VADNAIS HEIGHTS, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University fastpitch softball team hits the road on Wednesday, as the Cardinals head to the Vadnais Heights Dome for a pair of Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference games against Concordia. First pitch is scheduled for 10 a.m.

The Matchup | Wednesday, April 17 | 10 a.m.
Saint Mary's Cardinals (6-2 MIAC | 13-6 Overall) vs. Concordia Cobbers (1-1 MIAC | 4-10 Overall)

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Last Action:
The Cardinals launched five home runs — including a two-run, eighth-inning walk-off by Hailey Ohl — in sweeping Saint Benedict 7-5 and 11-4 Sunday at the Rochester Dome in Rochester, Minn. … The Cobbers — who had not played since March 22 — finally got back on the field Tuesday, splitting their conference-opening doubleheader against Augsburg in Minneapolis, Minn. CC won the opener 3-2, before dropping Game 2, 6-3.

SMU vs. Concordia — A Year Ago:
April 5, 2012: SMU — In golf, there's a saying that goes, “Drive for show, putt for dough.” For SMU, it wasn't the driving — but rather the “putting” — that carried the Cardinals to a Game 1 victory, as the Cardinals overcame four Concordia home runs in recording the 10-7 win at the SMU Field. Kayla Peterson (Lewiston, Minn.) shut down Cobbers in the nightcap, as the Cardinal junior blanked Concordia over five innings, as SMU completed the sweep with an 8-0, five-inning victory.

Up Next:
The Cardinals are right back in action on Thursday, as SMU hopes to kick off the home portion of its schedule with a 3:30 p.m. conference doubleheader against Macalester … Concordia is back on the road on Saturday, traveling to St. Paul, Minn., for a 1 p.m. MIAC twinbill against St. Thomas.

Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2013 Roster | 2013 Statistics | 2013 Schedule
With their sweep of Saint Benedict Sunday, the Cardinals have now swept three of the first four conference opponents and head into their DH against Concordia having won six of their last eight and 11 of their last 14. … The Cardinals belted five home runs against Saint Benedict Sunday — including four in their 7-5 Game 1 win. … Alex Raske (Chicago, Ill.) and Hailey Ohl (Bloomington, Minn.) sparked SMU's home run parade, each hitting two round-trippers. Raske belted both of hers in Game 1, while Ohl had one in each game — including a two-run, walk-off shot in the bottom of the eighth inning in the opener. … Ohl's walk-off HR in Game 1 was the first of her collegiate career. … Raske, meanwhile, pushed her team-leading home run total to four. … Anna Ramboldt (Goodhue, Minn.) accounted for SMU's fifth HR vs. Saint Benedict, recording her first collegiate home run in the opener. … Ramboldt went 5-for-8 with two doubles, a home run, two runs scored and four RBIs in SMU's sweep of Saint Benedict, while Paige Carter (Rosemount, Minn.) was 4-for-8 with two RBIs and three runs scored and Ohl was 3-for-9 with five RBIs. … With her three runs scored vs. Saint Benedict, Carter has now scored a team-best 28 runs — including 15 in the last eight games. Carter has scored at least one run in 15 of the team's 19 games. … The Cardinals head into their doubleheader against Concordia hitting .347 as a team — while boasting three players who are hitting above .400 and seven who are hitting .300 or better. … Nat Boissiere (Plymouth, Minn.) owns a team-best .517 batting average, while Carter is second at .444 and Raske is third at .403. … Boissiere also leads the team in hits (30) and on-base percentage, while Raske is the team-leader in home runs (4), RBIs (26), total bases (44), slugging percentage (.710). … Raske and Ramboldt have each hit a team-best five doubles. … SMU has five players with 20 or more hits — Boissiere (30), Carter (28), Raske (25), Kristen Thelen (Rochester, Minn. / 22) and Ohl (21). … 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 has recorded a team-best 10 multiple-hit games, one more than Boissiere and Carter. … Boissiere has posted the team's only four-hit game — a feat she has done twice. … Raske is also the team-leader in multiple-RBI games with nine. … With hits in both games against Saint Benedict Sunday, Raske pushed her hitting streak to a season-high eight games, while Ramboldt was on base in both games vs. the Blazers and has now reached base safely in a season-high 12 straight games. … The Cardinals have swiped eight bases in 11 attempts this season, with Hailey Ohl (Bloomington, Minn.) accounting for six of those eight steals. … Carter picked up the pitching wins in relief of Kayla Peterson (Lewiston, Minn.) in both games vs. Saint Benedict Sunday. The senior allowed just one unearned runs on three hits in 2.2 innings of work in the opener, while holding CSB scoreless on four hits in 3.1 innings in Game 2. … Carter lowered her ERA to 2.58, while improving her record to 5-1. She has made 13 appearances — all but one in relief — while also picking up SMU's two saves. … Peterson heads into SMU's DH vs. Concordia with a 3.70 ERA and an 8-5 record in 19 appearances, while also striking out a team-best 50 batters. … Three of SMU's six losses this season have been by one run. … SMU has outscored its opponents 22-10 in the first inning and 22-6 in the second. … SMU is 9-3 when scoring in the first inning and 9-0 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 six 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. … 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. … With their 10-0, 10-6 wins, the Cardinals swept Bethel for the first time since the 2007 season.

Scouting The Concordia Cobbers:
2013 Roster | 2013 Statistics | 2013 Schedule
Concordia's doubleheader against Augsburg marked the Cobbers' first games in 25 days, dating back to a sweep of Northland on March 22. … The Cobbers' 9-1, Game 1 win over Northland on March 22 snapped their four-game losing streak, while their 10-7, Game 2 victory over Viterbo on March 3 put an end to CC's season-opening five-game slide. … The Cobbers have scored 28 runs in their four wins this season, while being held to 12 runs in their 10 losses — including five setbacks by shutout. … Becca Conant was the hero of Game 1 against the Auggies Tuesday, as the CC hurler tossed a complete game, working out of a second-and-third, one-out jam in the top of the seventh to seal the win. … CC's five hits in the opener vs. the Auggies came from five different players. … The Cobbers were held to just four hits in Game 2 vs. Augsburg — and again, the hits came from four different players. … Concordia committed five errors against Augsburg Tuesday — including four in the second game. …  Heather Jonasson owns a team-leading .343 batting average, 10 points better than both Paige Beseman and Kaia Sele. … Jonasson and Sele lead the team in hits with 12, while Beseman and Kelly Tasky both have 11 hits. … Tasky has scored a team-best seven runs and Sele boasts a team-high 10 RBIs. … Sele has also accounted for two of the Cobbers' four home runs and has hit the squad's lone triple. … Concordia belted three of its four home runs in its sweep of Northland on March 22. … Sele is the team leader in multiple-hit games (4) and multiple-RBI contests (3). … Beseman went 0-for-1 with a pair of walks in Game 2 against Augsburg Tuesday, snapping her team-high seven-game hitting streak. … The Cobbers have used a trio of pitchers this season, with Conant tossing a team-high 42.1 innings, while Hilary Rotunda and JoAnna Carlson have chipped in 23.1 and 19.1 innings, respectively. … Conant is 3-4 with a 5.13 ERA and six complete games in eight appearances, while Rotunda is 1-2 with a 3.30 ERA and Carlson is 0-4 with a 6.16 ERA. … The Cobbers have scored nearly a third of their 40 runs in the first inning, scoring 14 times in their first at-bat.