CLERMONT, Fla. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota fastpitch softball team kicks off its 2017 season with 10 nonconference games as part of their seven-day spring trip.
 
The Matchups:
February 26, 2017 | Legends Way Field #2 * Clermont, Fla. | 9 a.m. (EST)
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (2016: 22-16 Overall) vs. Augustana (Ill.) Vikings (2016: 16-22 Overall)
February 26, 2017 | Legends Way Field #3 * Clermont, Fla. | 2 p.m. (EST)
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (2016: 22-16 Overall) vs. Waynesburg Jackets (2016: 17-23 Overall)
February 27, 2017 | Legends Way Field #5 * Clermont, Fla. | 11:30 a.m. (EST)
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (2016: 22-16 Overall) vs. Otterbein Cardinals (2016: 29-7-2 Overall)
February 27, 2017 | Legends Way Field #4 * Clermont, Fla. | 4:30 p.m. (EST)
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (2016: 22-16 Overall) vs. Hanover Panthers (2016: 20-20 Overall)
March 1, 2017 | Legends Way Field #5 * Clermont, Fla. | 11:30 a.m. (EST)
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (2016: 22-16 Overall) vs. Rose-Hulman Fightin' Engineers (2016: 12-20 Overall)
March 1, 2017 | Legends Way Field #4 * Clermont, Fla. | 2 p.m. (EST)
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (2016: 22-16 Overall) vs. Wartburg Knights (2016: 18-24 Overall)
March 2, 2017 | Legends Way Field #5 * Clermont, Fla. | 9 a.m. (EST)
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (2016: 22-16 Overall) vs. Otterbein Cardinals (2016: 29-7-2 Overall)
March 2, 2017 | Legends Way Field #3 * Clermont, Fla. | 2 p.m. (EST)
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (2016: 22-16 Overall) vs. Neumann Knights (2016: 26-16 Overall)
March 4, 2017 | Legends Way Field #3 * Clermont, Fla. | 2 p.m. (EST)
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (2016: 22-16 Overall) vs. Penn State-Brandywine Lions (2016: 25-18 Overall)
March 4, 2017 | Legends Way Field #3 * Clermont, Fla. | 4:30 p.m. (EST)
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (2016: 22-16 Overall) vs. Mitchell Mariners (2016: 11-22 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats (Otterbein Games) |  
 
Last Action:
• This week's games in Clermont, Fla., are the 2017 season-openers for the Cardinals and its nine opponents.
 
Saint Mary's vs. Spring Trip Opponents—Their Last Meeting:
• vs. Augustana (Ill.) * March 5, 2015 * Clermont, Fla.: The Cardinals committed seven errors, and it came back to haunt them, as Augustana—ranked No. 18 in the latest NFCA Top 25—handed Saint Mary's a 6-5 nonconference setback | Recap
• vs. Otterbein * February 27, 2016 * Clermont, Fla.: After scoring 55 runs in winning their first five spring trip games, The Cardinals' offense ran into a bit of a roadblock, as Otterbein handed Saint Mary's its first setback of the season—riding a three-run second inning to a 5-3 victory | Recap
• vs. Rose-Hulman * February 29, 2016 * Clermont, Fla.: Clinging to a 3-0 lead and facing a bases-loaded, no-out jam in the top of the seventh, the Cardinals promptly turned their first triple play in more than a decade in beating Rose-Hulman 3-0 | Recap
• vs. Wartburg * February 28, 2016 * Clermont, Fla.: Riding a five-run second inning that included a Kathi Opsahl (Elk River, Minn.) three-run home run, the Cardinals cruised to a 9-0, five-inning win over Wartburg | Recap
• vs. Neumann * February 29, 2016 * Clermont, Fla.: The Cardinals' high-powered offense was silenced through the game's first five innings, as Saint Mary's closed out its 10-game spring trip with a 4-2 loss to Neumann | Recap
• The Cardinals' games against Waynesburg, Hanover, Penn State-Brandywine, and Mitchell will be the first meetings in program history.
 
