NORTHFIELD, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota fastpitch softball team hits the road on Thursday, traveling to St. Olaf for a 3:30 p.m. Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference doubleheader against the Oles.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (2-4 MIAC | 13-9 Overall) at St. Olaf Oles (1-5 MIAC | 6-9 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats (not available)
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals dropped both ends of their conference doubleheader against St. Thomas last Sunday at the Saint Mary's Field, falling to the 20^th-ranked Tommies 11-0 in the opener and 5-1 in the nightcap | Recap
• St. Olaf: The Oles came up empty in their MIAC twinbill against Hamline last Sunday, falling to the Pipers 6-1 and 7-0 in St. Paul, Minn. | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. St. Olaf—Their Last Meeting:
• April 10, 2015 * Winona, Minn.: Two swings of the bat determined the outcome of the Cardinals' Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference doubleheader against St. Olaf. Ashley Betzold (Farmington, Minn.) delivered a walk-off, three-run home run in the bottom of the seventh inning to rally the Cardinals to a 3-1 conference win the opener of their twinbill against the Oles at Saint Mary's Field. Unfortunately, the Oles returned the favor in Game 2, as Brooke Paradise blasted a three-run home run of her own in the top of the fifth inning, breaking a 1-1 tie and leading St. Olaf to the 4-1 victory | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals are back on the road to kick off another busy conference weekend on Saturday, traveling to St. Peter, Minn., for a 1 p.m. doubleheader against Gustavus. Saint Mary's will then return home on Sunday, hosting Macalester in a 1 p.m. MIAC twinbill.
• St. Olaf: The Oles are back on their home field on Saturday, hosting Saint Benedict in a 1 p.m. conference DH at Mabel Shirley Field in Northfield, Minn., before heading to Minneapolis, Minn., for a 1 p.m. doubleheader against Augsburg on Sunday.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2016 Roster | 2016 Statistics | 2016 Schedule
• Last Sunday's doubleheader against St. Thomas was the fourth straight home date for the Cardinals, who hit the road Thursday for the first time since going 3-1 in their four games at the Rochester (Minn.) Dome on March 4-5. … The Cardinals' two games against No. 20 St. Thomas marked the third time in their last four doubleheaders that they have squared off against a nationally ranked opponent—Saint Mary's faced No. 17 St. Catherine on April 3 and No. 7 Luther on March 29. … Last Sunday's 11-0 loss to St. Thomas in the opening game of their MIAC doubleheader was the first time this season the Cardinals have dropped Game 1 of a conference twinbill. … The Cardinals have put together winning streaks of five and three (twice) game this season. … Six of the Cardinals 13 wins have been shortened to six innings or less by the eight-run rule. … Saint Mary's has allowed just 32 runs in its 13 wins this season—including four shutout victories. … The Cardinals' four hits in their two losses to No. 20 St. Thomas came from four different players. … Ashley Betzold (Farmington, Minn.), who went 4-for-4 in Game 2 against Saint Benedict on April 6, delivered her first home run of the season—a second-inning solo shot—against St. Thomas last Sunday. … As a team, the Cardinals are hitting .300 through 22 games, led by Mariah Harper's (Schaumburg, Ill.) team-high .491 average. … Betzold (.373), Stanzy Snyder (Johnston, Iowa / .343), Tessa Kuschke (Grant, Minn. / .311), and Brittney Birkhauser (Wisconsin Rapids, Wis. / .308) are also hitting above .300. … Harper owns a team-high 26 hits, one more than Betzold and three in front of Snyder, while Birkhauser owns a team-high 18 runs scored. … Harper leads or shares the team lead in doubles (7), triples (2), total bases (40), slugging percentage (.755), and on-base percentage (.557). … Harper has been hit by a pitch a team-leading four times—including twice against Saint Benedict on April 6. … Saint Mary's boasts six players with 10 or more RBIs, led by Birkhauser with 18. Kuschke (14), Harper (13), Kathi Opsahl (Elk River, Minn. / 12), Betzold (12), and Snyder (11) are the other five. … Birkhauser launched her team-leading second home run in Game 1 against No. 18 St. Catherine on April 3. … Harper hit her first collegiate home run vs. Luther on March 29, while Betzold and Katie Krull (Rochester, Minn.) owns the Cardinals' other HR. Krull's was a grand slam vs. John Carroll on Feb. 28. … Birkhauser's four RBIs vs. St. Catherine in the opener on April 3 tied her single-game career high. … Harper owns a team-leading nine multiple-hit games—with all nine being two-hit performances—while Birkhauser is the team-leader with six multiple-RBI games. …  Harper has reached base safely in 19 of the Cardinals' 22 contests this season. … The Cardinals have used four different pitchers this season, led by Betzold, who has logged a team-high 92.2 innings, compiling a 9-6 record and 2.34 ERA. … Betzold has made a team-high 15 starts, has tossed a team-leading 10 complete games, and has struck out 57 batters… Betzold's Game 2 complete-game effort against St. Thomas last Sunday was the 44^th complete game of her career—tying her with Jill Hocking for second all-time. … Abbey Killian (Fountain City, Wis. / 3-2, 3.33 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 33-12 scoring edge in the fourth. … The Cardinals have held their opponents to two runs or less in eight of their 22 games. … The Cardinals have been held to two runs or less in seven of their nine losses. On the flip side, Saint Mary's is 11-0 when scoring six or more runs. … Saint Mary's is 6-0 when scoring in the first inning, and 10-3 when scoring the game's first run. … Saint Mary's Game 2 loss to Saint Benedict on April 6 marked the first time this season the Cardinals have lost when leading after the fifth inning (8-1). … All nine Cardinals had at least one hit in Saint Mary's 9-5 Game 1 win over Saint Benedict on April 6—led by Snyder and Toni Hunsinger (Farmington, Minn.) with two each. … 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. Olaf Oles:
2016 Roster | 2016 Statistics | 2016 Schedule
• Thursday's doubleheader against Saint Mary's is the first of back-to-back home dates for Oles, who have played just two of their first 15 games at Mabel Shirley Field. … St. Olaf enters its DH vs. Saint Mary's having lost two straight and six of its last seven. … In their last seven games, St. Olaf has been outscored 44-8—with four runs coming in the Oles' lone win during that span, a 4-3 victory over St. Catherine. … Emily Carr and Jessica Bentley have been the offensive leaders for the Oles, hitting .381 and .378, respectively. … Bentley also leads or shares the team lead in at-bats (45), hits (17), doubles (4), triples (1), home runs (1), RBIs (13), total bases (26), and slugging percentage (.578). … Carr and Becca Walz have scored a team-high nine runs each. … Carr and Bentley own the team's two triples, while the duo, along with Walz, have accounted for St. Olaf's three home runs. … St. Olaf has just six stolen base attempts this season—the Oles are 5-for-6. … St. Olaf has used three different pitchers this season, led by Alex Lopez and Chandler Beaupre, who have logged 41.1 and 32.2 innings, respectively. … Lopez (2-4, 5.01 ERA) has made a team-high six starts, one more than Beaupre (3-2, 5.51 ERA). … Lopez owns six complete games and boasts a team-high 22 strikeouts. … The Oles have been outscored a combined 18-5 in the first two innings, while on the flip side, St. Olaf has outscored its opponents 11-3 in the seventh inning. … St. Olaf has been held to two runs or less in four of its seven losses. … The Oles are 5-0 when leading after the sixth inning. … St. Olaf is 2-0 when scoring in the first inning, while going 4-1 when plating the game's first run. … St. Olaf scored a season-high 13 runs in a 13-2 win over Mount Saint Vincent on March 23.