CLERMONT, Fla. — The Saint Mary's University fastpitch softball team kicks off its 10-game spring trip schedule Sunday with a pair of nonconference games against Trine College and Saint Vincent College.
 
Saint Mary's Spring Trip Schedule:
Sunday, March 1 | Clermont, Fla. * NTC Field #4
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (2-0 Overall) vs. #6 Trine Thunder (2014: 43-6 Overall), 1 p.m. (EST)
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (2-0 Overall) vs. Saint Vincent Bearcats (2014: 22-14 Overall), 3 p.m. (EST)
Monday, March 2 | Clermont, Fla. * NTC Field #2
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (2-0 Overall) vs. DeSales Bulldogs (2014: 15-16 Overall), 5 p.m. (EST)
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (2-0 Overall) vs. Misericordia Cougars (2014: 25-17 Overall), 7 p.m. (EST)
Tuesday, March 3 | Clermont, Fla. * NTC Field #5 / NTC Field #3
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (2-0 Overall) vs. Roanoke Maroons (2014: 11-26 Overall), 9 a.m. (EST)
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (2-0 Overall) vs. Widener Pride (2014: 21-11 Overall), 1 p.m. (EST)
Thursday, March 5 | Clermont, Fla. * NTC Field #3
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (2-0 Overall) vs. Augustana Vikings (2014: 35-13 Overall), 9 a.m. (EST)
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (2-0 Overall) vs. Lebanon Valley Dutchmen (2014: 34-6 Overall), 11 a.m. (EST)
Friday, March 6 | Clermont, Fla. * NTC Field #5 / NTC Field #3
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (2-0 Overall) vs. Rose-Hulman Fighting Engineers (2014: 19-16 Overall), 11 a.m. (EST)
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (2-0 Overall) vs. John Carroll Blue Streaks (2014: 19-18 Overall), 3 p.m. (EST)
 
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Saint Mary's vs. Spring Trip Field — Their Last Meeting:
• Saint Mary's vs. DeSales | March 6, 2013: For the second day in a row, Saint Mary's and DeSales battled to a 3-2 decision. Unfortunately for the Cardinals, the second time around didn't go the same as the first—as DeSales scored three runs in the game's final three innings en route to a 3-2 win in Clermont, Fla. | Recap
• Saint Mary's vs. Widener | March 3, 2014: It took six innings to get its offense warmed up against Widener. And, unfortunately, by the time the Cardinals plated their first two runs, the Pride had already scored eight times in rolling to an 8-2 win over Saint Mary's in Clermont, Fla. | Recap
• Saint Mary's vs. Lebanon Valley | March 3, 2014: Lebanon Valley entered its game against Saint Mary's ranked No. 16 in the NFCA preseason poll. And the Dutchmen—coming off their best season in program history—lived up to their billing, as Lebanon Valley used a pair of three-run innings to knock off the Cardinals 7-3 in Clermont, Fla. | Recap
• Saint Mary's vs. Trine, Saint Vincent, Misericordia, Roanoke, Augustana, Rose-Hulman, John Carroll: This week's games will be the first in program history.
 
