ST. PAUL, Minn. — After back-to-back home doubleheaders, the Saint Mary's University fastpitch softball team hits the road on Tuesday, traveling to Hamline for a 3:30 p.m. conference twinbill against the Pipers.



The Matchup:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (2-2 MIAC | 8-6 Overall)
at Hamline Pipers (0-4 MIAC | 1-15 Overall)

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Last Action:
The Cardinals cruised to a 9-2 win in their opener against Bethel on Saturday, but the Royals used a seven-run seventh inning to beat SMU 9-5 in the nightcap and earn the split in their MIAC doubleheader at the SMU Field. … Hamline, meanwhile, dropped a pair of one-run games in its conference doubleheader against St. Catherine Saturday, as the Wildcats beat HU 6-5 and 4-3 in St. Paul, Minn.

SMU vs. Hamline — Their Last Meeting:
April 23, 2012: The Pipers entered its MIAC twinbill at the SMU Field having won seven straight and tied with SMU in the win column for the fourth and final playoff spot. When the final out was recorded, however, the Cardinals left the Pipers right where they want them — in their rearview mirror — as SMU posted a key conference sweep with wins of 4-1 and 7-0 at the SMU Field.
May 6, 2012: Joanna Mangan went 2-for-3 with two key RBIs to lift the Cardinals to a 7-4 victory over Hamline in their second game of the MIAC tournament at Bethel University's Ona Orth Field.

Up Next:
The Cardinals return home on Thursday, as SMU hosts Concordia in a conference doubleheader at 3:30 p.m. at the SMU Field. … Hamline, meanwhile, is also back in action on Thursday, as the Pipers entertain Gustavus in a 3:30 p.m. MIAC doubleheader in St. Paul, Minn.

Saint Mary's Cardinals News and Notes:
2012 Roster | 2012 Statistics | 2012 Schedule | 2012 Media Guide
With their 9-2 win and 9-5 loss against Bethel on Saturday, the Cardinals have now split their last two doubleheaders, having also split their conference-opening DH against Augsburg — falling 6-2 and winning 7-5 — last Wednesday. … The Cardinals enter Tuesday's showdown with Hamline having won four of their last six and six of their last nine. … Alex Raske (Chicago, Ill.) enjoyed a couple of collegiate firsts against Bethel Saturday, as the freshman notched her first home run as a Cardinal as part of her first collegiate four-hit game. Raske went 4-for-4 with two runs scored and three RBIs in SMU's 7-2 Game 1 win. … Melanie Hamilton (Homewood, Ill.) also belted her first collegiate home run in Game 1 vs. the Royals. … Paige Carter (Rosemount, Minn.) and Nicole Olson (New Brighton, Minn.) were SMU's offense leaders in Game 2 vs. Bethel, each going 3-for-4 with an RBI. … SMU has now hit three home runs in its first 14 games — with all three being collegiate firsts. Along with Raske and Hamilton, Olson belted her first HR as a Cardinal against Augsburg last Wednesday. … Olson enters Tuesday's games vs. Hamline boasting a team-leading .450 batting average. She is one of three Cardinals hitting above .400 — Cater (.438) and Raske (.431) are the other two. … Raske also leads the team in at-bats (51), runs (16) and hits (22), while Carter boasts a team-best five doubles, one triple, 15 RBIs and a .583 slugging percentage. … Olson is the only Cardinal regular to not have been walked this season. … With her four-hit Game 1 performance, Raske moved into a tie with Carter for the team lead in multiple-hit games with seven each, while Carter has also recorded a team-high five multiple-RBI games. … Erin Stenseth (Eau Claire, Wis.) hit safely in both games vs. Bethel Saturday, extending her hitting streak to a team- and season-high seven straight games. … SMU has five players who are currently riding hitting streaks of three or more games. … Kayla Peterson (Lewiston, Minn.) has been the workhorse on the mound for the Cardinals, throwing 81.0 of the team's 92.2 innings. … Peterson is 7-5 with a 4.89 ERA, tossing six complete games and one shutout. She has also struck out 27 batters. … SMU has outscored its opponents 82-72 — including a 28-16 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 5-1 when outhitting their opponent — their only blemish Saturday's 9-5 Game 2 loss to Bethel. … 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.

Hamline Pipers News and Notes:
2012 Roster | 2012 Statistics | 2012 Schedule
Tuesday's games against Saint Mary's are the first of three straight home doubleheaders for the Pipers, who opened their season with 16 consecutive road games. … With their 6-5, 4-3 setbacks at St. Catherine on Saturday, the Pipers' losing streak climbed to 11 straight. HU's lone win this season was a 5-3, Game 2 victory over Whittier on March 15. … Hamline has been held to two runs or less nine times this season and have had five games shortened by the eight-run rule. … Hamline has been outscored 113-38 through its first 16 games — including 28-5 from the fifth inning on. … Bethany Hine went 3-for-4, while Katie Koren, Lauren Clouston and Jackie Brigl all chipped in two hits in the Pipers' 6-5 loss to St. Catherine in the opener Saturday. The quartet accounted for nine of the team's 10 Game 1 hits. … Cecily Abbradessa accounted for three of HU's seven Game 2 hits vs. St. Catherine Saturday, going 3-for-3 with an RBI. … Hine enters Tuesday's DH vs. Saint Mary's leading the team in batting average (.352), at-bats (54), runs (6), hits (19), doubles (4) and total bases (23). … Clouston, who shares the team lead in runs with Hine, has five extra-base hits among her 11 hits this season — including two doubles, one triple and two home runs. She also has driven in a team-best 10 runs. … Brianna Vela and Clouston have shared the pitching duties this season, with Vela compiling a 1-8 record and a 7.46 ERA in a team-leading 50.2 innings. Clouston, meanwhile, is 0-7 with a 10.76 ERA in 42.2 innings. She owns a team-leading 21 strikeouts. … The Pipers are 0-10 when their opponent scores in the first inning, and 0-9 when their opponent scores first.