SHOREVIEW, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University fastpitch softball kicks off Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament play Friday, squaring off against St. Thomas in one of the two 3 p.m. games at the Rice Creek Fields.

The MIAC Tournament Field:
#1 St. Thomas Tommies (21-1 MIAC | 32-6 Overall)
#2 Gustavus Gusties (20-2 MIAC | 28-8 Overall)
#3 Augsburg Auggies (13-9 MIAC | 20-20 Overall)
#4 Saint Mary's Cardinals (11-11 MIAC | 17-19 Overall)

The MIAC Tournament Schedule:
Friday, May 4, 2012 | Rice Creek Fields | Shoreview, Minn.
Game 1: #1 St. Thomas 8, #4 Saint Mary's 7 | Recap | Box Score
Game 2: #2 Gustavus 7,  #3 Augsburg 2 | Recap | Box Score
Game 3: #1 St. Thomas 9, #2 Gustavus 0 (5) | Recap | Box Score
Game 4: #4 Saint Mary's 6, #3 Augsburg 2 | Recap | Box Score
Saturday, May 5, 2012 | Rice Creek Fields | Shoreview, Minn.
Game 5: #2 Gustavus 7, #4 Saint Mary's 1 | Recap | Box Score
Game 6: #1 St. Thomas vs. Winner Game 5, 1:30 p.m.
Game 7: Winner Game 6 vs. Loser Game 6, 4 p.m. (if necessary)

GameDay Live On The Web:
Live Stats (All Saturday games)
Tournament Homepage | Tournament Preview

An MIAC Did You Know:
Three of the four coaches in this year's MIAC Tournament are alums of Saint Mary's — Augsburg's Tim Gormley is a 1987 SMU grad, St. Thomas coach John Tschida graduated from SMU in 1990, and Saint Mary's head coach Jen Miller is a 2001 graduate.

How They Got Here:
After the Tommies and Gusties split their season series on April 14, it appeared the two would be destined to share the MIAC regular season title and decide the top seed of the MIAC Tournament with a coin flip. However, St. Thomas ran the table over its final 10 games, while the Gusties were upset by Augsburg on April 25 to allow UST to claim its third-straight regular-season championship, as well as the top seed for this weekend's postseason tournament. … Gustavus returns to the tournament as the No. 2 seed after finishing as the runner-up to the Tommies in 2011. The Gusties turned in a tremendous regular season, ending UST's streak of 53 conference wins in a row and finishing in second place with an 28-8 overall record and a 20-2 conference mark. … Augsburg used its late-season split with the Gusties — and five wins in its last six games — to clinch the tournament's No. 3 seed. The Auggies went .500 overall with a 20-20 record, but they were even better against MIAC opponents, going 13-9 to secure third place in the conference standings. Augsburg is making its first MIAC Playoff appearance since 2008. … Saint Mary's emerged from a three-team race for the fourth and final spot in the MIAC Tournament, scoring a crucial sweep of Saint Benedict last Sunday to improve its postseason odds, then clinched the fourth and final spot on Monday when Bethel split with Carleton to beat out the Blazers and Royals for the final spot.

MIAC Tournament — A Year Ago:
Senior All-American Sydney Marquardt went 4-for-4 to lead a 19-hit attack as top-seed St. Thomas stormed to the MIAC Tournament championship with a 10-2 win over Gustavus in six innings at Bethel's Ona Orth Field. Senior pitcher Biz Sitzmann (17-1) beat the Gusties for the second day in a row in the title game, tossing a five-hitter, with just one walk and one earned run allowed. Emily Wendorff went 2-for-3 to lead Gustavus (27-14-1), which finished 2-2 on the weekend | 2011 MIAC Tournament Homepage

SMU At The MIAC Tournament — A Year Ago:
May 6, 2011: Unlike their earlier, 4-1 Game 1 win over Gustavus — which helped fuel SMU's late-season charge into the MIAC Tournament — this time around, it was the Gusties who had the upper hand, as GAC handed SMU a 3-0 setback in the tournament's opening round at Bethel's Ona Orth Field in Arden Hills, Minn.
May 6, 2011: 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's Ona Orth Field.
May 7, 2011: Just one day after knocking off Hamline in a must-win game, SMU once again found itself with its back against the wall. Unfortunately for the Cardinals, this time it was Gustavus that will live to fight another day, as the Gusties handed SMU an 11-5 setback during an elimination game of the MIAC Tournament at the St. Thomas Field in St. Paul, Minn.