Saint Mary's Up Next:
The Cardinals kick off Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on March 25—weather permitting—as Saint Mary's entertains Gustavus in a conference doubleheader. First pitch is set for 3:30 p.m. at the Saint Mary's Field.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2015 Roster | 2015 Statistics | 2015 Schedule
The Cardinals kicked off their season in impressive fashion, sweeping a nonconference doubleheader against Wartburg on Feb. 21, winning 13-1 in five innings in the opener, before adding a 2-0 victory in the nightcap. … Ashley Betzold (Farmington, Minn.) went 2-for-3 with four walks vs. Wartburg on Feb. 21, while Kathi Opsahl (Elk River, Minn.) was 4-for-7 with 5 RBIs to pace the Cardinals. … Alex Raske (Chicago, Ill.), who closed out the 2014 season with a team-leading .381 batting average, chipped in a 3-for-6 showing against Wartburg on Feb. 21. Raske also led or shared the 2014 team lead in runs (24), hits (37), doubles (9), triples (1), total bases (51), slugging percentage (.526), walks (15) and on-base percentage (.469). … Raske has started every game in her three-year collegiate career—a span of 106 consecutive starts. … With her five RBIs vs. Wartburg, Opsahl has amassed 29 RBIs in her 34-game collegiate career. … Opsahl collected two hits in both games vs. the Knights, and now owns eight collegiate multiple-RBI games. … Opsahl and Raske each drove in a career-high five runs a year ago—Opsahl achieving the feat in the Cardinals' 10-2 Game 2 win over Augsburg on April 9, while Raske did it in the second game against St. Olaf on March 30. Raske, Opsahl and Katie Krull (Rochester, Minn.) accounted for Saint Mary's three home runs last season. The round-trippers with collegiate firsts for Opsahl and Krull. … Saint Mary's played 11 MIAC twinbills last season—with all 12 resulting in sweeps. The Cardinals swept St. Olaf, Augsburg, St. Catherine, Concordia and Macalester, and were swept by Gustavus, Carleton, Saint Benedict, Bethel and Hamline. … Betzold (Farmington, Minn.)—who compiled a 9-8 record and a 2.57 ERA in a team-leading 133 1/3 innings pitched a year ago—collected the pitching win in both games vs. Wartburg, scattering four hits in 11.0 IP, while striking out five. … Betzold put together a late-season streak of 26 consecutive scoreless innings a year ago, while also striking out a career-high 10 batters three times—vs. Augsburg on April 9, and against Concordia on April 26, and Macalester on April 27. … Betzold collected her first collegiate pitching win with a 1-0 shutout of Cornell on March 7.
 
Scouting The Trine Thunder:
2015 Roster | 2014 Final Statistics | 2015 Schedule
The Thunder are coming off a 43-6 season in 2014 that included 6-5 and 6-2 wins over Emory in the NCAA Division III Super Regional. Trine fell to Montclair State 3-1 and East Texas Baptist 11-3 in the NCAA National Tournament. … Fueled by last year's success, the Thunder enter 2015 ranked No. 6 in the NFCA Preseason Top 25. … Trine, which closed out 2014 ranked No. 9 in the final NFCA Poll, set a school record with its 43 wins, appeared in its eighth straight NCAA regional and made its first-ever NCAA national tournament appearance a year ago. … The Thunder, four-time defending MIAA champions—and the preseason conference favorites against this year—boast a 46-game conference winning streak. … The Thunder return seven starters, led by All-American Carly Searles, who, fueled by her 17 triples a year ago, is the NCAA's active leader in career triples. The Thunder also return All-Region selections Kaitlyn Clark—who led the team in home runs (16) and RBIs (62) last season—Kendra Marshall, and Rachel Harris.  … Searles closed out 2014 hitting a team-best .470, while also leading the Thunder in at-bats (181), runs (72), hits (85), on-base percentage (.522), slugging percentage (.779), and stolen bases (29). … As a team, the Thunder his a whopping .364 and belted 54 home runs. … Bree Fuller—the MIAA Pitcher of the Year—posted a 24-3 record in 29 starts. She tossed a team-high 177.2 innings, striking out 241 and walking just 35. … Fuller, who threw a pair of no-hitters a year ago—including the program's first perfect game—also accounted for four of Trine's five saves. … Trine closed out 2014 going 12-1 on its home field, while boasting a 32-5 road record. … After going 1-1 in their first two games of the season, Trine put together a 30-game win streak that was halted with a 7-4, Game 2 loss to John Carroll on April 21.
 
Scouting The Saint Vincent Bearcats:
2015 Roster | 2014 Final Statistics | 2015 Schedule
Saint Vincent heads into the 2015 season on the heels of a 22-14 showing in 2014. … The Bearcats return a pair of All-President's Athletic Conference Second-Teamers in Sarah Swettlen and Laken Lyon, while Samantha Emert and Breanne Wallace were honorable-mention selections. …  Sweetlen—a Second-Team All-PAC selection for the second straight year—led the Bearcats with a .345 batting average, while also leading the team in at-bats (110), hits (38), home runs (3), total bases (58), and slugging percentage (.527). … Saint Vincent hit .293 as a team, and boasted seven regulars who hit over .300. … Wallace posted a team-best 14 doubles and was one of two Bearcats to lead the team with three stolen bases. … Lyon, who posted a 7-3 record with a 2.18 ERA in 70.2 IP, recorded a span of 19.2 scoreless innings over her final five appearances—including three-straight complete-game shutouts. … Lyon struck out a team-best 68 batters and shared the team lead with eight complete games. … Saint Vincent scored nine or more runs in 12 of its 22 wins a year ago—including season-highs of 12 and 13 runs in 12-0 and 13-0 wins over Chatham on April 16.
 
