WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota fastpitch softball team returns to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Sunday, as the Cardinals host St. Thomas in a 1 p.m. doubleheader at the Saint Mary's Field.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (2-2 MIAC | 13-7 Overall) vs. St. Thomas Tommies (4-0 MIAC | 17-3 Overall)
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals recorded their second split in as many MIAC doubleheaders on Wednesday at Saint Mary's Field, beating Saint Benedict 9-5 in the opener, before falling 5-3 in Game 2 | Recap
• St. Thomas: The Tommies kept their conference record perfect with a pair of MIAC wins over Augsburg on Wednesday in Minneapolis, Minn. UST beat the Auggies 3-2 in the opener, then needed just five innings to complete the sweep wit an 8-0 win in Game 2
 
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Saint Mary's vs. St. Thomas—Their Last Meeting:
• April 8, 2015 * St. Paul, Minn.: It took Saint Mary's five innings to get their offense on track against nationally ranked St. Thomas. But with one swing of the bat—a Stanzy Snyder (Johnston, Iowa) two-run home run in the sixth inning—the Cardinals found themselves three outs away from knocking out the MIAC's defending regular-season champs. Unfortunately, all it took was one swing of the bat for the Tommies to snatch the victory from the Cardinals' grasp, as McKenzie Wergin laced a walk-off, two-run single to give St. Thomas a 3-2 victory in the opener of the teams' conference doubleheader at the St. Thomas Field. The Cardinals came up with another late-inning run in the nightcap on a Kali Aldrich (Rochester, Minn.) RBI single in the top of the seventh, but this time around, the Tommies had jumped out to a 7-0 advantage en route to the sweep-clinching 7-1 victory | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals hit the road on Thursday, traveling to Northfield, Minn., for a 3:30 p.m. conference doubleheader against St. Olaf
• St. Thomas: After three straight road conference doubleheaders, the Tommies finally return home on Thursday, hosting Hamline in a 3:30 p.m. MIAC twinbill at the St. Thomas Field in St. Paul, Minn.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2016 Roster | 2016 Statistics | 2016 Schedule
• Sunday's doubleheader against St. Thomas is the fourth straight home date for the Cardinals, who have not played a road game since going 3-1 in their four games at the Rochester (Minn.) Dome on March 4-5. … With their 9-5 win over Saint Benedict on Wednesday, the Cardinals have now won the opening game in both of their MIAC doubleheaders this season. … Both of the Cardinals' doubleheaders last week were against nationally ranked opponents—No. 7 Luther and No. 18 St. Catherine. … 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. … All nine Cardinals had at least one hit in Saint Mary's 9-5 Game 1 win over Saint Benedict Wednesday—led by Stanzy Snyder (Johnston, Iowa) and Toni Hunsinger (Farmington, Minn.) with two each. … Ashley Betzold (Farmington, Minn.) went 4-for-4 and Allie Borawski (Stickney, Ill.) finished 2-for-4 in Wednesday's Game 2 loss. … Betzold's four Game 2 hits were a single-game career-high. … As a team, the Cardinals are hitting .316 through 20 games, led by Mariah Harper's (Schaumburg, Ill.) team-high .521 average. … Betzold (.387), Snyder (.371), Tessa Kuschke (Grant, Minn. / .333), and Brittney Birkhauser (Wisconsin Rapids, Wis. / .328) are also hitting above .300. … Harper owns a team-high 25 hits, one more than Betzold and two in front of Snyder, while Birkhauser owns a team-high 18 runs scored. … Harper leads or shares the team lead in doubles (6), triples (2), total bases (38), slugging percentage (.792), and on-base percentage (.584). … Harper has been hit by a pitch a team-leading four times—including twice against Saint Benedict on Wednesday. … 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 (11), 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 Katie Krull (Rochester, Minn.) owns the Cardinals' other HR—delivering a grand slam vs. John Carroll on Feb. 28. … Birkhauser's four RBIs vs. the Wildcats 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 hit safely in each of the Cardinals' first seven games and has had at least one hit in 15 of their first 20 games. … Harper has reached base safely in 19 of the Cardinals' 20 contests this season. … The Cardinals have used four different pitchers this season, led by Betzold, who has logged a team-high 81.2 innings, compiling a 9-4 record and 2.06 ERA. … Betzold has made a team-high 13 starts, has tossed a team-leading nine complete games, and has struck out 55 batters… Betzold's Game 1 complete-game effort against Saint Benedict Wednesday was the 43^rd complete game of her career—ranking her No 3 all-time. … Abbey Killian (Fountain City, Wis. / 3-2, 2.79 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 33-8 scoring edge in the fourth. … The Cardinals have held their opponents to two runs or less in eight of their 20 games. … The Cardinals have been held to two runs or less in five of their seven 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. … Wednesday's Game 2 loss to Saint Benedict marked the first time this season the Cardinals have lost when leading after the fifth inning (8-1). … 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. Thomas Tommies:
2016 Roster | 2016 Statistics | 2016 Schedule
• The Tommies head into Sunday's doubleheader against Saint Mary's riding a 15-game winning streak—including four straight MIAC victories. … Since returning from their spring trip to Clermont, Fla., the Tommies have rattled off six straight wins—outscoring their opponents 36-4 with four shutouts. … As a team, the Tommies are hitting .321, and boast 10 players who are hitting .300 or better. … Kierstin Anderson-Glass enters Sunday's showdown at Saint Mary's hitting a team-best .500 (22-for-44), while Megan Bush is also hitting above .400 at 444 (16-for-39). … Micaela Trainor has scored a team-high 14 runs, while Anderson-Glass is the team-leader with 22 hits. … Anderson-Glass is one of nine Tommies with 10 or more hits though 20 games. … Meg DuPuis has belted a team-high nine doubles, while Trainor leads the team with two triples and Brenna Walek's four home runs are tops on the team. … As a team, St. Thomas has launched 12 home runs. … The Tommies are 39-46 in the stolen base department, led by DuPuis who is a perfect 10-for-10. … Trainor owns a team-high seven multiple-hit games—one more than DuPuis—while also leading the Tommies with seven multiple-RBI games. … Anderson-Glass put together a team-high 10-game hitting streak earlier this season. No Tommie has a current hitting streak longer than three games. … St. Thomas has used four different pitchers this season, led by Anderson-Glass (79.2 IP) and KatieJo Delisle (40.2 IP). … Anderson-Glass owns an 11-2 record and 1.23 ERA in 15 appearances, while Delisle is 5-1 with a 1.55 ERA in 11 games. … Anderson-Glass has struck out 101 batters (8.87 K/G) and owns the team's lone save. … St. Thomas has scored 10 or more runs three times this season—including a season-high 16 runs against both Thomas (ME) in a 16-2 win and vs. Greenville in a 16-4 victory. … Eight of St. Thomas' 17 wins have come via shutout. On the flip side, the Tommies have been blanked once—falling to Alma 2-0 on March 12. … St. Thomas has been held to a combined three runs in its three losses this season. … St. Thomas has outscored its opponents 120-41 through 20 games—including 40-14 in the third inning, and 26-0 after the fifth. … The Tommies have held their opponent to two runs or less in 14 of their 17 wins. … UST is unbeaten (9-0) when scoring in the first inning, and 14-2 when plating the game's first run. … The Tommies are a perfect 10-0 when leading after the sixth inning.