DECORAH, Iowa — The Saint Mary's University fastpitch softball team closes out its regaulr-season schedule on Tuesday, traveling to Luther for a 3:30 p.m. nonconference doubleheader against the fourth-ranked Norse.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (17-19 Overall) at #4 Luther Norse (32-2 Overall)
 
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Last Action:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals managed just one run against UW-Eau Claire in the team's nonconference doubleheader Monday at the Saint Mary's Field, as the Blugolds dealt Saint Mary's 2-0 and 8-1 setbacks | Recap
• Luther: The Norse locked up the Iowa Conference regular-season title—and the post-season tournament's No. 1 seed—with a pair of convincing wins over the University of Dubuque on Sunday in Decorah, Iowa, as Luther cruised to 7-1 and 8-0 victories | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Luther—Their Last Meeting:
• April 12, 2012: Less than 24 hours after squaring off against 22nd-ranked St. Thomas, Saint Mary's entertained fourth-ranked Luther at the Saint Mary's Field. And for the second day in a row, the Cardinals gave their nationally ranked foe all their could handle in the opener—only to come up just short—as Luther rallied from a 4-2, fifth-inning deficit to beat the Cardinals 8-7. Unfortunately for the Cardinals, Game 2 was eerily similar as well, as the Norse held Saint Mary's to just three hits in completing the sweep with a 16-5 victory | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: Tuesday's doubleheader against Luther is the season-finale for the Cardinals.
• Luther: Tuesday's twinbill vs. Saint Mary's is the regular-season finale for the Norse, who will host the six-team Iowa Conference tournament this Friday and Saturday in Decorah, Iowa.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2015 Roster | 2015 Statistics | 2015 Schedule
Tuesday's games against fourth-ranked Luther mark the fourth time this season the Cardinals have squared off against a nationally ranked opponent. Saint Mary's has already faced No. 6 Trine, No. 15 St. Thomas, and No. 18 Augustana. … After allowing just one run on five hits in 14 innings against Concordia last Saturday, Ashley Betzold (Farmington, Minn.) limited UW-Eau Claire to one run on four hits in the Cardinals 2-0 Game 1 loss to the Blugolds Monday. … In her last three starts, Betzold has allowed just three runs on nine hits—tossing a two-hitter and three-hitter against Concordia last Friday, and Monday's four-hitter against UW-Eau Claire. … Betzold has now tossed a team-leading 19 complete games—ranking second all-time—and has logged 195.0 of the team's 238.2 innings. She has compiled an 14-14 record and a 2.73 ERA in a team-high 33 appearances. … Betzold has struck out a team-best 110 batters, including a season-high nine against Augsburg in Game 1 on April 11, and owns all three of the team's shutouts. … Alex Raske (Chicago, Ill.) and Kathi Opsahl (Elk River, Minn.) each had a hit in both games against UW-Eau Claire Monday. … Opsahl has now had a hit in 14 of the Cardinals' last 16 games—including two hits four times. … Sam Borawski (Stickney, Ill.) hit her second home run of the season—and second of her four-year collegiate career—in the Cardinals' 6-0 win over Concordia in Game 2 last Saturday. … Saint Mary's boasts four players who have hit their first collegiate home runs this season—Betzold, Borawski, Brittney Birkhauser (Wisconsin Rapids, Wis.), and Stanzy Snyder (Johnston, Iowa). … Snyder and Opsahl enter Saint Mary's season finale against Luther leading the team in batting average at .355 and .350, respectively. … Opsahl also leads the team with 41 hits—one more than Raske and two in front of Snyder—and 27 RBIs. … Snyder boasts team-highs in doubles (9), slugging percentage (.500), walks (17) and on-base percentage (.454). … Raske, who went 3-for-3 with three RBIs, scored five runs in the opener vs. Macalester on April 22—it was the most runs scored by a Cardinal player since Jaci Prondzinski scored five times vs. Mount Mary College on March 20, 2009. … Raske now leads the team in runs scored with 31. … Harper belted her team-leading third triple of the season vs. Macalester on April 22. … Opsahl has recorded a team-best 12 multiple-hit and seven multiple-RBI games. … Opsahl's five RBIs in Game 2 vs. Carleton on March 31 marked the second time in her collegiate career the sophomore has driven in five runs in a game. … Snyder had her