Scouting The DeSales Bulldogs:
2015 Roster | 2014 Final Statistics | 2015 Schedule
The Bulldogs head into 2015 on the heels of a 15-16 showing a year ago. … De Sales was picked to finish second in the Freedom Conference Preseason Coaches Poll. … The Bulldogs return eight of their nine regular starters from a year ago, as well as their top two pitchers. … Carly Bartholomew earned All-Freedom Conference First-Team honors a year ago, after boasting a .365 batting average, while also sharing the team lead in doubles with nine, and adding 17 RBIs. … Along with Bartholomew's first-team honor, De Sales also returns three All-Freedom Conference Second-Team selections in Alexa Beaumont, D.J. McCauley, and Michelle Gessner. … McCauley led the team with a .390 batting average and added nine doubles and 20 RBIs, Gessner hit .321 with nine doubles and a .952 fielding percentage. … Beaumont hit .338 with six home runs, a team-high 24 RBIs and a .623 slugging percentage during her freshman campaign a year ago—despite missing the last eight games of the season with a shoulder injury. … McCauley and Bartholomew are two of five Bulldogs to lead the team with nine doubles. … McCauley closed out 2014 with 12 multiple-hit games, while Beaumont owned a team-best seven multiple-RBI contests. … Bartholemew enters 2014 in the midst of an 18-game hitting streak. … McCauley and Rachel Vogel are DSU's top two returning pitchers.  McCauley posted a 9-7 record with a 2.20 ERA last season, while Vogel was 5-7 with a 3.43 ERA. … McCauley tossed a team-high 11 complete games—including five shutouts—and struck out a team-best 97 batters. … Twelve of De Sales' 15 wins came on the road. The Bulldogs were 3-7 on their home field, while going 12-9-0 on the road.
 
Scouting The Misericordia Cougars:
2015 Roster | 2014 Final Statistics | 2015 Schedule
The Cougars are coming off a 25-17 season a year ago that included an appearance in the ECAC South Tournament. … After finishing third in the Freedom Conference and ECAC tournaments a year ago, the Cougars were picked to finish fifth in the Freedom Conference Preseason Coaches Poll. … Misericordia returns NFCA All-East Region Third-Team selection Megan Hardy, who started all 42 games in 2014, leading the team in batting average (.371), hits (49), home runs (12), slugging percentage .720, RBIs (39), and total bases (95) … Hardy, who was also second on the team in runs (23) and doubles (8), set a new school record with her 12 home runs last season. … Kristi Seller shared the team lead in batting average (.371), at-bats (132), and hits (49), while boasting a team-best 10 doubles. … Whitney Ellenberg owns a team-high .485 on-base percentage, thanks in part to a team-leading 16 walks. … Hardy and Megan Gowe shared the team-lead with 14 multiple-hit games, while Hardy also posted 10 multiple-RBI contests. … Hardy had the team's only five-hit game—a 5-for-5 effort against Methodist on March 2. … Bailee Schies and Jess Armillay were the workhorses of the Cougars' pitching staff, tossing 129 and 102.2 innings, respectively. … Schies finished with a 14-7 record and a 2.77 ERA in 22 starts, while Armillay posted an 8-9 record and 4.09 ERA with a team-leading nine complete games in 20 starts. … Schies finished with 67 strikeouts, with Armilly close behind with 45. … The Cougars compiled a 16-3 home record a year ago, finishing 9-14 on the road.
 
Scouting The Roanoke Maroons:
2015 Roster | 2014 Final Statistics | 2015 Schedule
Roanoke, coming off an 11-26 season in 2014, was picked 10th in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference Preseason Coaches Poll. … Head coach Mike Mitchell has led the Marrons to three 30-plus win seasons, as well as two NCAA Tournament appearances in the last three years. … Rhea Schleicher returns for the Maroons for her senior season, after boasting a team-leading .325 batting average, while adding 18 runs and 37 hits. Schleicher also led the team with five doubles, two triples, and four home runs, and finished second in RBIs with 16. … Stephanie Clark was the only other Maroon to finish 2014 with a batting average above. 300, hitting .302. She led the team in at-bats (119) and runs (22), while finishing second in doubles (4) and home runs (2). … Schleicher led the team with 12 multiple-hit games, two more than Clark, while also recording five multiple-RBI games. … Kelly Higbie, the 2012 ODAC Rookie of the Year and two-time All-ODAC selection, threw a team-high 148.1 innings, compiling 7-16 record and a 3.49 ERA. She posted 20 complete games in her 22 start, and struck out 70 batters. … At the plate, Higbie had Roanoke's third-best batting averaging at .298, adding 14 runs, 31 hits, two doubles and six RBIs. … The Maroons closed out 2014 in the midst of an 11-game losing streak
 
