NORTHFIELD, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University fastpitch softball team hits the road for a busy weekend, traveling to Carleton for a 1 p.m. conference doubleheader on Saturday, before heading to St. Joseph, Minn., for a 1 p.m. MIAC twinbill at Saint Benedict on Sunday.



The Matchups:
Saturday, April 14 | Northfield, Minn. | 1 p.m.
SMU Cardinals (6-4 MIAC | 12-10) at Carleton Knights (4-6 MIAC, 5-20)
Sunday, April 15 | St. Joseph, Minn. | 1 p.m.
SMU Cardinals (6-4 MIAC | 12-10) at Saint Benedict (7-3 MIAC | 15-7)

GameDay Live On The Web:
Live Stats (Carleton DH Only)

Last Action:
The Cardinals dropped a pair of nonconference home games on Thursday, as SMU fell to fourth-ranked Luther 8-7 and 16-5 in Winona, Minn. … Carleton and Saint Benedict, meanwhile, squared off on Wednesday in Northfield, Minn., with the Blazers winning the opener 3-2 and the Knights earning the split with a 4-3, eight-inning triumph in the nightcap.

SMU vs. Carleton — Their Last Meeting:
May 3, 2011: SMU belted four home runs in cruising to a 14-4, five-inning win in the opener of the Cardinals conference doubleheader against Carleton in Winona, Minn. And it was more of the same in the nightcap, as the Cardinals continued feasting on Knight pitching, belting two more home runs en route to their second straight five-inning victory, an 11-1 win, and a sweep of Carleton.

SMU vs. Saint Benedict — Their Last Meeting:
April 2, 2011: Mallory Betzold tossed a complete-game seven-hitter, striking out seven, as SMU opened with a 3-2 victory, while CSB took advantage of an error and a strikeout-passed ball to score three seventh-inning runs and beat the Cardinals 3-2 in the nightcap in Winona, Minn.

Up Next:
The Cardinals return home on Tuesday, hosting St. Olaf in a 3:30 p.m. Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference doubleheader at the SMU Field. … Carleton takes to the road on Tuesday, heading to St. Paul, Minn., for a 3:30 p.m. twinbill against 22nd-ranked St. Thomas. … Saint Benedict plays its second straight home conference DH on Tuesday, entertaining Hamline in a 3:30 p.m. showdown in St. Joseph, Minn.

Saint Mary's Cardinals News and Notes:
2012 Roster | 2012 Statistics | 2012 Schedule | 2012 Media Guide
With back-to-back doubleheaders against Carleton and Saint Benedict this weekend, SMU will have played eight games in a five-day span. Add to that four doubleheaders next week, and SMU is in the midst of 12-day stretch in which the Cardinals will play 16 games. … Thursday's games against fourth-ranked Luther was the second straight doubleheader against a nationally ranked team. St. Thomas, which swept SMU in conference play on Wednesday, is currently ranked No. 22 in the latest NFCA Top 25. … SMU and Saint Benedict enter Sunday's showdown having played six straight one-run games. Both teams won 3-2 in 2009, the Blazers won a pair of eight-inning games, 3-2 and 7-6, in 2010, and it was another 3-2, 3-2 split a year ago. … SMU's 8-5 loss in the opener to St. Thomas Wednesday snapped the Cardinals' four-game winning streak. … Wednesday's 8-0 loss to St. Thomas in Game 2 marked the first time SMU has been no-hit since March 29, 2002, when Central-Iowa held the Cardinals hitless in a 2-0 Dutch win. … Alex Raske (Chicago, Ill.) went 4-for-4 — including a double and a home run — with three RBIs and two runs scored in SMU's 8-7 loss to Luther in the opener Thursday. … Raske has now gone 13-for-19 with three home runs and 11 RBIs in her last five Game 1. … Paige Carter (Rosemount, Minn.) also had two hits in Game 1 vs. Luther, while Cater, Anna Ramboldt (Goodhue, Minn.) and Hailey Ohl (Bloomington, Minn.) accounted for SMU's three hits — all singles — in the nightcap. … Raske enters this weekend against Carleton and Saint Benedict hitting a team-best .446. She is one of two Cardinals hitting above .400, and one of seven batting over .300. … Raske also leads or shares the team lead in at-bats (74), runs (28), hits (33), home runs (3), total bases (49) and slugging percentage (.662). … Carter, who is hitting .411, owns a team-leading 21 RBIs and is second to Raske in hits (30) and doubles (6). … As a team, SMU has five players with 10 or more RBIs. … Nicole Olson (New Brighton, Minn.) drew a Game 1 walk vs. Luther to become the last Cardinal regular to draw a walk this season. … Carter's 2-for-4 performance in Game 1 vs. Luther Thursday was her team-leading 11th multiple-hit game of the season. … Carter also leads the team with seven multiple-RBI games. … The Cardinals have hit six home runs in their last 12 games — with three being collegiate firsts. Along with Raske, Melanie Hamilton (Homewood, Ill.) and Olson have also belted their first home runs as a Cardinal this season. … Kayla Peterson (Lewiston, Minn.) has been the workhorse on the mound for the Cardinals, throwing 113.2 of the team's 138.2 innings. … Peterson is 10-7 with a 5.38 ERA, tossing nine complete games and two shutouts. She has also struck out 39 batters. … SMU has outscored its opponents 135-120 — including a 48-29 edge through the game's first two innings. … Three of SMU's last four wins have ended in five innings by the eight-run rule — routing Hamline 9-1 and 9-0 on April 3, and blanking Concordia 8-0 in Game 2 on April 5. … 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 and the Cardinals are unbeaten (7-0) when holding their opponent to two runs or less. … The Cardinals are 9-1 when outhitting their opponent — their only blemish a 9-5 Game 2 loss to Bethel on March 31. … 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.

