WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota fastpitch softball team closes out the home portion of its schedule on Saturday, entertaining Concordia in a Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference doubleheader at the Saint Mary's Field. First pitch is slated for 1 p.m.
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (7-11 MIAC | 18-16 Overall) vs. Concordia Cobbers (3-11 MIAC | 16-16 Overall)
GameDay Live On The Web:
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Senior Salute
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals fell twice to Hamline last Saturday at Meredith Field in St. Paul, Minn., falling in heartbreaking fashion in the opener—when the Pipers scored six times in the bottom of the seventh inning en route to a 10-9 victory—before dropping Game 2, 6-2 |
Recap
• Concordia: The Cobbers have been off since last Sunday, when they split their conference twinbill against Hamline in Fargo, N.D., beating the Pipers 9-5 in the opener, before falling in Game 2 8-3 |
Recap
Saint Mary's vs. Concordia—Their Last Meeting:
• April 25, 2015 * Winona, Minn.:
Ashley Betzold (Farmington, Minn.) was at her best, as the Saint Mary's right-hander limited visiting Concordia to just one run on five hits over 14 innings in the teams' Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference doubleheader at the Saint Mary's Field. Unfortunately, Betzold's effort was only good enough for a conference split. Concordia scored the only run of Game 1 in the top of the seventh to beat Saint Mary's 1-0, while the Cardinals erupted for four runs in the second and two more in the fifth to earn the split with a 6-0 victory in the nightcap |
Recap
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals hit the road on Tuesday, heading to Augsburg's Edor Nelson Field in Minneapolis, Minn., for a conference doubleheader against the Auggies.
• Concordia: The Cobbers are right back in action on Monday, hosting Augsburg in the first of three straight conference doubleheaders in a three-day span. First pitch is slated for 1 p.m.
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2016 Roster |
2016 Statistics |
2016 Schedule
• Saturday's doubleheader against Concordia will be the final home games for Cardinal seniors
Mariah Harper (Schaumburg, Ill.),
Katie Krull (Rochester, Minn.),
Katie Ehlenfeldt (Beaver Dam, Wis.), and Jessica Ainley (Eden Prairie, Minn.). … The Cardinals head into their twinbill against Concordia boasting 18 wins—marking the third time in the last four years that they have reached the 18-win mark. It's also the most victories since Saint Mary's went 23-18 during the 2011 season. … The Cardinals' last five conference doubleheaders have all been sweeps—Saint Mary's has swept two, and been swept three times. … Saint Mary's 8-0, five-inning Game 2 win over Carleton on April 20 marked the seventh Cardinal win shortened to six innings or less by the eight-run rule. … The Cardinals' seven-run outburst in the opener vs. Carleton on April 20 snapped a string of three straight games in which Saint Mary's was held to one run. … Saint Mary's 8-0 win over Carleton was their sixth shutout of the season. …
Stanzy Snyder (Johnston, Iowa) had two hits in both games against Hamline last Saturday. … Harper and
Ashley Betzold (Farmington, Minn.) each had two hits in Game 1 against the Pipers, while
Kathi Opsahl (Elk River, Minn.) enjoyed a two-hit game in the nightcap. …
Tessa Kuschke (Grant, Minn.) 3-for-3 Game 2 effort against Carleton on April 20 was the first three-hit attack of her collegiate career, while her two-run, sixth-inning home run in the opener was her first in a Cardinal uniform. … Kuschke's home run vs. Carleton marked the second straight game the Cardinals had a player blast their first collegiate round-tripper—
Alexa Diteman (Burnsville, Minn.) achieved the feat in the second game of Saint Mary's DH at Bethel a day earlier. … Harper enters the Cardinals DH against Concordia leading the team in batting average, hitting .407. Harper is one of three Cardinal regulars who are hitting above .300—Snyder (.358) and Betzold (.340) are the others. … Saint Mary's, which has scored 171 runs this season, has nine players who have scored 10 or more runs, led by Snyder (23),
Brittney Birkhauser (Wisconsin Rapids, Wis. / 21), Harper (20), and
Kali Aldrich (Rochester, Minn. / 19). … Snyder also leads the team in at-bats (109), hits (39), doubles (7), triples (3), and total bases (52). … Birkhauser is the team-leader in home runs (2) and RBIs (21), while Harper boasts team-highs in both slugging percentage (.560) and on-base percentage (.481). … Harper hit her first collegiate home run vs. Luther on March 29. … Betzold and
Katie Krull (Rochester, Minn.) join Birkhauser, Harper, Diteman, and Kuschke as Cardinals who have hit home runs this season. … 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 seven times. … Betzold recorded her first collegiate four-hit game in Game 2 against Saint Benedict on April 6, going a perfect 4-for-4. …
