WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota fastpitch softball team kicks off Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Sunday, hosting St. Catherine in a conference doubleheader. First pitch is slated for 1 p.m. at the Saint Mary's Field.
The Matchup:• Saint Mary's Cardinals (0-0 MIAC | 11-5 Overall) vs. St. Catherine (0-0 MIAC | 13-0 Overall)
GameDay Live On The Web:•
Live Stats |
GameDay Program Last Action:• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals dropped both of their nonconference games against seventh-ranked Luther on Tuesday at the Saint Mary's Field, falling to the Norse 5-1 in the opener and 4-1 in the nightcap |
Recap• St. Catherine: The Wildcats kept their season-opening unbeaten streak in tact on Tuesday—but it wasn't easy. St. Catherine scored three runs in the bottom of the 13
th inning to rally for a 7-6 nonconference win over UW-River Falls in St. Paul, Minn. |
Recap Saint Mary's vs. St. Catherine—Their Last Meeting:• April 16, 2015 * St. Paul, Minn.: St. Catherine pitchers Krista Flugstad and Megan Lindenfelser limited the Cardinals to a combined four hits—and no runs—as St. Catherine swept Saint Mary's 6-0 and 2-0 in the team's conference doubleheader |
Recap Up Next:• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals are right back on the Saint Mary's Field on Wednesday, hosting Saint Benedict. First pitch in the MIAC twinbill is set for 3:30 p.m.
• St. Catherine: The Wildcats head to Northfield, Minn., on Wednesday, squaring off against St. Olaf in a conference doubleheader. Game 1 is set to start at 3:30 p.m.
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals: 2016 Roster |
2016 Statistics |
2016 Schedule• Sunday's doubleheader against St. Catherine is the second of three straight home dates for the Cardinals, who play three of their next four DHs at the Saint Mary's Field. … Saint Mary's showdown against No. 18 St. Catherine marks the second straight doubleheader against a nationally ranked team for the Cardinals, who faced No. 7 Luther last Tuesday. … With their 5-1 and 4-1 setbacks to No. 7 Luther, the Cardinals have now been held to two runs or less in four of their five losses. … The Cardinals have put together winning streaks of five and three (twice) this season. … Six of the Cardinals 11 wins have been shortened to six innings or less by the eight-run rule. … Saint Mary's has allowed just 22 runs in its 11 wins this season—including four shutout victories. …
Ashley Betzold (Farmington, Minn.) and
Mariah Harper (Schaumburg, Ill.) accounted for five of the Cardinals' seven hits against seventh-ranked Luther last Tuesday. Betzold went 3-for-4 in Game 1, while Harper was 2-for-2 with a home run in the nightcap. … As a team, the Cardinals are hitting .323 through 16 games, led by Harper (.579),
Stanzy Snyder (Johnston, Iowa / .400), and Betzold (.396). … Harper owns a team-high 22 hits, two more than Snyder, while
Brittney Birkhauser (Wisconsin Rapids, Wis.) owns a team-high 16 runs scored. … Harper leads or shares the team lead in doubles (6), triples (2), home run (1), total bases (35), slugging percentage (.921), and on-base percentage (.628). … Saint Mary's boasts four players with 10 or more RBIs, led by Birkhauser with 14. … Harper's home run vs. Luther last Tuesday—her first collegiate round-tripper—was the Cardinals' third of the season. Saint Mary's other two HRs came in its 8-0 win over John Carroll on Feb. 28—Birkhauser launched a three-run shot, and
Katie Krull (Rochester, Minn.) delivered a grand slam. … Harper has recorded a team-high eight multiple-hit games. … Harper owns a team-leading nine multiple-hit games, while Birkhauser is the team-leader with five multiple-RBI games. … Harper hit safely in each of the Cardinals' first seven games and has had at least one hit in 12 of their first 16 games. … Harper has reached base safely in 15 of the Cardinals' 16 contests this season. … The Cardinals have used four different pitchers this season, led by Betzold, who has logged a team-high 56.2 innings, compiling a 7-2 record and 1.24 ERA. … Betzold has made a team-high nine starts, has tossed a team-leading seven complete games, and has struck out 45 batters…
Abbey Killian (Fountain City, Wis. / 3-2, 2.83 ERA) has thrown three complete games in her five starts, including her second collegiate three-hitter against Wartburg on Feb. 28. … Saint Mary's has outscored its opponents 21-4 in the first inning, while holding a 30-6 scoring edge in the fourth and a 11-6 advantage in the fifth. … The Cardinals have held their opponents to two runs or less in eight of their 16 games. … Saint Mary's is 6-0 when scoring in the first inning, and 9-2 when scoring the game's first run. … The Cardinals are 7-0 when leading after the fifth inning. … The Cardinals' 18 wins a year ago marked the third time in the last four years that they have reached the 18-win mark. It's the most victories since Saint Mary's went 23-18 during the 2011 season.
Scouting The St. Catherine Wildcats: 2016 Roster |
2016 Statistics |
2016 Schedule• St. Catherine enters Saturday's conference doubleheader at Saint Mary's ranked No. 18 in the latest NFCA Top 25. … The Wildcats bring an unblemished 13-0 record into Sunday's doubleheader against Saint Mary's. … St. Catherine's 7-6, 13-inning win over UW-River Falls lasted three hours and 25 minutes—the second-longest game in program history. … St. Catherine heads into its doubleheader vs. Saint Mary's hitting .315 as a team—led by Donielle Kurvers (.455), Ashley Sis (.422), and Robyn Rohr (.422). … Sis and Rohr share the team lead in both at-bats (45) and hits (19), while Sis is also the team-leader in runs (14), doubles (7), total bases (29), and slugging percentage (.644). … Rohr has driven in a team-leading 15 runs, two more than Sis, while Sammie Galvez has clubbed a team-high two of the Wildcats' seven home runs. … The Wildcats are a near-perfect 20-for-21 in the stolen base department, led by Rohr's six steals. … Krista Flugstad and Megan Lindenfelser have been the workhorses in the pitching circle for the Wildcats, with Flugstad logging a team-high 49.0 innings, followed closely by Lindenfelser's 31.2. … Flugstad enters Sunday's games 6-0 with a 0.55 ERA in eight appearances, while Lindenfelser is 6-0 with a 1.71 ERA in six appearances. … Both Flugstad and Lindenfelser have thrown three complete games, with Flugstad owning 58 strikeouts, six more than Lindenfelser. … St. Catherine has outscored its opponents 89-25 and has scored eight or more runs in a game seven times this season—including a season-high 12 in a 12-7 win over Colby on March 21. … SCU has held its opponents to two runs or less in nine of its 13 wins—including five victories by shutout. … The Wildcats have scored first in eight of their 13 games this season. … Five of SCU's 13 wins have been by two runs or less.