Scouting The Widener Pride:
2015 Roster | 2014 Final Statistics | 2015 Schedule
The Pride—picked to finish fourth in the Commonwealth Conference Preseason Coaches Poll—head into their spring trip having completed a 21-11 showing a year ago. … Widener, which reached the Commonwealth Conference Tournament in 2014, posted the program's 11th 20-win season with their 21-11 performance. … Alie Alkins earned first team All-Commonwealth Conference a year ago after starting all 32 games, hitting .384, while leading the team with four home runs, 23 RBIs and a .616 slugging percentage. Alkins also chipped in 26 runs, 38 hits, seven doubles, two triples, 12 walks and a .456 on-base percentage. … Widener finished 2014 hitting .310 as a team and boasted five players with batting averages above .300. … Widener boasted three players with 10 or more multiple-hit games, led by Angela Hood with 13. … Alkins, Forward and Jackie Korang all finished the year with five multiple-RBI games. … The Pride stole 64 bases a year ago, led by Aikins (12), Ally Horvath (12) and Heather Forward (11). … Widener used five different pitchers last season, led by Alexis Schengrund (10-6, 1.74 ERA) and Horvath (6-2, 3.34 ERA) with 80.2 and 50.1 innings pitched, respectively. … Horvath tossed a team-best four complete games, while Schengrund collected three complete games in a team-high 15 starts. … Schengrund also accounted for 94 of the pitching staff's 172 strikeouts. … As a team, Widener recorded six shutouts a year ago. On the flip side, the Pride were not held scoreless in any of their 32 games. … Widener was 17-0 when holding its opponent to two runs or less, and the Pride were 17-3 when scoring the game's first run.
 
Scouting The Augustana Vikings:
2015 Roster | 2014 Final Statistics | 2015 Schedule
The Vikings finished with a 35-13 record a year ago, finishing second in both the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin regular-season and tournament. … Augustana closed out 2014 ranked as high as No. 22 in the NFCA Top 25. … Augustana made its seventh NCAA tournament appearance a year ago, falling twice to St. Thomas in the Coe Regional. … Augustana has won at least 25 games in 13 of the past 15 seasons. … Jenna Teson is the only returning infielder for the Vikings. Teson was a second team all-conference and all-region selection a year ago, after sporting a .365 batting average with 58 hits in 159 at-bats. She scored 40 runs with eight doubles, three triples, a home run and 24 RBIs. … Ashley Anderson finished second on the team in hitting in 2014 with a .373 batting average (56-for-150) with 24 runs scored, nine doubles, one home run and 37 RBIs, which was tied for the team lead. … Laura Behnke enters her final season coming off a junior campaign that included a .386 batting average, with 59 hits, 153 at-bats, and a team-high 42 runs. She also had 11 doubles, 11 triples, eight home runs and drove in 37 runs. She led the team in walks with 23 and stolen bases with 13. A first-team all-conference and all-region selection, Behnke is on the program's top-10 list in five career offensive categories. … Behnke compiled 17 multiple-hit games—one more than both Teson and Anderson—and a team-best 10 multiple-RBI performances. … Teson put together the team's longest hitting streak at 17 straight. … Augustana will take the field in 2015 without the services of record-setting pitching ace Sarah Hintz, who graduated as the school record holder for career innings pitched (555). Hintz was first team all-conference and all-region and was the team's MVP a year ago, when she posted a record of 19-6 with a 1.64 ERA and had 129 strikeouts in 179.2 innings. … Augustana posted 15 wins in which the Vikings scored five or more runs. … Augustana collected 10 shutouts in 2014, and the Vikings not held scoreless in any of their 48 games. … Four of Augustana's 13 losses were in extra innings. … The Vikings scored first in 36 of their 48 games a year ago, going 26-10.
 