Allie Borawski (Stickney, Ill.) equaled her single-season career high, going 3-for-4 in the Cardinals' 8-5 Game 1 win over Macalester last Sunday. … Birkhauser's four RBIs vs. St. Catherine in the opener on April 3 tied her single-game career high. … Snyder owns a team-leading 14 multiple-hit games, one more than Harper. … Harper's 13 multiple-hit games have all been two-hit performances. … Birkhauser and Betzold are the team-leaders with six multiple-RBI games. … Harper owns the team's longest hitting streak at seven games, while Borawski's current six-game run is the Cardinals' longest active hit streak. … The Cardinals have used four different pitchers this season, led by Betzold, who has logged a team-high 154.1 innings, compiling a 14-12 record and 2.68 ERA. … Betzold notched her 18th complete game in the Cardinals' Game 1 loss to Hamline last Saturday. The junior right-hander has now thrown 52 career complete games—tying her with Jenny Schipp for No. 1 all-time. … Betzold limited Macalester to just three hits in the Cardinals' 1-0 Game 2 win on April 17—it was her fifth three-hitter of the season and the eighth time this year she has limited the opposition to three hits or less. …Betzold has made a team-high 26 starts, owns five shutouts, and has struck out 88 batters…
Abbey Killian (Fountain City, Wis. / 3-3, 3.15 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 26-12 in the first inning, while holding a 45-15 scoring edge in the fourth. … The Cardinals have held their opponents to two runs or less in 14 of their 34 games. … The Cardinals have been held to two runs or less in 13 of their 16 losses. … Saint Mary's 10-9 loss to Hamline in Game 1 last Saturday marked the first time this season the Cardinals have lost when scoring six runs or more (14-1). … Saint Mary's is 13-6 when scoring the game's first run. … The Cardinals have lost just twice when leading after the fifth inning (11-2). … 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.
Scouting The Concordia Cobbers:
2016 Roster |
2016 Statistics |
2016 Schedule
• Saturday's games against Saint Mary's start a stretch of four doubleheaders in five games for the Cobbers—including back-to-back-to-back DHs vs. Augsburg, Gustavus, and St. Olaf on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. … Last Sunday's 9-5 win over Hamline in Game 1 snapped the Cobbers' three-game losing streak. … CC enters its doubleheader against Saint Mary's just 2-10 in its last 12 games. … Sydney Roberts belted a three-run home run and Kayla Nack added a grand slam to account for seven of the Cobbers' nine runs in their Game 1 win over Hamline last Sunday. … The grand slam was the first home run of Nack's collegiate career—and only her third extra-base hit as a Cobber. … Concordia heads into its DH at Saint Mary's boasting a pair of regulars who are hitting above .300—Madison Little (.375) and Mackenzie McCloud (.341). … Little also leads the team in at-bats (104), runs (22), hits (39), triples (2), total bases (49), and on-base percentage (.405). … McCloud has delivered a team-high eight doubles and shares the team lead in triples (2), while Roberts (.282) is the team-leader in home runs (5), RBIs (21), and slugging percentage (.592). … Roberts has accounted for five of the team's seven home runs—Nack (.229) and Little have hit the other two. … Little is the team-leader with 12 multiple-hit games, two more than Devonie Smith, while Roberts has compiled a team-best six multiple-RBI games. … McCloud owns the team's longest hitting streak at 12 games, but no Cobber has an active hitting streak longer than three games. … The Cobbers have gone 42-for-50 in the stolen base department, led by Little's 15-for-17 showing. … Abigail Haraldson has been the workhorse in the pitcher's circle for the Cobbers, throwing 144.2 of the team's 203.2 innings. … Haraldson recorded her career-high 11th pitching win of the year in CC's 9-5 Game 1 win over Hamline last Sunday. … Heraldson's 11 wins ties her for second most in a single season. The record for wins by a CC pitcher in a year is 19 set by Erin Gunderson who went 19-10 in 2000. … Haraldson, who is 11-14 with a 3.15 ERA, has started 26 of the team's 32 games, posting 13 complete games, one shutout and 164 strikeouts. … Haraldson also owns all three of the Cobbers' saves. … The Cobbers have been held to two runs or less in 12 of their 16 losses. … CC is a perfect 11-0 when scoring six or more runs. … Thirteen of Concordia's 32 games have been decided by shutout. The Cobbers are 5-8 in those 13 contests. … The Cobbers have scored first in 10 of their 16 wins, while going 8-3 when plating the game's first run. … Concordia is 12-0 when leading after five innings, and 0-13 when trailing after the fifth.
