WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota fastpitch softball team takes to the field for the second time in as many days on Sunday, as the Cardinals entertain Macalester in a Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference doubleheader at the Saint Mary's Field. First pitch is set for 1 p.m.
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (3-7 MIAC | 14-12 Overall) vs. Macalester Scots (3-7 MIAC | 10-18 Overall)
GameDay Live On The Web:
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Live Stats |
GameDay Program
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals managed just one run in each of their MIAC games against Gustavus on Saturday, falling to the Gusties 2-1 in Game 1 and 5-1 in the nightcap in St. Peter, Minn. |
Recap
• Macalester: Macalester picked up a split in its conference doubleheader against Carleton Saturday, beating the Knights 8-5 in the opener, before falling 9-0 in the nightcap in St. Paul, Minn. | Recap
Saint Mary's vs. Macalester—Their Last Meeting:
• April 22, 2015 * St. Paul, Minn.: The Cardinals, who led 15-0 after three-and-a-half innings—thanks in part to an 11-run fourth inning—survived Macalester's 15-run rally to hand the Scots a wild, 18-15 setback in Game 1 of the team's MIAC doubleheader. Saint Mary's took the more traditional route in the nightcap, scoring two runs in both the second and fifth innings, and adding a solo run in the seventh in completing the conference sweep with a 5-1 victory |
Recap
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals are back on the road on Tuesday, traveling to Ona Orth Athletic Complex in Arden Hills, Minn., for a 3:30 p.m. conference doubleheader against Bethel.
• Macalester: The Scots are back on the diamond—and back on the road—on Wednesday, traveling across town to St. Thomas for a 4 p.m. MIAC twinbill against the nationally ranked Tommies.
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2016 Roster |
2016 Statistics |
2016 Schedule
• With Sunday's doubleheader against Macalester, the Cardinals are playing their third twinbill in four days. … Saint Mary's 4-2 win over St. Olaf last Thursday marked the only time in their five conference doubleheaders that the Cardinals have 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. …
Ashley Betzold (Farmington, Minn.),
Kathi Opsahl (Elk River, Minn.), and
Stanzy Snyder (Johnson, Iowa) accounted for the Cardinals' three hits in Game 1 against Gustavus Saturday, while
Mariah Harper (Schaumburg, Ill.),
Kali Aldrich (Rochester, Minn.), and
Toni Hunsinger (Farmington, Minn.) each had two hits in Game 2. … Betzold—who pitched all 13 innings against St. Olaf on Thursday—collected her third straight complete game in the opener against Gustavus Saturday. … Betzold has now tossed 13 complete games this season, giving the Cardinal junior 47 career complete games—which ranks second all-time, just five shy of Jenny Schipp's career-record 52 complete games. … Harper enters Sunday's game against Macalester leading the team in batting average (.448), hits (30), doubles (7), triples (2), total bases (44), slugging percentage (.657), and on-base percentage (.513). … Harper is one of five Cardinals who are hitting above .300—Betzold (.354), Snyder (.317),
Brittney Birkhauser (Wisconsin Rapids, Wis. / .312), and
Tessa Kuschke (Grant, Minn. / .304) are the others. … Saint Mary's, which has scored 134 runs this season, has eight players who have scored 10 or more runs, led by Birkhauser (19), 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 11 multiple-hit games—with all 11 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 115.2 innings, compiling a 10-9 record and 2.24 ERA. … Betzold has made a team-high 19 starts, has tossed a team-leading 13 complete games, and has struck out 67 batters…
Abbey Killian (Fountain City, Wis. / 3-2, 3.14 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 21-7 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 11 of their 26 games. … The Cardinals have been held to two runs or less in 10 of their 12 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 Hunsinger 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 Macalester:
2016 Roster |
2016 Statistics |
2016 Schedule
• Sunday's doubleheader at Saint Mary's is the first of back-to-back road dates for the Scots, who are 8-15 on the road this season. … The Scots headed into their weekend games against Carleton and Saint Mary's in the midst of a five-game losing streak. … Five of the Scots' last six games have been decided by two runs or less. … Macalester heads into Sunday's showdown against Saint Mary's boasting four players who are hitting above .300—G.G. Gunther (.398), Abby Cox (.375), Lisa Semro (.357), and Morghan Bean (.301). … Gunther also leads or shares the team lead in at-bats (83), runs (25), hits (33), triples (2), and total bases (49). … Cox is the team-leader in doubles (11), walks (16), slugging percentage (.600), and on-base percentage (.480), while Bean owns the team lead in home runs (3) and her 22 RBIs are second to Nikki Calcedo's team-high 23. … Gunther has amassed 10 multiple-hit games, with Calcedo delivering eight multiple-RBI contests. … Calcedo owns the team's longest hitting streak at eight games, but Gunther's six-game run is the Scots' longest active hitting streak. … As a team, Macalester has gone 34-for-40 in stolen base attempts, led by Gunther, who is 12-for-14. … Macalester has used four different pitchers this season, with all four logging more than 23 innings. … Sophie Megacz has been the ace of the Scots' staff, compiling a 6-6 record and 3.89 ERA in a team-high 77.1 IP. … Migacz has started 11 games, owns eight complete games and has struck out a team-high 61 batters. … Makaya Resner (1-2, 4.64 ERA), Bean (0-4, 5.69 ERA) and Logan Toole (2-5, 9.30 ERA) have also spent time in the pitcher's circle for the Scots this season. … Macalester has scored a team-high 14 runs twice this season—beating Bethany Lutheran 14-0 and Ripon 14-4.
