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.