WEST ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University fastpitch softball team is back in action Monday, as the Cardinals "host" nationally ranked and league-leading St. Thomas in a 3:30 p.m. Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference doubleheader at the West St. Paul Dome.
 
The Matchup:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (10-10 MIAC | 14-16 Overall) vs. #19 St. Thomas Tommies (19-1 MIAC | 31-5 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
GameDay Program
 
Last Action:
The Cardinals picked up their second conference sweep in as many days on Sunday, as Saint Mary's rode the pitching — and hitting — of Ashley Betzold (Farmington, Minn.) to a 6-0, 3-2 sweep of Macalester Sunday in Rosemount, Minn. … St. Thomas picked up a pair of conference shutout wins on Saturday, routing Augsburg 5-0 and 10-0 in five innings in Minneapolis, Minn.

SMU vs. St. Thomas — A Year Ago:
April 8, 2013: SMU got off to a roaring start in its Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference doubleheader against St. Thomas Monday — scoring three times in their first at-bat. The 20th-ranked Tommies, on the other hand, took a little while to get warmed up. Unfortunately for the Cardinals, once they were warmed up, the Tommies were virtually unstoppable. UST scored 13 unanswered runs, erasing a 4-0 SMU lead in the opener en route to a 6-4 victory, before opening Game 2 with a home run — on the very first pitch — in tallying the game's first seven runs in a 7-1 sweep-clinching victory in the nightcap at Winona State University's Alumni Field.
 
Up Next:
Monday's contest is the final regular-season game for both the Cardinals and the Tommies.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2014 Roster | 2014 Statistics | 2014 Schedule
Fueled by their 6-0, 3-2 victories over Macalester, the Cardinals pushed their winning streak to four straight. … With their 4-0 Game 1 win over Concordia on Saturday, the Cardinals snapped their six-game losing streak. … The Cardinals' showdown with St. Thomas is the fifth conference doubleheader in an eight-day span. … With their 6-0 and 3-2 wins over Macalester, the Cardinals have now played 10 MIAC doubleheaders this season — and all 10 have been sweeps. SMU has swept St. Olaf, Augsburg, St. Catherine, Concordia and Macalester, and have been swept by Gustavus, Carleton, Saint Benedict, Bethel and Hamline.  … Ashley Betzold (Farmington, Minn.) picked up her third straight shutout with her second consecutive two-hitter in Game 1 against Macalester Sunday, before having her streak of 26 scoreless innings snapped in the fourth inning of Game 2. … Betzold has now pitched 41 consecutive innings for the Cardinals — allowing just four runs. … At the plate, Betzold went 5-for-6 with four RBIs against Macalester Sunday — including a 3-for-3, 3-RBI effort in Game 2. … Kristen Thelen (Rochester, Minn.) was held without a hit in Game 2 against Macalester Sunday, snapping her season- and career-high 14-game hitting streak. … Alex Raske (Chicago, Ill.) heads into SMU's doubleheader against St. Thomas owning a team-best .383 batting average, while also leading or sharing the team lead in runs (24), doubles (8), triples (1), total bases (49), slugging percentage (.521), walks (14) and on-base percentage (.468). … Thelen, who is second on the team with a .378 batting average, leads the team with 37 hits — one more than Raske and Kathi Opsahl (Elk River, Minn.) — and shares the team lead in runs (24). … Opsahl boasts a team-best 24 RBIs, four more than Raske. … 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 Opsahl has recorded team-leading six 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 13th and 14th complete games against Macalester Sunday. … Betzold has fanned a career-high 10 batters three times this season — vs. Augsburg on April 9, and against Concordia on Saturday and Macalester on Sunday. … Betzold — who collected her first collegiate pitching win with a 1-0 shutout of Cornell on March 7 — enters SMU's showdown with St. Thomas owning a 9-6 record and a 1.66 ERA. She has thrown a team-leading 126 1/3 innings, striking out 83 and walking just 31. … Jess Wirz (Eau Claire, Wis.) — who tossed a five-inning, two-hit shutout against St. Catherine 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 12 of their 13 wins. … SMU has outhit its opponent in 12 of its 13 wins, but the Cardinals are just 1-11 when their opponent boasts more hits. … SMU is unbeaten (11-0) when leading after four innings. … The Cardinals' 6-0 win vs. Macalester Sunday was their sixth shutouts of the season. … The Cardinals have, or will still, square off against three teams that are ranked in the NFCA Preseason Poll this season — No. 10 Luther, No. 14 Lebanon Valley and No. 19 St. Thomas.
 
