ST. PETER, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota fastpitch softball team is back on the road on Saturday, traveling to Gustavus for a 1 p.m. Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference doubleheader against the Gusties.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (3-5 MIAC | 14-10 Overall) at Gustavus Gusties (7-3 MIAC | 16-8 Overall)
 
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Last Action:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals were held scoreless for the first 10 innings of their conference doubleheader against St. Olaf Thursday in Northfield, Minn., but a pair of two-run outbursts in the fourth and fifth innings of Game 2 allowed Saint Mary's to salvage a split with the Oles. St. Olaf won the opener 1-0, while the Cardinals took Game 2 4-2 | Recap
• Gustavus: Gustavus collected a pair of wins over Macalester on Thursday in St. Peter, Minn., beating the Scots 4-2 in the opener, and then rallying for the game-tying run in the bottom of the seventh and the game-winning run in the bottom of the eighth for an 8-7 victory in the nightcap | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Gustavus—Their Last Meeting:
• April 6, 2015 * Winona, Minn.: Sam Borawski (Stickney, Ill.) belted her first collegiate home run—a two-run shot in the fourth inning—while Ashley Betzold (Farmington, Minn.) also drove in two runs and tossed a complete-game seven-hitter, in leading the Cardinals to a 4-1 victory in the opening game of the team's conference twinbill at the Saint Mary's Field.  And with a flair for the dramatic, the Cardinals completed the sweep by getting a lead-off home run from Kathi Opsahl (Elk River, Minn.) and a walk-off, game-winning single by Mariah Harper (Schaumburg, Ill.) in the bottom of the seventh en route to a 5-4 victory | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: After back-to-back road doubleheaders, the Cardinals return home to the Saint Mary's Field on Sunday, hosting Macalester in a 1 p.m. conference doubleheader.
• Gustavus: The Gusties are right back on the diamond on Sunday, heading to Moorhead, Minn., for a 1 p.m. MIAC twinbill against Concordia.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2016 Roster | 2016 Statistics | 2016 Schedule
• The Cardinals' sweep of Gustavus last season marked the first time Saint Mary's had posted back-to-back regular-season wins over the Gusties since 2005—a span of nine years and 18 games. … Saint Mary's 4-2 win over St. Olaf Thursday marked the first time in four conference doubleheaders that Saint Mary's has won Game 2. … The Cardinals' four runs in their 4-2 Game 2 win over St. Olaf Thursday snapped their season-high four-game losing streak—and also ended a run of four straight games in which Saint Mary's was held to three runs or less. … Kathi Opsahl (Elk River, Minn.) accounted for two of the Cardinals' four hits in the opener against St. Olaf Thursday, while Brittney Birkhauser (Wisconsin Rapids, Wis.) was one of four Cardinals with two or more hits in the nightcap, collecting a team-high three hits in four at-bats. … Ashley Betzold (Farmington, Minn.) pitched all 13 innings against the Oles on Thursday, giving the Cardinal junior 46 career complete games—which ranks second all-time, just six shy of Jenny Schipp's career-record 52 complete games. … Mariah Harper's (Schaumburg, Ill.) enters this weekend leading the team in batting average (.467), hits (28), doubles (7), triples (2), total bases (42), slugging percentage (.700), and on-base percentage (.536). … Harper is one of five Cardinals who are hitting above .300—Betzold (.356), Stanzy Snyder (Johnston, Iowa / .333), Birkhauser (.319), and Tessa Kuschke (Grant, Minn. / .318) are the others. … Saint Mary's, which has scored 132 runs this season, has eight players who have scored 10 or more runs, led by Birkhauser (18), Snyder (16), Betzold (16), and Harper (16). … Birkhauser also owns the team lead in home runs (2) and RBIs (18). … Harper hit her first collegiate home run vs. Luther on March 29, while Betzold and Katie Krull (Rochester, Minn.) own the Cardinals' other HRs. Krull's round-tripper was her first collegiate grand slam vs. John Carroll on Feb. 28. … Harper has been hit by a pitch a team-leading four times—including twice against Saint Benedict on April 6. … Betzold recorded her first collegiate four-hit game in Game 2 against Saint Benedict on April 6, going a perfect 4-for-4. … Birkhauser's four RBIs vs. St. Catherine in the opener on April 3 tied her single-game career high. … Harper owns a team-leading 10 multiple-hit games—with all 10 being two-hit performances—while Birkhauser is the team-leader with six multiple-RBI games. … The Cardinals have used four different pitchers this season, led by Betzold, who has logged a team-high 105.2 innings, compiling a 10-7 record and 2.25 ERA. … Betzold has made a team-high 17 starts, has tossed a team-leading 12 complete games, and has struck out 57 batters… 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 35-12 scoring edge in the fourth. … The Cardinals have held their opponents to two runs or less in 10 of their 24 games. … The Cardinals have been held to two runs or less in eight of their 10 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 11-3 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 (9-1). … Six of the Cardinals 14 wins have been shortened to six innings or less by the eight-run rule. … Saint Mary's has allowed just 34 runs in its 14 wins this season—including four shutout victories. … 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 have put together winning streaks of five and three (twice) game this season. … The Cardinals have played three nationally ranked teams this season—No. 7 Luther, No. 18 St. Catherine, and No. 20 St. Thomas. … 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 Gustavus Gusties:
2016 Roster | 2016 Statistics | 2016 Schedule
• Saturday's doubleheader against Saint Mary's is the fourth in five days for the Gusties, who have already faced Hamline (Tuesday), Augsburg (Wednesday), and Macalester (Thursday). … With Thursday's wins over Macalester, the Gusties improved to 9-3 in the month of April, including wins in four of their last five games. … Gustavus boasts six regulars who are hitting .300 or better, led by Rachel Strandmark (.328) and Nathalee Boissiere (.323). … Standmark, Rachel Malo (.314), and Emily Webb (.310) all share the team lead with 22 hits, one more than Boissierre and Hannah Heacox (.318). … Malo is also the team-leader in runs 922), while Boissiere has delivered a team-high eight doubles and Heacox has driven in a team-leading 17 runs. … Malo owns the team lead with seven multiple-hit games, while Heacox has posted a team-leading four multiple-RBI contests. … Strandmark's current eight-game hitting streak is the team's longest of the season. She has also reached base safely in nine consecutive games. … Gustavus is 16-for-23 in stolen base attempts this season, led by Webb, who is a perfect 4-for-4. … Kaitlyn Bicek (.297) is the only Gustie to have started all 24 games this season. … Gustavus has used three different pitchers this season, led by Heacox, who has logged a team-high 99.2 innings. … Heacox enters Saturday's DH vs. Saint Mary's with a 12-3 record and 2.46 ERA in 19 appearances—including 13 starts. … Heacox has tossed eight of the team's nine complete games and has struck out 109 batters. … Gustavus has outscored its opponents 124-97, including 21-12 in the game's first inning. … The Gusties are 6-1 when scoring in the first inning, and 8-1 when plating the game's first run. … GAC has held its opponents to two runs or less in nine of its 16 wins this season. … The Gusties are 13-0 when scoring six or more runs.