ROCHESTER, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University fastpitch softball team finally gets back on the field on Sunday, as the Cardinals square off against Saint Benedict in an 11 a.m. MIAC doubleheader at the Rochester Dome.

The Matchup | Sunday, April 14 | 1 p.m.
Saint Mary's Cardinals (4-2 MIAC | 11-6 Overall) vs. Saint Benedict Blazers (2-2 MIAC | 13-7 Overall)

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Last Action:
The Cardinals scored the day's first four runs, but 20th-ranked St. Thomas rattled off 13 unanswered runs, beating SMU 6-4 in Game 1 and completing Monday's MIAC sweep with a 7-1 win in Game 2 at Winona State's Alumni Field. … The Blazers picked up their first two conference wins of the season on Wednesday, as CSB outlasted Carleton 5-4 in eight innings in the opener, then cruised to a 10-1, six-inning victory in the nightcap at the Rosemount Dome in Rosemount, Minn.

SMU vs. Saint Benedict — A Year Ago:
April 29, 2012: Melanie Hamilton went 6-for-7 to fuel the Cardinals to a key Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference sweep of the Blazers. The Cardinals waited until the seventh inning to lock up their Game 1 win over the Blazers, taking advantage of two CSB errors — both on the same play — to score three times and seal the 3-0 win. Hamilton, who had two hits in the opener, went 4-for-4 in Game 2 to propel SMU to a 6-1, sweep-clinching victory in St. Joseph, Minn.

Up Next:
The Cardinals are on the road on Tuesday, as SMU heads to Northfield, Minn., for a 3:30 p.m. conference doubleheader against St. Olaf. … Saint Benedict is back on the road again on Tuesday, as the Blazers travel to St. Paul, Minn., for a 3:30 p.m. MIAC twinbill against Hamline.

Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2013 Roster | 2013 Statistics | 2013 Schedule
Monday's 6-4 Game 1 loss to St. Thomas snapped the Cardinals' conference-opening four-game winning streak. … SMU's sweep of Bethel on April 2 pushed its conference record to 4-0, marking the first time since 1999 that the Cardinals have opened MIAC play with four straight wins. SMU won its first 16 conference games in 1999. … Despite the Cardinals' two losses to 20th-ranked St. Thomas Monday, the Cardinals still head into Thursday's games against Hamline having won nine of their last 12. … Alex Raske (Chicago, Ill.) sparked the Cardinals' offense against St. Thomas Monday, collecting four hits in seven at-bats in the doubleheader — including a 3-for-4, 3 RBI effort in Game 1. … The Cardinals head into their doubleheader against Hamline hitting .346 — while boasting two players who are hitting above .400 and five who are hitting .300 or better. … Nat Boissiere (Plymouth, Minn.) owns a team-best .580 batting average, while Paige Carter (Rosemount, Minn.) is second at .436. … Boissiere also leads the team in hits (29), total bases (36), slugging percentage (.720) and on-base percentage (.582), while also sharing the team lead with four doubles. … Carter has scored a team-best 25 runs — including scoring five times vs. Bethel on April 2. Carter has now scored 12 runs in her last six games. … SMU has four players with 20 or more hits — Boissiere (29), Carter (24), Kristen Thelen (Rochester, Minn. / 22) and Raske (21). Those four also share the team lead with four doubles each. … With her three RBIs against St. Thomas, Raske has driven in a team-high 24 runs in 17 games. … Boissiere belted her first collegiate home run in the first inning of Game 1 vs. Bethel on April 2, while teammate Alex Raske (Chicago, Ill.) laced her first collegiate grand slam in SMU's six-run second inning in the opener vs. the Royals. … Raske's Game 1 grand slam was her team-leading second of the season, while Carter and Boissiere have accounted for SMU's other two home run this season. … Boissiere has recorded a team-best nine multiple-hit games — including a pair of four-hit performances — while Raske's 3-RBI Game 1 showing against St. Thomas Monday was her team-high eighth multiple-RBI contest. … Raske owns the team's longest active hitting streak at six games. Thelen hit safely in a team-best eight games earlier this season. … Anna Ramboldt (Goodhue, Minn.) has reached base safely in 10 straight contests, one shy of Thelen's season-best 11-game streak. … The Cardinals have swiped seven bases in nine attempts this season, with Hailey Ohl (Bloomington, Minn.) accounting for six of those seven steals. … Kayla Peterson (Lewiston, Minn.) heads into the Cardinals' conference DH against Hamline with an 8-5 record and a 3.48 ERA. She has thrown a team-leading 72.1 innings, walking just 12, while striking out 40. … Carter has made 11 appearances on the mound — including 10 in relief — compiling a 3.00 ERA in 37.1 innings, with a team-best two saves. … Three of SMU's six losses this season have been by one run. … SMU has outscored its opponents 22-6 in the first inning and 20-5 in the second. … SMU is 9-3 when scoring in the first inning and 8-0 when outhitting its opponent. … SMU scored 13 runs in both of its wins vs. Augsburg on March 28, and scored 10 runs in both of its wins vs. Bethel on April 2. … The Cardinals have scored 10 or more runs five times this season. … SMU's 13-run efforts vs. Augsburg on March 28 were not only a season high, but also the most since the Cardinals plated 14 in a 14-1 win over Carleton on May 3, 2011. … With their 10-0, 10-6 wins, the Cardinals swept Bethel for the first time since the 2007 season.

Scouting The Saint Benedict Blazers:
2013 Roster | 2013 Statistics | 2013 Schedule
Saint Benedict's 5-4, eight-inning win in the opener vs. Carleton Wednesday snapped the Blazers' two-game losing streak, while the back-to-back wins over the Knights pushed CSB to 8-3 in its last 11 games. … The Blazers' 5-4 Game 1 win over Carleton was their second extra-inning game of the season — with CSB winning both. Saint Benedict also beat Loras 2-1 on March 28 in Clermont, Fla. … On the flip side, CSB's 10-1, six-inning victory in Game 2 was its third win by the eight-run rule — with all three being decided in six innings. … The Blazers belted eight home runs in their sweep of Carleton Wednesday. Lexi Alm hit a pair of round-trippers and Emily Engelmeier added another in Game 1, while Mackenzie Wenner and Engelmeier each launched two in Game 2, with Nicole Nelson accounting for the other. … The Blazers have not launched 15 home runs in their first 20 games, with Wenner leading the way with five, followed by Engelmeier with four and Alm with three. … Alm and Kimberly Lidstone head into CSB's DH against Saint Mary's leading the team with batting averages of .439 and .427, respectively. … Lidstone also leads the team in at-bats (75), runs (24) and hits (32), while Alm is the team leader in doubles (5), RBIs (19), slugging percentage (.719), walks (14) and on-base percentage (.542). … With her 19 RBIs, Alm is one of three CSB players with 10 or more runs batted in. Wenner (18) and Lidstone (14) are the other two. … Lidstone owns the team's only four-hit game, whiel Wenner's 5-RBI effort against Southern Maine on March 23 is also a team-high. … CSB has stolen 49 bases on 56 attempts, with Alm and Lidstone leading the way with 11 each. … Rachel Nelson, who picked up the pitching wins in both games vs. Carleton Wednesday, and Engelmeier have been the workhorses in the pitcher's circle for the Blazers. Nelson has compiled a 7-4 record and a 2.15 ERA in 60.0 innings, while Engelmeier is 5-3 with a 2.97 ERA in 63.3 innings. … Nelson also leads the team with 50 strikeouts, with Engelmeier close behind with 40.