Carleton Knights News and Notes:
2012 Roster | 2012 Statistics | 2012 Schedule
Wednesday's Game 2 win over Saint Benedict snapped the Knights' two-game losing streak. … Carleton has now split its last three doubleheaders and four of its last five. … Three of Carleton's five wins — Saint Benedict (4-3), Augsburg (2-1) and Buena Vista (8-7) — have been by one run. … Carleton's 4-3, eight-inning win over Saint Benedict Wednesday was the Knights' first extra-inning game of the season. … Saturday's doubleheader against Saint Mary's is the third straight home DH for the Knights, who opened the season with 21 straight road games. … Kaitlin Bagley and Michaela LaRose each had two hits to pace Carleton in the opener vs. Saint Benedict Wednesday, while Katrina Harper and Chelsea Yost fueled the Knights' Game 2 attack, with Harper going 3-for-4 and Yost 2-for-2. … Yost enters Saturday's game against Saint Mary's hitting a team-best .356, percentage points higher than LaRose (.350) and Bagley (.348). … Yost also leads the team in hits (26), home runs (2) and RBIs (13). … Jenny Ramey, who is hitting .321, is the team-leader in at-bats (78), runs (20), doubles (6), triples (3), total bases (40), and stolen bases (12). … Carleton has used five different pitchers this season, led by Claire Willeck, who is 1-6 with a 4.12 ERA in 37.1 innings. … LaRose and Jenny Forster have each made 15 pitching appearances, with LaRose going 1-6 with a 6.35 ERA in 46.1 innings, while Forster is 2-3 with a 6.74 ERA in 27 innings. … Willeck and LaRose share the team lead in strikeouts with 20 each. … Carleton has surrendered six or more runs in 15 of its 20 losses this season. … The Knights are 1-10 when their opponent scores first and 0-13 when their opponent scores in the first inning. … The Knights have struggled in the fourth and fifth innings, being outscored 44-9 in those two innings combined.

Saint Benedict Blazers News and Notes:
2012 Roster | 2012 Statistics | 2012 Schedule
Saturday's doubleheader against Concordia is the second straight road twinbill for the Blazers, who have played three of its first five conference doubleheaders at home. … Wednesday's Game 2 loss at Carleton snapped the Blazers' three-game winning streak. … CSB enters this weekend's games against Concordia and Saint Mary's having won 11 of its last 14 games. …  Eleven of the Blazers' first 22 games have been decided by one run. … Lexi Alm entered the weekend's DHs against Concordia and Saint Mary's boasting a team-leading .453 batting average. She and Mackenzie Wenner (.319) are the only two Blazers hitting above .300 this season. … Alm also leads the team in at-bats (75), runs (22), hits (34), triples (3), home runs (7), RBIs (19), total bases (65) and slugging percentage (.867). … Alm and Wenner have accounted for all of the team's nine home runs, with Alm belting seven and Wenner two. … Rachel Nelson and Trisha Johnson have shared the pitching duties this season, with Nelson owning a 10-3 record and a 0.88 ERA in 88 innings, while Johnson is 4-4 with a 3.41 ERA in 67.2 innings. … Nelson has tossed 10 complete games — including three shutouts — and has struck out 66 batters. Johnson has thrown eight complete games — with two shutouts — and owns 40 strikeouts.