ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University fastpitch softball team hits the road on Tuesday, traveling to Hamline for a 3:30 p.m. Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference doubleheader against the Pipers.
 
The Matchup:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (6-8 MIAC | 10-14 Overall) at Hamline Pipers (8-4 MIAC | 14-13-1 Overall)
 
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Last Action:
The Cardinals suffered their second doubleheader sweep in as many days on Monday, as Bethel dropped SMU 8-5 and 7-0 at Ona Orth Athletic Complex in Arden Hills, Minn. … Hamline settled for a split in its conference doubleheader against St. Olaf on Saturday, falling 8-5 in eight innings in the opener, before rebounding with a 9-7 win in Game 2 at Meredith Field in St. Paul, Minn.
 
SMU vs. Hamline — A Year Ago:
April 23, 2013: After the Cardinals scored a combined 35 runs in beating up Saint Benedict and Concordia in their last two Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference doubleheaders, Hamline gave SMU a taste of their own medicine at the SMU Field. The Pipers blasted five home runs — two in Game 1 and three more in Game 2 — in handing the Cardinals 9-5 and 9-1 setbacks.
 
Up Next:
The Cardinals are back in action Thursday, hosting league-leading and nationally ranked St. Thomas in a 3:30 p.m. conference doubleheader at the SMU Field. … Hamline is right back on the diamond on Wednesday, traveling to Arden Hills, Minn., for a 3:30 p.m. MIAC twinbill at Ona Orth Athletic Complex.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2014 Roster | 2014 Statistics | 2014 Schedule
SMU's 2-1 loss to Saint Benedict last Saturday snapped the Cardinals' four-game winning streak. … With their 8-5 and 7-0 losses to Bethel Monday, the Cardinals have now played seven MIAC doubleheaders this season — and all seven have been sweeps. SMU has swept St. Olaf, Augsburg and St. Catherine, and have been swept by Gustavus, Carleton, Saint Benedict and Bethel. … The Cardinals have surrendered seven or more runs in each of their last three games. … Ashley Betzold (Farmington, Minn.) went 3-for-4 with a pair of RBIs, and Kristen Thelen (Rochester, Minn.) and Kathi Opsahl (Elk River, Minn.) each chipped in two hits in SMU's Game 1 loss to Bethel Monday, while Thelen and Micaela Meredith (Bloomington, Minn.) each posted two hits in the nightcap. … With her two hits in both games vs. Bethel Monday, Thelen pushed her consecutive-game hitting streak a season-high 11 straight. … Meredith has now recorded five hits in six at-bats in SMU's last two Game 2s. The sophomore also went 3-for-3 in the second game against Saint Benedict Saturday. … Mariah Harper (Schaumburg, Ill.) has hit safely in six straight games — including two hits in three of those six games. … Thelen heads into Tuesday's DH at Hamline owning a team-best .410 batting average, just percentage points ahead of Alex Raske (Chicago, Ill. / .408). … Thelen also leads the team in at-bats (83), runs (22) and hits (34). … Raske is the team-leader in doubles (8), RBIs (18), total bases (42), slugging percentage (.553), walks (12) and on-base percentage (.489). … Opsahl joins Raske with a team-best 18 RBIs. … Raske, Opsahl and Katie Krull (Rochester, Minn.) have accounted for SMU's three home runs this season. The round-trippers with collegiate firsts for Opsahl and Krull. … Thelen scored a career-best four runs in the second game against St. Olaf on March 30. … Thelen has compiled a team-high 11 multiple-hit games, while Raske and Opsahl own team-leading four multiple-RBI games. … Thelen owns SMU's only four-hit game of the season, collecting four hits in Game 2 vs. St. Olaf on March 30. The four hits were a single-game career-high. … Opsahl drove in a career-high five RBIs in the Cardinals' 10-2 Game 2 win over Augsburg on April 9. … Opsahl's five RBIs vs. Augsburg marked the second time this season SMU has boasted a player with five RBIs in a game — Raske drove in a career-high five runs in SMU's Game 2 win over the Oles on March 30. … Betzold tossed her team-leading ninth complete game against Saint Benedict last Saturday. … Betzold fanned a career-high 10 batters in beating the Auggies 8-1 in Game 1 on April 9. … Betzold — who collected her first collegiate pitching win with a 1-0 shutout of Cornell on March 7 — enters SMU's showdown with Hamline owning a 5-5 record and a 2.21 ERA. She has thrown a team-leading 85 1/3 innings, striking out 48 and walking just 26. … Jess Wirz (Eau Claire, Wis.) — who tossed a five-inning, two-hit shutout against the Wildcats on April 18 — notched her first collegiate pitching win in a 4-2 victory over UW-River Falls on Feb. 26. … The Cardinals have held their opponents to two runs or less in eight of their 10 wins. … SMU has outhit its opponent in eight of its 10 wins, but the Cardinals are just 1-9 when their opponent boasts more hits. … SMU is unbeaten (7-0) when leading after four innings. … SMU's 8-0 victory over St. Catherine on April 18 was its third shutout win of the season — the Cardinals blanked St. Olaf 3-0 on March 30 and Cornell (Iowa) 1-0 on March 7. … The Cardinals have, or will still, square off against three teams that are ranked in the NFCA Preseason Poll this season — No. 7 Luther, No. 13 Lebanon Valley and No. 14 St. Thomas.
 
Scouting The Hamline Pipers:
2014 Roster | 2014 Statistics | 2014 Schedule
With their 9-7 Game 2 win over St. Olaf last Saturday, Hamline has now won three of its last four and six of its last eight. … Hamline has scored five or more runs in each of its last eight games. … Hamline has now played six extra-inning games this season, going 5-1 — the lone blemish being Saturday's 8-5, eight-inning loss to St. Olaf. … Jamie Rubbelke banged out six hits — three in each game — including a home run and a double in pacing Hamline's 26-hit attack against St. Olaf on Saturday. … As a team, the Pipers are hitting .300 and boast seven players who are hitting above the .300 mark — led by Mary-Clare Couillard (.435) and Rubbelke (.432). … Rubbelke leads the team in at-bats (95), runs (23), hits (41), doubles (5), RBIs (20), total bases (55), slugging percentage (.579) and on-base percentage (.481). … Hamline has launched 12 home runs this season, led by Chelsea Koehn's four and Rubbelke's three. … Couillard has stolen a team-best eight bases in 10 attempts, while Rubbelke is 7-for-10. … Couillard and Rubbelke have each posted 11 multiple-hit games, and Rubbelke and Koehn are the team-leaders in multiple-RBI contests with five each. … Hamline has used six different pitchers this season, led by Brooke Chapman and Sarah DeMars, who have logged 51 2/3 and 44 1/3 innings, respectively. … Chapman is a perfect 6-0 with 3.39 ERA, while DeMars is 3-3 with a 3.95 ERA. … DeMars has made a team-high 14 appearances, followed by Chapman with 12, and Brianna Vela (1-3, 4.74 ERA) and Casey Anderson (3-4, 6.00 ERA) with 11 each. … Hamline has played just four games on its home diamond, going 2-2 at Meredith Field, while posting a 12-11-1 record away from home.