ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota fastpitch softball team closes out its 2016 season on Tuesday, traveling to xxxx for a 5 p.m. Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference doubleheader against Augsburg.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (9-11 MIAC | 20-16 Overall) at Augsburg Auggies (9-11 MIAC | 20-18 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals rode the right arm of pitcher Ashley Betzold (Farmington, Minn.) and the bat of Brittney Birkhauser (Wisconsin Rapids, Wis.) to a sweep of Concordia last Saturday. Betzold hurled back-to-back complete games—allowing a combined nine hits—while Birkhauser laced three home runs in leading Saint Mary's to 3-0 and 10-3 conference wins over the Cobbers at the Saint Mary's Field | Recap
• Augsburg: The Auggies picked up a pair of one-run victories in their MIAC doubleheader against Concordia on Monday in Moorhead, Minn., beating the Cobbers 1-0 in the opener, before completing the sweep with a 2-1 win in the nightcap.
 
Saint Mary's vs. Augsburg—Their Last Meeting:
• April 11, 2015 * Winona, Minn.: The Cardinals came up empty in the first game of their MIAC doubleheader against Augsburg at the Saint Mary's Field, falling to the Auggies 3-0. Fortunately for the Cardinals, there was some late-inning magic in Game 2. Saint Mary's, held scoreless for the first three innings of the second game, rallied from a 4-0 deficit—getting a walk-off RBI single from Allie Borawski (Stickney, Ill.) with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning—as the Cardinals salvaged a split with a 5-4 victory | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Tuesday's two conference games are the season finales for both the Cardinals and the Auggies
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2016 Roster | 2016 Statistics | 2016 Schedule
• With their two wins against Concordia last Saturday, Saint Mary's improved to 20-16 overall—it's the most victories since the Cardinals went 23-18 during the 2011 season, and the third time in the last four years they have won at least 18 games. … The Cardinals' last six conference doubleheaders have all been sweeps—Saint Mary's has swept three, 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. … Saint Mary's 3-0 win over Concordia last Saturday was its seventh shutout of the season. … With his complete-game shutout in Game 1 against Concordia last Saturday, Ashley Betzold (Farmington, Minn.) became the program's all-time career leader in complete game with 53. The junior added No. 54 in Game 2 vs. the Cobbers. … Stanzy Snyder (Johnston, Iowa) had two hits in both of the Cardinals' games against Concordia last Saturday—and has now had two hits in each of the team's last seven games. … Brittney Birkhauser (Wisconsin Rapids, Wis.) launched three home runs against Concordia last Saturday—two solo home runs in Game 1, and a two-run shot in Game 2. … With her two Game 1 HRs vs. the Cobbers, Birkhauser became the first Cardinal to hit two home runs in a game since Alex Raske did it against Saint Benedict on April 14, 2013. … 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. … Mariah Harper (Schaumburg, Ill.) enters the Cardinals' season finale against Augsburg leading the team with a .385 batting average, .531 slugging percentage, and .468 on-base percentage. … Snyder, who is second to Harper with a .371 BA, leads or shares the team lead in at-bats (116), runs (25), hits (43), triples (3), total bases (56), and walks (14). … Harper and Snyder are two of five Cardinal regulars hitting above .300—Betzold (.330), Birkhauser (.312), and Kuschke (.302) are the others. … Saint Mary's, which has scored 184 runs this season, has nine players who have scored 10 or more runs, led by Snyder (25), Birkhauser (24), and Harper (21). … 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 was hit by a pitch twice against Concordia last Saturday, pushing her team-leading total to nine. … 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 16 multiple-hit games, three more than Harper. … Harper's 13 multiple-hit games have all been two-hit performances. … Birkhauser is the team leader with eight multiple-RBI games. … Harper owns the team's longest hitting streak at seven games, while Snyder'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 168.1 innings, compiling a 16-12 record and 2.58 ERA. … Betzold notched her 19^th and 20th complete games of the season against Concordia last Saturday. … Betzold's 20 complete games equal her single-season career high and are one shy of the school record 21 complete games Megan Wallisch tossed during the 2007 season. … 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 28 starts, owns six shutouts, and has struck out 103 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 27-12 in the first inning, while holding a 48-16 scoring edge in the fourth. … The Cardinals have held their opponents to two runs or less in 15 of their 35 games—including 13 of their 20 wins. … 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 on April 23 marked the first time this season the Cardinals have lost when scoring six runs or more (15-1). … Saint Mary's is 15-6 when scoring the game's first run. … The Cardinals have lost just twice when leading after the fifth inning (13-2). … 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 Augsburg Auggies:
2016 Roster | 2016 Statistics | 2016 Schedule
• With their sweep of Concordia Monday, the Auggies head into Tuesday's regular-season finale against Saint Mary's having won five of their last six—with all five being decided by two runs or less. … Brianna Cline went 2-for-3 and drove in the Auggies' lone run in their 1-0 Game 1 win over Concordia Monday, while the Auggies' five hits in Game 2 came from five different players—Cline, Sarah Buckner, Haley Larson, Carly Dropik, and Ashley Anfinson.… Samantha Anderson recorded her 12^th pitching win of the season with a three-hit shutout against the Cobbers on Monday, before adding win No. 13 in the nightcap. … With her three hits against Concordia Monday, Cline pushed her team-leading batting average to .420. … Cline is one of four Auggies hitting above .300—Dropik (.330), Buckner (.308), and Taylor Mattice (.308) are the other three. … Along with her .420 batting average, Cline also leads the Auggies in at-bats (112), hits (47), doubles (15), triples (4), RBIs (29), total bases (70), slugging percentage (.625), and on-base percentage (.488). … Dropik has scored a team-best 30 runs, two more than Cline. … Augsburg has hit three home runs this season—two from Anderson and the other from Haley Larson. … Cline owns the team lead in both multiple-hit (16) and multiple-RBI (8) games. … Buckner has the team's longest hitting streak (9), but Dropik's three-game run is the Auggies' longest current hitting streak. … Augsburg has used four different pitchers this season, with Anderson (119.1 IP) and Courtney Larsen (90.1 IP) logging most of the innings. … Anderson owns a team-best 13 wins (13-4) and a 2.64 ERA, while Larsen is 5-10 with a 3.64 ERA. … Larsen leads the team in starts (21) and complete games (8), with Anderson owning the team lead in appearances (29), saves (2), and strikeouts (151). … The Auggies have outscored their opponents 172-148 this season, including 25-14 in the second inning and 27-18 in the third. … Augsburg has been held to two runs or less in 14 of its 18 losses—including seven shutout setbacks. On the flip side, the Auggies have held their opponents to two runs or less in 14 of their 20 wins—including four shutout victories. … Augsburg has not won a game when surrendering six or more runs (0-10) and the Auggies are unbeaten (13-0) when scoring six or more runs. … The Auggies are a near-perfect 17-1 when scoring the game's first run. … Augsburg is 15-1 when leading after the fourth inning.