vs. The MIAC Tournament Field:
SMU vs. St. Thomas | April 4, 2012 | St. Paul, Minn.
The Cardinals had the Tommies right where they wanted them and were posed to put an end to UST's 50-game MIAC win streak — boasting leads of 2-0, 4-3 and 5-4 in the opener of their conference twinbill at the UST Field. Unfortunately for the Cardinals, the Tommies scored 12 unanswered runs — four in the first game and eight in the second — as UST rallied to beat Saint Mary's 8-5 in the first game, then rode the perfect-game pitching of Kristen Bigelbach in an 8-0 five-inning win in the second.

SMU vs. Gustavus | May 1, 2012 | Winona, Minn.
Gustavus handed the Cardinals a pair of  losses — scoring all 10 of their runs in the first two innings in posting a 10-1, five-inning victory in the opener of the teams' Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference doubleheader at the SMU Field, then following that up by plating four of their five runs in the seventh inning of a 5-2, come-from-behind victory in the nightcap at the SMU Field.

SMU vs. Augsburg | March 28, 2012 | Winona, Minn.
The Cardinals, who scored just two runs — both in the second inning on a Nicole Olson (New Brighton, Minn.) home run — in dropping the opening game of their MIAC twinbill 6-2, were held off the board for the first two innings of the nightcap as well. Then SMU's bats came to life, as SMU scored to runs in the third, three in the fourth and two in the sixth to earn a 7-5 victory and a split with the Auggies at the SMU Field.

St. Thomas vs. Gustavus | April 14, 2012 | St. Peter, Minn.
Gustavus' 4-0 win in game two of its doubleheader against St. Thomas not only earned the Gusties a split, but it snapped an 11-game losing-streak against the Tommies, and put an end to UST's 53-game conference winning streak.  The Tommies prevailed 7-5 in 10 innings in the opeer, scoring two runs in the top of the 10th inning and shutting the Gusties down in the bottom half.  Gustavus starter Sarah Rozell found a way to work out jams from start to finish in the nightcap. St. Thomas registered a hit in the second, third, fourth and fifth innings yet couldn't bring a runner home.  Rozell pitched the first seven-inning shutout of her career, allowing four hits and striking out four in the victory.

Augsburg vs. Gustavus | April 25, 2012 | St. Peter, Minn.
Allyson Ruedy went 5-for-7 and drove in three runs to lead Augsburg to a split with Gustavus, as the Auggies opened with a 6-3 win, before falling in the nightcap 2-1. Ruedy drove in three of Augsburg's six runs in the opener, including an RBI double in the fourth inning to put Augsburg in front 2-0. The Auggies struck again in the top of the fifth, scoring four runs on four hits to seal the win. In the second game, Gustavus broke a 1-1 tie in the bottom of the 10th inning on an RBI single by Kate Rentschler to escape with a 2-1 win and split of the series.

Augsburg vs. St. Thomas | March 31, 2012 | Minneapolis, Minn.
Emily Gregory and Alyssa Dunrud each had four hits and Kendra Bowe recorded a win and a save as the Tommies scored a 4-2, 4-1 MIAC sweep of Augsburg. UST jumped to a 4-0 lead after two innings in Game 1. Bowe allowed two runs, seven hits and no walks with seven strikeouts. Gregory's two-run double in the fifth inning of Game 2 broke a 1-1 tie. Bowe allowed one hit and no runs in two innings of relief. Starter Treya Connell allowed one run and six hits in five-plus innings to take the victory. Stephanie Saxe went 3-for-5 and recorded a double and a run scored in the losing effort for Augsburg.

