MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University fastpitch softball team hits the road on Wednesday, traveling to Edor Nelson Field for a 4 p.m. Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference doubleheader.
 
The Matchup:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (2-4 MIAC | 6-10 Overall) at Augsburg Auggies (0-6 MIAC | 3-21 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
Live Stats
 
Last Action:
The Cardinals dropped a pair of one-run Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference games to Carleton on Tuesday, as SMU fell 4-3 in the opener and 9-8 in the nightcap at the SMU Field. … Augsburg has been off since last Sunday, when the Auggies dropped both games of a conference doubleheader to St. Catherine at Edor Nelson Field in Minneapolis, Minn., falling 3-0 in the opener and 4-1 in the nightcap.
 
SMU vs. Augsburg — A Year Ago:
March 28, 2013: SMU only scored in three innings in its Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference-opener against Augsburg. But when they scored, the Cardinals scored in bunches. The Cardinals erupted for 13 runs — three in the first, four in the third and six in the fourth — in cruising to a 13-3, five-inning victory over the Auggies in the opening game of their conference doubleheader at the Edor Nelson Field Bubble in Minneapolis, Minn. And SMU had so much fun in Game 1, the Cardinals decided to do it again in the nightcap, plating at least one run in each of the first five innings en route to their second straight 13-run effort — this time a 13-9 sweep-clinching victory.
 
Up Next:
The Cardinals return home for a pair of conference doubleheaders at the SMU Field this weekend. SMU hosts Saint Benedict in a 1 p.m. conference twinbill on Saturday, before entertaining Macalester in a pair of MIAC games on Sunday, also kicking off at 1 p.m. … Augsburg is also back in action this weekend, traveling to Northfield, Minn., for a 1 p.m. MIAC doubleheader against St. Olaf on Saturday, before returning home on Sunday for a 1 p.m. conference twinbill against Carleton on Sunday at Edor Nelson Field in Minneapolis, Minn.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2014 Roster | 2014 Statistics | 2014 Schedule
With Tuesday's losses to Carleton, the Cardinals' three MIAC doubleheaders have all been sweeps — SMU dropped both games to Gustavus (5-1 and 8-0) on March 29 and won both games vs. St. Olaf (3-0 and 10-3) on March 30, before being swept by the Knights. … Alex Raske (Chicago, Ill.) and Kristen Thelen (Rochester, Minn.) continued to swing hot bats for the Cardinals vs. Carleton Tuesday. Raske, who went 3-for-3 in SMU's Game 1 win over St. Olaf on March 30, going 4-for-8 with four RBIs vs. the Knights — including a 3-for-4, 3-RBI effort in Game 2. Thelen, coming off a 4-for-4 showing in Game 2 against St. Olaf on March 30, went 3-for-4 in Game 1 vs. Carleton Tuesday, while adding another hit in Game 2 to equal Raske's 4-for-8 doubleheader performance. … Raske, who drove in a career-high five runs in SMU's Game 2 win over the Oles on March 30 — three coming on her first home run of the season in the second inning — added four RBIs vs. Carleton Tuesday, giving the junior nine RBIs in her last three contests. … Thelen's four hits in Game 2 vs. St. Olaf were a career-high. … With her four hits vs. Carleton, Raske pushed her team-leading batting average to .460. … Raske also leads the team in hits (23), doubles (5), RBIs (15), total bases (31), slugging percentage (.620), and on-base percentage (.534). … Thelen is second to Raske in batting average (.393), hits (22), total bases (24), total bases (24), slugging percentage (.429) and on-base percentage (.460). … Thelen and Mariah Harper (Schaumburg, Ill.) share the team lead in runs with 15 each, while Emily Nelson () has induced a team-high 10 walks. … Raske's HR vs. St. Olaf was SMU's second of the season — Katie Krull (Rochester, Minn.) accounted for the other one with her first collegiate round-tripper against Ohio Northern on March 4. … Thelen scored a career-best four runs in the second game against St. Olaf on March 30 and has scored seven runs in her last three games. … Raske and Thelen have each compiled a team-high seven multiple-hit games this season, while Raske and Kathi Opsahl (Elk River, Minn.) owns  team-leading three multiple-RBI games. … Ashley Betzold (Farmington, Minn.) tossed her first collegiate two-hitter in blanking St. Olaf 3-0 in Game 1 on March 30. … Betzold's complete-game shutout was her second of the season. … Betzold tossed three scoreless innings in relief of Jess Wirz (Eau Claire, Wis.) in Game 2 vs. the Oles — giving the freshman 10 straight scoreless innings — en route to her second save of the season. … Betzold — who collected her first collegiate pitching win with a 1-0 shutout of Cornell on March 7 — enters SMU's showdown with Augsburg owning a 3-3 record and a 2.14 ERA. She has thrown a team-leading 52 1/3 innings, striking out 28 and walking just 14. … Wirz notched her first collegiate pitching win in a 4-2 victory over UW-River Falls on Feb. 26 and shares the team lead in wins (3) with Betzold. … SMU has been outscored 21-8 in the fourth inning. … The Cardinals have held their opponents to two runs or less in four of their six wins. … SMU has outhit its opponent in five of its six wins, but the Cardinals are winless (0-8) when their opponent boasts more hits. … SMU is unbeaten when leading after four innings. … SMU's 3-0 victory against St. Olaf on March 30 was its second shutout win of the season — the Cardinals blanked 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 Augsburg Auggies:
2014 Roster | 2014 Statistics | 2014 Schedule
Augsburg's conference matchup against Saint Mary's is the fourth straight home doubleheader for the Auggies. … The Auggies' 3-0, 4-1 losses to St. Catherine last Sunday pushed their losing streak to a season-high 10 straight. … Augsburg has been swept in all seven of its doubleheaders this season. … Augsburg boasts three players — Bekka Kelly (.377), Sarah Buckner (.320) and Lindsay Helbach (.304) — hitting above .300. … Kelly is also the team's offensive leader in at-bats (69), runs (11), hits (26), triples (1), RBIs (13) and on-base percentage (.438). … Helbach has collected 10 extra-base hits — nine doubles and one triple — among her 21 hits this season en route to her team-best .478 slugging percentage. … Helbach's nine doubles are a team high. … Helbach and Lauren Torborg have accounted for Augsburg's two home runs this season. … As a team, Augsburg has stolen 25 bases on 36 attempts, led by Kelly, who is 7-for-10. … Olivia Boerschinger and Amanda Eaton have been the team's workhorses in the pitching circle, with Boerschinger logging a team-high 68 2/3 innings, while Eaton is close behind at 58 2/3. … Eaton enters the SMU doubleheader 1-6 with a 453 ERA in 12 appearances, while Boerschinger is 2-11 with a 4.598 ERA in 17 appearances. … Eaton owns a team-leading 37 strikeouts. … Augsburg has played four extra-inning games, going 1-3. … Augsburg has been outscored in every inning but the eighth, where the Auggies hold a 7-5 scoring edge. … The Auggies are 1-13 when their opponent scores the game's first run, and are winless (0-11) when their opponent scores in the first inning. … Augsburg is 2-1 when out-hitting its opponent, but are 0-18 when its opponent holds the hitting advantage. …