorded at least 20 victories in 15 of her first 16 seasons.

Muhlenberg Mules News and Notes:
2012 Roster | 2012 Schedule | 2011 Statistics
Muhlenberg is coming off a 25-17 season a year ago, that included winning the Centennial Conference Tournament title and a berth in the NCAA Division III national tournament. … The NCAA appearance was the ninth in program history. … Muhlenberg finished one win shy of the school record and shattered the school records for runs (249, old record 205), doubles (74, old record 48), home runs (18, old record 12) and extra-base hits (97, old record 67). … The Mules also posted the second-highest fielding percentage in school history (.965) and turned 13 double plays and a triple play. … Muhlenberg will be without the services of graduated senior Ashley Brewer, who ended as the Mules' career leader in RBIs (93) and home runs (13). She also ranks second all-time in extra-base hits (47), slugging percentage (.575) and total bases (238), and third in hits (157), runs (92) and steals (42). … Brewer also boasted a team-best 2.61 ERA and a 13-8 record in 21 pitching starts. … Also gone from last year's NCAA team is pitcher Alyssa Bruckner, who went 6-3 with a save. … As a team, Muhlenberg scored 10 or more runs 10 times in 2011.

Emerson Lions News and Notes:
2012 Roster | 2012 Schedule | 2011 Statistics
The Lions are coming off a 26-12 season in 2011 that included a 22-2 run through the Great Northeast Athletic Conference that earned Emerson the regular-season conference crown and the No. 1 seed in the GNAC Tournament. … Emerson opens 2012 minus graduated senior Kelsey Tuthill, who was named First-Team All-GNAC, as well as GNAC Pitcher of the Year. Tuthill compiled a 10-1 conference record with eight complete games.  Emerson pitched in five shutouts, compiled a conference ERA of 1.56, while striking out 88 and walking just 18. … Lynn Herman returns after an all-conference junior season in which she hit .456 against GNAC foes, leading the Lions with six home runs and driving in 25 runs.

Bellevue Bruins News and Notes:
2012 Roster | 2012 Schedule | 2011 Statistics
The Bruins return seven starters and 10 letterwinners from last season's 32-19 squad that captured the MCAC regular season (12-0) and tournament titles for the second-straight season. … Bellevue also advanced to the NAIA National Championships for the second-consecutive year and fifth time in program history. … Bellevue has won 35-straight regular season conference games dating back to the 2008 season. … The Bruins were finished to finish second in the MCAC preseason coaches' poll. … Headlining the list of BU returners is Amanda Neumann, who split time on the mound and at third base last season. Neumann earned 2011 MCAC Pitcher and Player of the Year honors and was named to the NFCA Southwest All-Region team. She led the conference in wins (23), ERA (2.83), strikeouts (240), batting average (.409), and home runs (15). … Neumann set the Bellevue single-season record with 240 strikeouts. … Kat Wardian was named the 2011 MCAC Newcomer of the Year after batting .368 with 15 home runs and eight doubles. … Brooke Ellis is a two-time first team All-MCAC selection. She batted .319 in 2011 with 10 home runs and eight doubles. … Other all-conference returnees for the Bruins include Kim Wees (2nd team), Melissa Ackley (1st team), and Malloy (2nd team). … As a team, the Bruins stole 48 bases a year ago, led by Jessica Guyle with 23. … Bellevue collected 19 of its 32 wins last season on their home field.

Bethany Bison News and Notes:
2012 Roster | 2012 Schedule | 2011 Statistics
The Bison are coming off a 29-16 season in 2011 that included their 13th Presidents Athletic Conference title and their sixth NCAA Division III regional tournament appearance. … Andrea Thomas was selected as the PAC Player of the Year and head coach Jan Forsty was tabbed as the Coach of the a year ago. … In addition to Forsty and Thomas being honored, Chelsea Butler, Emily Jump and Maria Vallone earned First Team All-PAC accolades. … After winning a school-record 35 games in 2010, BC added 29 wins in 2011, marking the best two-year performance in program history. … Forsty enters 2012 with 635 career coaching victories, including 555 while at Bethany. … Vallone and Thomas closed out the 2011 season as the Bison's offensive leaders. Vallone owned a team-best .458 batting average, while also leading the team in runs (34) and hits (65). Thomas, meanwhile, hit .439 with 61 hits and 30 runs scored in her senior season as a Bison. She also belted a team-leading four home runs and posted a team-best 36 RBIs. … Jump and Cortney Newland shared the pitching duties a year ago, with Jump compiling a 3.15 ERA  and a 17-7 record in 162.0 IP, while Newland owned a 3.32 ERA and a 12-8 mark in 128.2 IP. … Jump also fanned a team-best 96 batters.

Elizabethtown Blue Jays News and Notes:
2012 Roster | 2012 Schedule | 2011 Statistics
The Blue Jays are an experienced bunch in 2012, losing just two players from last year's 19-18 squad. … The Blue Jays were picked seventh in the Commonwealth Conference preseason coaches' poll. … Elizabethtown is coming off back-to-back winning seasons for the first time since 2002-03 and has the opportunity to go for three straight winning seasons for the first time since the mid 1990s. … Julie Sebastian, the team's only senior, will provide its greatest strength in the circle after winning 11 games and compiling a 2.43 ERA in 2011. Sebastian struck out 84 opposing hitters and threw nearly 150 innings on a team that featured just two pitchers. … Sebastian is also a prime piece of the Blue Jays' offense. She had nine extra base hits, including four home runs, and 28 runs batted in last season. The Broomall native hit .291 for the season in 110 plate appearances. … Courtney Comstock and Elly McCarthy return after First-Team All-CC and NFCA All-East Region seasons a year ago. … Comstock was behind the plate for every Elizabethtown game in 2011, hitting .328 and scoring a team-leading 41 runs. She also threw out 11 base runners trying to steal. … McCarthy led the team in batting average (.373), home runs (6) and RBIs (35). Her 41 hits, 17 extra-base hits and .645 slugging percentage were also team highs.