Saint Mary's Cardinals News and Notes:
2012 Roster | 2012 Statistics | 2012 Schedule | 2012 Media Guide
Fueled by their April 29 sweep of Saint Benedict — and a little help from Carleton and St. Thomas — the Cardinals are making their second straight MIAC Tournament appearance. … Erin Stenseth (Eau Claire, Wis.) enters post-season play boasting a team-leading .387 batting average. The junior had her season- and career-high 12-game hitting streak snapped in Tuesday's opener against Gustavus. … Stenseth has collected at least one hit in 27 of the Cardinals' 36 games — including 11 games with two or more hits. … Alex Raske (Chicago, Ill.), whose .379 batting average is second to Stenseth, leads the team in runs (33), hits (47), doubles (11), home runs (4), total bases (70), slugging percentage (.565), walks (10) and on-base percentage (.422). … Hailey Ohl (Bloomington, Minn.) leads in the team in at-bats (125), triples (2) and stolen bases (10), and is second in runs (31) and hits (45). … Melanie Hamilton (Homewood, Ill.) enjoyed a career afternoon against Saint Benedict on April 27, as the freshman went 6-for-7 — including recording her first collegiate four-hit game with a 4-for-4 effort in Game 2. … The Cardinals have now posted four four-hit performances this season — two by Raske and one each by Stenseth and Hamilton. Raske (both times) and Hamilton notched their four-hit performances by going 4-for-4, while Stenseth's came in a 4-for-5 showing. … Raske and Ohl share the team lead with 13 multiple-hit games each, while Paige Carter (Rosemount, Minn.) has 12 and Stenseth has 11. … Carter, the team leader with 22 RBIs, owns a team-best seven multiple-RBI games, one more than Raske. … SMU has eight players with 10 or more RBIs. … The Cardinals have hit eight home runs — with three being collegiate firsts. Along with Raske, Hamilton and Nicole Olson (New Brighton, Minn.) have also belted their first home runs as a Cardinal this season. … Kayla Peterson (Lewiston, Minn.) — who was named MIAC Pitcher of the Week on April 30, after allowing just five hits combined in posting back-to-back complete games against Saint Benedict on April 29 — enters tournament play with a career-high 14 wins. … Peterson, who is 14-13 with a 5.07 ERA, has tossed 15 complete games — including three shutouts — and has struck out 68 batters. … Peterson has started 33 of the team's 36 games on the mound. … SMU has outscored its opponents 185-183 — including 30-18 in the fifth. … The Cardinals scored a season-high 12 runs in a 12-3, Game 1 win over Lebanon Valley on March 6. … SMU is 3-4 in one-run games this season. … SMU is a perfect 12-0 when holding its opponent to two runs or less, and the Cardinals are 9-2 when leading after the sixth. … The Cardinals' 5-4, eight-inning loss against Macalester on April 22 marked the third straight extra-inning Game 1 in conference play for SMU — with all three games being decided in the eighth inning. … After collecting a 6-5, nine-inning win over Elizabethtown on March 10, SMU is 0-3 in its last three extra-inning games. … SMU's 6-5, nine-inning win over Elizabethtown was the Cardinals' longest game since beating Augsburg 5-4 in 10 innings of the second game of their MIAC doubleheader on April 13, 2011. … The Cardinals' 3-0 win over Saint Benedict on April 29, snapped a streak of six straight one-run decisions between SMU and Saint Benedict. 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. … The Cardinals played back-to-back doubleheaders on back-to-back days against nationally ranked teams — squaring off against No. 22 St. Thomas on April 11 and against No. 4 Luther on April 12. … SMU's 7-6 victory over Emerson on March 9 was the 100th career collegiate coaching win for Cardinal coach Jen Miller.

St. Thomas Tommies News and Notes:
2012 Roster | 2012 Statistics | 2012 Schedule
The Tommies are in the MIAC playoffs for the ninth time in the nine-year history of the event, the eighth time as the conference's top seed. Their all-time record in the playoffs is 24-0. … St. Thomas captured the MIAC regular-season title for the 11th time in 13 seasons. UST closed out a 21-1 MIAC regular season on Monday with a sweep of Saint Benedict. … UST enters post-season play ranked 14th nationally and has won 28 of its last 30 games. … The Tommies have posted 13 consecutive 30-win seasons and are attempting to reach 40 wins for the eighth year in a row. … Kimmy Hassel led conference hitters in batting average (.513), hits (39) and RBIs (23), while also playing flawless defense. She committed zero errors at second base in 92 chances. In all 38 games, Hassel has only one error in 164 chances and has raised her season average to .496. She has 68 hits and 37 RBIs in 40 games — after collecting just seven hits and five RBI in 28 games in 2011. … Emily Gregory has hit eight home runs this season, pushing her career total to 17. … Tisa Phinney enters Friday's game vs. Saint Mary's riding a 15-game hitting streak. … Bowe is 19-0 with a 1.18 ERA and 144 strikeouts in 124 innings. The Tommies are allowing just 2.5 runs per game overall, only 1.5 runs in 22 MIAC games. … St. Thomas has won its last 87 games against MIAC opponents when it scores two or more runs. … UST has a .521 slugging percentage, and 11 different players have hit at least one home run. The Tommies' .371 batting average is third best in Division III. … In 12 seasons under John Tschida, the Tommies are 278-11 vs. conference opponents. … The Tommies have 47 successful pinch-hits in the last two seasons, including three home runs by Genny Duffy.

