WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University fastpitch softball team hopes to finally kick off its home season on Monday, as the Cardinals play host to St. Thomas in a 3:30 p.m. Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference doubleheader at Winona State's Alumni Field.

The Matchup | Monday, April 8 | 3:30 p.m.
Saint Mary's Cardinals (4-0 MIAC | 11-4 Overall) vs. #20 St. Thomas Tommies (6-0 MIAC | 19-5 Overall)

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Last Action:
The Cardinals scored 10 runs in both games in sweeping Bethel on April 2 at the Rochester Dome in Rochester, Minn. SMU rode a pair of home runs — including a grand slam by Alex Raske — to a 10-0, five-inning win in the opener, before rallying from a 5-3 deficit with seven runs in the top of the seventh in a 10-6 win in Game 2. … St. Thomas kept pace with SMU atop the conference standings, sweep St. Olaf in a pair of nailbiters Sunday. The Tommies won the opener 3-0, then completed the sweep with a 2-1, eight-inning win in the nightcap in St. Paul, Minn.

SMU vs. St. Thomas — A Year Ago:
April 11, 2012: The last time St. Thomas had lost an MIAC fastpitch softball game was April 13, 2010, when SMU handed the Tommies a 3-0, Game 1 setback. That was 50 games ago. And the Cardinals had the Tommies right where they wanted them and were posed to put an end to that 50-game 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.
May 4, 2012: St. Thomas improved to a perfect 25-0 in MIAC tournament play, scoring three runs in each of the first two innings and holding off a late Cardinal rally that included a four-run seventh inning, in handing SMU an 8-6 setback in one of two MIAC conference tournament openers at the Rice Creek Fields in Shoreview, Minn.

Up Next:
The Cardinals are back on their home diamond on Saturday, as they host Carleton in a 1 p.m. Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference doubleheader. … St. Thomas returns home on Saturday, as the Tommies entertain Gustavus in a 1 p.m. conference doubleheader in St. Paul, Minn.

Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2013 Roster | 2013 Statistics | 2013 Schedule
With their two MIAC wins over Bethel on April 2, the Cardinals have now won four straight and nine of their last 10. … SMU's sweep of Bethel 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. … For the second straight doubleheader, the Cardinals won the opener vs. Bethel in five innings, beating the Royals 10-0. SMU beat Augsburg 13-3 in five innings in their MIAC opener on March 28. … 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 Tuesday. … With their 10-0, 10-6 wins, the Cardinals swept Bethel for the first time since the 2007 season. … The Cardinals have now scored 10 or more runs in four straight games and 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. … Nat Boissiere (Plymouth, Minn.) continued her torrid spring, collecting three hits in five at-bats against Bethel on April 2. Boissiere is now hitting .714 (10-for-14) with 11 RBIs and seven runs scored in four MIAC 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. … The Cardinals head into their doubleheader against St. Thomas hitting .361 — while boasting three players who are hitting above .400 and seven who are hitting .300 or better. … Fueled by her 3-for-5 day vs. Bethel, Boissiere owns a team-best .604 batting average, while Paige Carter (Rosemount, Minn. / .458) and Kristen Thelen (Rochester, Minn. / .407) are also hitting above .400. … Boissiere also leads the team in hits (29), total bases (36), slugging percentage (.750) and on-base percentage (.604), while also sharing the team lead with four doubles. … Carter owns a team-best 23 runs — including scoring five times vs. Bethel on April 2 —  and Raske has amassed a team-best 21 RBIs. … Raske's Game 1 grand slam was her team-leading second of the season, while Carter and Boissiere have accounted for the other two home run this season. … Thelen had her season-high eight-game hitting streak snapped with an 0-for-2 Game 2 against UW-River Falls on March 17, while the Royals kept the junior off the base paths in the teams' opener Tuesday, ending Thelen's streak of reaching base safely at 11. … Boissiere, currently riding a seven-game hitting streak, owns a team-best nine multiple-hit games — including a pair of four-hit performances — while Raske has recorded a team-high seven multiple-RBI contests. … 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 8-3 record and a 3.22 ERA. She has thrown 63.0 of the team's 96.2 innings, walking just 10, while striking out 40. … Carter has made 10 appearances — including nine in relief — compiling a 2.79 ERA in 32.2 innings, with a team-best two saves. … SMU has outscored its opponents 19-4 in the first inning, 20-5 in the second, and 22-8 in the fourth. … Three of SMU's four losses this season have been by one run. … SMU is 9-2 when scoring in the first inning and 8-0 when outhitting its opponent.

Scouting The St. Thomas Tommies:
2013 Roster | 2013 Statistics | 2013 Schedule
St. Thomas enters Monday's conference doubleheader at Saint Mary's ranked No. 20 in the latest NFCA Top 25 poll. … With their sweep of St. Olaf, the Tommies have now won a season-best seven straight, while pushing their home winning streak to 35 in a row. … Emily Gregory homered in each of the Tommies' first four conference games — including three home runs against Bethel last Thursday. Gregory has now slugged six HRs this season and has hit 24 in 112 career games. … Gregory picked up right where she left off against St. Olaf Sunday, going 3-for-3 with a double and a pair of RBIs in Game 1. … Jenna Hoffman and McKenzie Wergin blasted Game 2 home runs against St. Olaf Sunday — Hoffman's a bottom of the eighth walk-off. … The Tommies enter Monday's conference doubleheader against Saint Mary's — their third DH in the last five days — having hit 15 home runs, led by Gregory's six. … As a team, UST is hitting .332, led by Alyssa Dunrud (.415), Gregory (.406) and Wergin (.400). … Hoffman owns a team-best 31 hits — including 11 for extra bases (6 doubles, 1 triple and 4 home runs), while Gregory leads the team in doubles (7), home runs (6), RBIs (26), total bases (53), and slugging percentage (.768). … St. Thomas has stolen 42 bases in 49 attempts, with Donrud leading the charge with 11 steals. … St. Thomas has used eight different pitchers, with Kendra Bowe (53.1 IP) and Morgan Murphy (44.1 IP) doing the majority of the work. … Bowe boasts an 8-3 record and a 1.71 ERA in 16 appearances, while also leading the team with 38 strikeouts. … Murphy is 3-2 with a 2.37 ERA in 12 appearances. She has thrown three complete games, owns the team's lone save and is second to Bowe with 26 strikeouts.