Scouting The St. Thomas Tommies:
2014 Roster | 2014 Statistics | 2014 Schedule
The No. 19-ranked Tommies, who have 10 seniors, enter their doubleheader matchup against Saint Mary's riding a 15-game winning streak — dating back to a 2-1 loss to Saint Benedict on April 6 that snapped UST's 30-game MIAC regular-season winning streak. UST has won 96 of its last 98 regular-season conference games. … The Tommies' 2-1 loss to Saint Benedict also ended their 47-game home winning streak, which dated back to an April 13, 2010 split against Saint Mary's. … The Tommies have not allowed a run in their last three games, beating St. Olaf 10-0 on Friday, before blanking Augsburg 5-0 and 10-0 Saturday. … UST has posted nine shutouts during its current 15-game winning streak. … St. Thomas banged out a season-high 42 hits in 10 innings in sweeping Concordia 10-1 and 25-1 on April 2 — including a 6-for-7, 2-home run performance by Genny Duffy. … Jenna Hoffman collected three singles in UST's sweep of St. Catherine on April 19 to eclipse the career 200-hit plateau. … Hoffman became the 14th player in MIAC softball to reach 200 career hits. Of the 14 players on the MIAC 200-hit list, eight have been coached by John Tschida with the Tommies or at Saint Mary's. … In UST's 31-5 start, Hoffman has only struck out four times in 137 plate appearances; has reached base in 28 of her last 30 games; and has only two errors in 104 chances at shortstop. … The Tommies launched four home runs against St. Catherine last on April 19 — including Emily Gregory's career HR No. 37 — giving UST 33 round-trippers this season. … Gregory 37 career home runs to rank third in MIAC history behind Nikki Conway (48, 2003-06) and Maria Bye (37, 2004-07) of St. Thomas. … St. Thomas' 33 home runs this season have come from 11 different players — led by Breanna Walek with 12 and Gregory with seven. … As a team, UST is batting .387 and is averaging 11 hits and 7.7 runs a game. … The Tommies boast 15 regulars who are hitting .300 or better — including six hitting above .400 … Kirsten Bigelbach leads all Tommie regulars with an impressive .562 batting average, followed by Erin Mussett (.500) and Hoffman (.463). … Hoffman also leads the team in at-bats (121), runs (37), hits (56), triples (3), total bases (75) and stolen bases (20). … Walek owns a .781 slugging percentage, collecting 22 extra-base hits — 10 doubles and 12 home runs — among her 36 hits this season. … Walek belted three home runs and drove in all six runs in UST's 6-0 Game 2 win over Saint Benedict on April 6. … Walek homered in four consecutive plate appearances on April 6-7. The three home runs in Game 2 vs. Saint Benedict set an MIAC record. The four home runs in consecutive plate appearances are tied for the third most in NCAA softball history, all divisions. … Kendra Bowe has been the ace of the Tommie pitching staff, compiling a 15-4 record and a 1.06 ERA in 112 innings pitched. … Bowe also leads the team in appearances (20), complete games (10), shutouts (5) and strikeouts (94). … Bowe is 56-11 in her three-year career. In games against MIAC opposition (regular season and playoffs), Bowe is 37-2 with an 0.94 ERA and 218 Ks and 58 walks in 230 innings. … As a staff, UST pitchers have a combined 1.45 ERA and opponents are hitting below .200 against them. … UST is closing in on its 15th consecutive 30-win season and has never had a losing season in softball in its 36-year history. … Coach Tschida collected his 750th career coaching win with UST's 6-0 Game 2 win over Saint Benedict on April 6. … In his 20 seasons at Saint Mary's and St. Thomas, Tschida has the best winning percentage in Division III among active or retired coaches at .851 (764-133), and has won three NCAA titles.