Scouting The Lebanon Valley Dutchmen:
2015 Roster | 2014 Final Statistics | 2015 Schedule
The Dutchmen head into 2015 on the heels of a 34-6 performance a year ago that included a perfect 3-0 run through the Commonwealth Conference Tournament and a 2-2 record in the NCAA Tournament. … Lebanon Valley, which has now won the Commonwealth Conference title and reached the NCAA Tournament in back-to-back seasons, was picked to finish second in the conference in the CWC Preseason Coaches Poll. … Sammy Bost is back after an outstanding freshman campaign in which she was named an NFCA Second-Team All-America and the Commonwealth Conference Player of the Year. … Bost led LVC in virtually even offensive category, including batting average (.424), at-bats (125), runs (39), hits (53), triples (4), and stolen bases. … Bost also put together a team-high 19 multiple-hit games. … Sam Derr (.371) was the team-leader in RBIs (37), total bases (74), and slugging percentage (.597). … The Dutchmen hit 14 home runs last season, with Allie Hartman (4), Derr (3), and Emily Johnson (3) accounting for 10 of them. … Derr was the Dutchmen's workhorse in the pitching circle, hurling 176.2 innings, compiling a 23-3 record and a 1.03 ERA. … Derr made a team-high 29 appearances, tossing 24 complete games—including 14 shutouts—while striking out 135 and earning both of LBV's saves. … The Dutchmen finished 15-3 on their home field a year ago, while going 19-3 on the road.
 
Scouting The Rose-Hulman Fighting Engineers:
2015 Roster | 2014 Final Statistics | 2015 Schedule
Coming off a 19-16 season a year ago, Rose-Hulman was picked to finish fourth in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Preseason Coaches Poll. … The Fighting Engineers qualified for the HCAC Tournament for the first time since 2008, finishing 1-2—beating Bluffton (4-2) in the opening, before falling to Anderson (12-3) and Bluffton (10-2). … Rose-Hulman's 19 wins a year ago were the most since the 2008 season and RHIT finished with a winning record for the first time since 2010. … Marissa Stout finished 2014 as the team's offensive leader, hitting a team-best .370, while also collecting team highs in RBIs (26), on-base percentage (.435) and slugging percentage (.598). … Carly Heibel posted team highs in at-bats (115), runs (22), hits (37), and doubles (11). … Heibel and Jessica Ahlborn shared the team lead in home runs with five—giving Heibel a school-record 14 for her career—while Ahlborn also owned six of the team's 14 stolen bases. … Heibel was also the Fighting Engineers workhorse in the pitcher's circle, going 12-6 with a 2.03 ERA in 120.2 innings. She started a team-high 16 games—completing 12 of them—while also striking out 47. … Rose-Hulman, which put together a pair of three-game winning streaks in 2014, surrendered 10 or more runs in five of its last seven losses. … RHIT scored a season-high 10 runs in a 10-1 win over Houghton on March 4. … The Fighting Engineers finished 12-4 on their home diamond, while going 7-12 on the road.
 
Scouting The John Carroll Blue Streaks:
2015 Roster | 2014 Final Statistics | 2015 Schedule
The Blue Streaks are coming off a 19-18 season a year ago, the first under head coach Nicole Louden. … John Carroll will kick off 2015 without the services of graduated senior Samantha Becker, two-time All-OAC first team selection. Becker finished her career as the all-time leader with 202 hits, 148 runs and 564 at-bats. She also hit the second-most homers in program history with 24 and third in RBIs with 104. … Becker was the team-leader in batting average (.328), at-bats (128), runs (32), hits (42), home runs (9), RBIs (26), and slugging percentage (.609). … Morgan Robinson finished second to Becker in virtually every offensive category, including at-bats (127), runs (25), hits (40), home runs (7), RBIs (25), slugging percentage (.528). … Becker owned a team-leading 11 multiple-hit games—including seven three-hit performances—and seven multiple-RBI games. … Rachel Byrnes, a two-time First Team All-OAC pitcher, went 14-8 with a 3.14 ERA last season, recording 127 strikeouts in the process. The senior right-hander ranks third in wins (33) and strikeouts (294) in program history. … John Carroll scored six or more runs in 13 of its 19 wins. … The Blue Streak put together three, three-game winning streaks, as well last season-high four-game streak. … John Carroll scored a season-high 14 runs in a 14-0 win over Johnson State on March 2, while the Blue Streak gave up a season-high 23 runs in a season-ending 23-11 loss to Ohio Northern in the OAC Tournament.