ST. PETER, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University fastpitch softball team continues its busy weekend on Saturday, as the Cardinals head to Gustavus for a 1 p.m. Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference doubleheader against the Gusties.

The Matchup:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (9-5 MIAC | 16-9 Overall) at Gustavus Gusties (6-2 MIAC | 9-10 Overall)

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Last Action:
The Cardinals were forced to settle for a split in their conference doubleheader against St. Catherine Friday in St. Paul, Minn. SMU opened with a 6-2 win over the Wildcats in Game 1, but SCU scored five unanswered runs, erasing a 3-2 SMU advantage and lifting St. Catherine to a 7-3 victory in the nightcap. … Gustavus had its offense in high gear Friday, as the Gusties cruised to an 8-0, 9-1 conference sweep of Augsburg in Minneapolis, Minn.

SMU vs. Gustavus — A Year Ago:
May 1, 2012: SMU's regular-season finale against Gustavus had its good news, and its bad news. First the bad news … 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. Now the good news … Despite the losses, the Cardinals will be joining the Gusties, Augsburg and St. Thomas at the Rice Creek Fields in Shoreview, Minn., for the double-elimination MIAC Tournament, which kicks off Friday.
May 5, 2012: The Gusties didn't waste any time getting on the scoreboard in the teams' MIAC Tournament elimination game, as Lisa Klass belted a lead-off home run in the bottom of the first to give GAC a 1-0 lead — and by the time Klass delivered her second lead-off home run of the game to open the bottom of the sixth, Gustavus' lead had ballooned to 6-0 as the Gusties ousted SMU 7-1 at the Rice Creek Fields in Shoreview, Minn.

Up Next:
The Cardinals return home on Sunday for Senior Day, as SMU honors its five graduating seniors during its 1 p.m. MIAC doubleheader against Macalester at the SMU Field. … Gustavus is also back in action on Sunday, hosting St. Catherine in a 10 a.m. conference twinbill in St. Peter, Minn.

Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2013 Roster | 2013 Statistics | 2013 Schedule
Saturday's games against Gustavus mark the second of three doubleheaders in three days for the Cardinals, who return home on Sunday to entertain Macalester at the SMU Field. … Friday's split against St. Catherine was the first SMU doubleheader this season that was not decided by a sweep — the Cardinals had swept Augsburg, Saint Benedict and Concordia, while falling to St. Thomas and Hamline. … SMU heads into its doubleheader against Gustavus having won 11 of its last 15 games. … Anna Ramboldt (Goodhue, Minn.) led the Cardinal offense against St. Catherine, going 4-for-7 with three RBIs. … Alex Raske (Chicago, Ill.) laced her team-leading and career-high sixth home run of the season against St. Catherine Friday. … SMU has now clubbed three home runs in its last four games, 10 in its last seven and 14 for the season. … SMU belted two home runs against Hamline last Tuesday — a two-run shot by Nat Boissiere (Plymouth, Minn.) and a solo shot by Kristen Thelen (Rochester, Minn.). … Thelen's round-tripper was the first of her collegiate career. … Speaking of home runs, Hailey Ohl (Bloomington, Minn.) launched her first two collegiate home runs against Saint Benedict on April 14 — including a two-run walk-off in the eighth inning of the opener. … Boissiere recorded her first collegiate home run in the first inning of Game 1 vs. Bethel on April 2, while Raske laced her first collegiate grand slam in SMU's six-run second inning in the opener vs. the Royals. …
Paige Carter (Rosemount, Minn.) scored one of SMU's three runs in Game 2 vs. St. Catherine on Friday and has now scored a team-leading 32 runs. Carter has scored at least one run in 18 of the team's 24 games this season. … The Cardinals own .341 batting average — led by Boissiere (.455), Raske (.407) and Carter (.405). … Along with her team-leading .455 batting average, Boissiere also leads the team in hits (35) and on-base percentage (.476), while Raske is the team-leader in home runs (6), RBIs (31), total bases (58) and slugging percentage (.716). … Ramboldt pushed her team-leading doubles total to 10 with a pair of two-baggers against St. Catherine Friday. … Thelen delivered the Cardinals' first triple against the Cobbers. … SMU has six players with 20 or more hits — Boissiere (35), Carter (34), Raske (33), Ohl (30), Thelen (30) and Ramboldt (27). … Raske has recorded a team-best 13 multiple-hit games, two 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 11. …  Raske had her team-best 13-game hitting streak snapped in Game 2 against St. Catherine. … Ramboldt, who has had a hit in the last nine straight games, has now reached base safely in a season-high 18 straight games. … The Cardinals have swiped 16 bases in 20 attempts this season, with Ohl accounting for nine of those 16 steals. … Peterson, who tossed her team-leading seventh complete game in Game 1 vs. St. Catherine, has a team-best 10 wins — going 10-6 with a 3.74 ERA, while also leading the team in innings pitched (108 2/3) and strikeouts (61). … Carter (6-3, 3.95 ERA) has made 16 appearances — including 12 in relief and owns SMU's two saves. … Three of SMU's nine losses this season have been by one run. … SMU has outscored its opponents 25-11 in the first inning and 23-6 in the second. … SMU is 10-4 when scoring in the first inning and 12-0 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 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 Gustavus Gusties:
2013 Roster | 2013 Statistics | 2013 Schedule
Saturday's showdown with Saint Mary's is GAC's third home doubleheader in the last three days and the third of six doubleheaders in a six-day span for the Gusties. … With their sweep of Augsburg Friday, the Gusties pushed their MIAC unbeaten streak to four straight. … Gustavus launched three home runs in its 8-0, Game 1 win over Augsburg Friday. … Carly Klass boasts a team-leading .360 batting average, while Brittany Brenke (.353), Kate Rentschler (.333), Jaden Fischer (.333) and Sam Breneman (.305) are all hitting above .300. … Klass, Brenke and Breneman all share the team lead with 18 hits, while Klass also leads the team in doubles (5), RBIs (11), total bases (26), slugging percentage (.520) and on-base percentage (.407). … Kailey Morgan has hit a team-leading three home runs. … Sarah Rozell has drawn a team-best 12 walks. … Dahl, Klass and Shelby Nosan have all collected three-hit games this season, while Dahl has also delivered two of the team's three, three-RBI performances. … GAC has used four different pitchers this season, with Rozell and Rentschler carrying the brunt of the load. Rozell has accumulated a 4-4 record and a 2.24 ERA in 56 1/3 innings pitched, while Rentschler is 4-6 with a 4.34 ERA in 51 2/3 innings. … Rozell has also struck out a team-leading 44 batters and has tossed a team-best six complete games.