season- and team-high nine-game hitting streak snapped in Game 2 vs. St. Thomas on April 8. … Kali Aldrich (Rochester, Minn.) recorded her first collegiate four-hit game vs. Macalester on April 22, going 4-for-5 with three RBIs and three runs scored in Game 1. … Katie Homan (North Mankato, Minn.) notched her first collegiate pitching win with a complete-game three-hitter in a 4-1 win over Misericordia on March 2 … Abbey Killian (Fountain City, Wis.) collected her first collegiate win with 2/3 innings of hitless relief in Game 2 against Gustavus on April 6. …  The Cardinals have held their opponents to two runs or less in 11 of their 17 wins. … The Cardinals' 18 runs in their 18-15 Game 1 win over Macalester last Wednesday were the most since plating 27 in a 27-0 rout of Mount Mary College on March 20, 2009. … The Cardinals' 11-run fourth inning was it highest single-inning output since plating 13 against Mount Mary College on March 20, 2009. … The Cardinals' 18 runs in their 18-15 Game 1 victory over Macalester last Wednesday marked the fourth time this season they have plated 10 or more runs. … Saint Mary's has outscored its opponents 22-6 in the second inning and 15-7 in the third. … The Cardinals own a pair of walk-off wins this season—Betzold belted a three-run home run in the bottom of the seventh inning of Saint Mary's 3-1 Game 1 win over St. Olaf on April 10, while Allie Borawski (Stickney, Ill.) delivered a game-ending RBI single, capping a two-run seventh inning in the Cardinals' 5-4 Game 2 win over Augsburg a day later. … Saint Mary's 14-5, six-inning Game 2 victory over Carleton on March 31 was its second win shortened by the eight-run rule. … Fourteen of Saint Mary's games have been decided by one run. … With their 4-1, 5-4 sweep of Gustavus on April 6, the Cardinals snapped a pair of lengthy streaks against the Gusties. The Game 1 victory ended Saint Mary's 11-game losing streak vs. GAC—dating back to an identical 4-1 win on May 2, 2011. And the sweep-clinching 5-4 win in the nightcap completed the Cardinals' first sweep of the Gusties since winning 5-3 and 9-1 on April 12, 2005—a span of nine years and 18 regular-season games.   
 
Scouting The Luther Norse:
2015 Roster | 2015 Statistics | 2015 Schedule
The Norse head into their nonconference doubleheader against Saint Mary's ranked No. 4 in the latest NFCA Top 25.  The Norse have now been ranked in the Top-25 Poll 83 of the last 86 weeks dating back to 2009. … With their sweep of the University of Dubuque on Sunday, the Norse have now won four straight and 10 of their last 11. … With their two wins on Sunday, Luther locked up the Iowa Conference regular-season title with a perfect 12-0 record. … Luther opened the season with a program-best 24-game winning streak—a run that was snapped with an 8-6 setback to UW-Stevens Point on April 6. Luther then promptly won its next six contests, before falling for just the second time this season, 7-5, in Game 2 vs. UW-La Crosse on April 14. … Luther heads into Tuesday's showdown with Saint Mary's hitting .409 as a team—and boasting seven regulars who are hitting above .400. … Kelsey Rose leads the team with a .509 batting average in 28 games, while Hillary Pennington (.485) is the team-leader in at-bats (132), runs (46), and hits (64). … Carli Radil (.422) is belted a team-best 15 doubles and two triples, and has driven in a team-high 50 runs. … Alise Miller (.400) and Katie Wieland (.383) share the team lead with seven home runs each. … As a team, Luther has stolen 39 bases this season, led by Pennington with 15 steals on 17 attempts. … Amanda Witzlib has led a trio of Norse pitchers this season, compiling a 16-2 record and 2.33 ERA in 108.1 IP. Annie Versnik is 10-0 with a 1.81 ERA in 58.0 IP, while Topanga Skiles is 8-0 with a 3.10 ERA in 58.2 IP. … Witzlib has made a team-high 24 appearances—including 15 starts—and owns 10 complete games. She has also struck out a team-best 131 batters. … Luther has scored 10 or more runs 14 times this season, including a season-high 16 runs in a 16-0 win over Milikin on Feb. 28. … Renae Hartl picked up her 400th career coaching win in Luther's 4-3 win over UW-River Falls on March 6. … In her 14 seasons at the helm, Hartl's teams have captured three Iowa Conference championships (2007, 2011, 2012), and made seven NCAA III National Tournament appearances in the last eight years. Her teams have finished fifth at the NCAA III National Championships in 2010, 2012 and 2013; and seventh in 2011.