Gustavus Gusties News and Notes:
2012 Roster | 2012 Statistics | 2012 Schedule
Gustavus has qualified for every MIAC Tournament since its inception in 2004. The Gusties have finished no lower than second in the conference standings in each of coach Jeff Annis' seven seasons — including winning the regular-season title in 2009. …  Gustavus enters tournament play having won five straight and 20 of their last 21 games — with the two losses both coming in the first game of MIAC doubleheaders. … GAC's April 25 Game 1 loss to Augsburg snapped the Gusties' seven-game winning streak. … With their 4-0, Game 2 win over St. Thomas on April 14, the Gusties snapped the Tommies' streak of 53 conference wins in a row. … Speaking of streak-snapping, the Gusties also put an end to St Scholastica's 19-game winning streak with an 11-3 win over the Saints in the opener of their nonconference doubleheader on April 30. … Lisa Klass enters post-season play boasting a team-leading .403 batting average. She is one of seven GAC regulars hitting above .300. … Klass also leads the Gusties in runs (38), hits (50), doubles (17), triples (3), total bases (82), slugging percentage (.661) and on-base percentage (.446). … Jen Ulmen owns a team-best 31 RBIs. She is one of nine Gusties with 10 or more RBIs. … Gustavus has launched 26 home runs this season. Kate Rentschler leads the way with six HRs, while Ulmen is second with five. … Ulmen (9), Brittany Brenke (8) and Klass (7) have combined for 24 of the team's 45 stolen bases. … Sarah Rozell and Rentschler are the aces of the Gustavus pitching staff. Rozell owns a 16-2 record and a 1.66 ERA in 135.0 innings, while Rentschler is 15-4 with a 2.08 ERA in 121.0 innings. … Rozell is also the leader in appearances (25), complete games (15) and strikeouts (106). … Gustavus has outscored its opponents 224-95 — including 42-18 in the first inning, 25-8 in the second and 36-6 in the third. … The Gusties are a whopping 19-0 when scoring six or more runs and are unbeaten (22-0) when holding their opponent under three runs. … GAC is 17-1 when scoring in the first inning and 22-2 when plating the game's first run.

Augsburg Auggies News and Notes:
2012 Roster | 2012 Statistics | 2012 Schedule
The Auggies are making their first MIAC Tournament berth since 2008 and their second since the tournament's inception in 2004. … With their season-ending sweep of St. Catherine, the Auggies improved to 20-20 — it marks the fourth time in the last five seasons that Augsburg has won 20-plus overall games, and the fourth time in the last five seasons that Augsburg has won 10-plus MIAC games under sixth-year head coach Tim Gormley. … The Auggies have won five of their last six and seven of their last nine. … Allyson Ruedy enters post-season play leading the Auggies with a .395 batting average. Kylee Persing (.373) and Bri Dorale (.359) are also hitting above .300. … Dorale, one of three Auggies to have started all 40 games this season, is the team-leader in at-bats (145), runs (33), hits (52), triples (5) and stolen bases (12). … Dorale and Persing have combined to steal 23 bases on 23 attempts. … Ruedy has belted 10 doubles and six home runs, both team highs, and owns a team-best .637 slugging percentage. … Ruedy (6), Persing (4) and Lindsay Helbach (4) have accounted for 14 of the team's 18 home runs. … Persing and Ruedy have each recorded 15 multiple-hit games, while Dorale has posted 13. … Augsburg has used four different pitchers this season, led by Amanda Eaton and Persing. Eaton is 8-10 with a 3.52 ERA in 135.2 innings, while Persing is 11-8 with a 5.11 ERA in 116.1 innings. … Eaton and Persing have combined for 136 strikeouts. … Augsburg is 15-0 when leading after six innings, but the Auggies are winless (0-11) when trailing heading into the seventh.