Cardinals' Up Next:
• The Cardinals return to action—weather permitting—on March 25-26, hosting UW-River Falls in a 1 p.m. nonconference doubleheader on March 25, before traveling to La Crosse, Wis., for a 2 p.m. twinbill against UW-La Crosse the following day.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2017 Roster | 2016 Final Statistics | 2017 Schedule
• Saint Mary's boasted three players who were named First-Team All-MIAC in 2016, including returner Ashley Betzold (Farmington, Minn.). … The Cardinals closed out 2016 with 22 wins—it's the most victories since Saint Mary's went 23-18 during the 2011 season, and the third time in the last four years they have won at least 18 games. … Saint Mary's closed out the season on a four-game winning streak. The Cardinals also put together winning streaks of five and three (twice) games this season. … Saint Mary's last seven conference doubleheaders were all sweeps—the Cardinals swept four and were swept in the other three. … Seven of the Cardinals' 22 wins last season were shortened to six innings or less by the eight-run rule. … The Cardinals recorded eight shutout wins last season. … Betzold became the program's all-time single-season and career leader in complete games. The junior right-hander broke Megan Wallisch's single-season record by tossing 22 complete games this season, while also eclipsing Jenny Schipp's career mark, closing out her third season as a Cardinal with 56 complete games. … Betzold closed out 2016 logging a team-high 182.1 innings, compiling an 18-12 record and 2.61 ERA. … 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 she held the opposition to three hits or less last season. … Betzold made a team-high 30 starts, owned six shutouts, and struck out 113 batters. It was the second straight season Betzold had fanned 113 batters. … Graduated senior Mariah Harper (Schaumburg, Ill.) closed out the year as the Cardinals' offensive leader with a .390 batting average, .543 slugging percentage, and .467 on-base percentage. … Saint Mary's, which scored 199 runs last season, had nine players who scored 10 or more runs. … Brittney Birkhauser (Wisconsin Rapids, Wis.), who closed out her sophomore year as the team's home run lead with six, launched three home runs against Concordia on April 30—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. … Harper was hit by a pitch nine times last season—and a school-record 17 times in her four-year career. … Harper's 15 multiple-hit games were all been two-hit performances. … Birkhauser was the team leader with nine multiple-RBI games. …  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 on April 17. … Birkhauser's four RBIs vs. St. Catherine in the opener on April 3 tied her single-game career high. … Abbey Killian (Fountain City, Wis. / 3-3, 3.15 ERA) tossed three complete games in her five starts in 2016, including her second collegiate three-hitter against Wartburg on Feb. 28. … Saint Mary's outscored its opponents 20-13 in the first inning, 41-24 in the second, and 53-20 in the fourth. … The Cardinals held their opponents to two runs or less in 16 of their 37 games a year ago—including 14 of their 22 wins. … The Cardinals were 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 only time last season the Cardinals lost when scoring six runs or more (17-1). … Saint Mary's finished 17-6 when scoring the game's first run. … The Cardinals lost just twice when leading after the fifth inning (15-2). … All nine Cardinals had at least one hit in Saint Mary's 9-5 Game 1 win over Saint Benedict. … The Cardinals played three nationally ranked teams last season—No. 7 Luther, No. 18 St. Catherine, and No. 20 St. Thomas.
 
Scouting The Augustana Vikings:
2017 Roster | 2016 Final Statistics | 2017 Schedule
• The Vikings are coming off a 16-22 season a year ago, including a 6-8 effort in the CCIW. … Augustana will be without the services of pitcher Ashley Anderson, who closed out her collegiate career among the program's leaders in several statistical categories, while aslo earned All-CCIW honors in 2016. … Anderson finished the year 11-10 with a 2.44 ERA. She completed 18 of her 21 starts with three shutouts, throwing 132 innings and striking out 90—all staff bests. Offensively, she hit .321, was second on the team with 22 RBIs and tied for second in runs scored with 19. Her two home runs ranked fourth on the club. … Zayne Blumberg hit a team-leading .395 in 2016 and was one of six Vikings to hit above .300 a year ago. … Brittany Kellett (.358), who played in a team-high 37 of the Vikings' 38 games last season, led the team in at-bats (198), runs (39), doubles (8), and total bases (56). … Carly Wilson (.359) scored a team-best 27 runs, was a near-perfect 9-for-10 in stolen base attempts, and was third in RBIs with 20. … Blumberg and Kellett shared the team lead in home runs with three. … Shelby Grandt (.253) finished with a team-high 25 RBIs. … Kellett closed out 2016 with a team-leading 13 multiple-hit games, three more than Wilson, while Grandt boasted a team-high eight multiple-RBI games. … Jordan Arndt closed out 2016 collecting a hit in Augustana's final nine games. Arndt's nine-game hitting streak was the Vikings' longest of the season. … Augustana outscored its opponents by two runs last season, 196-194. … The Vikings were held to two runs or less in 13 of their 22 losses last season. On the flip side, Augustana finished 12-2 whne limiting its opponents to less than three runs. … The Vikings plated 10 or more runs six times last season, including a season-high 20 runs twice—beating Lyndon State 20-0 on Feb. 25 and Johnson State 20-0 on Feb. 28. 
 
Scouting The Waynesburg Jackets:
2017 Roster | 2016 Final Statistics | 2017 Schedule
• Waynesburg closed out 2016 with a 17-23 overall record, including an 8-10 showing in the Pacific Athletic Conference (PAC). … Courtney Messenger returns after earning Second-Team All-PAC honors during her freshman campaign a year ago. … Messenger posted 12 wins, a 2.16 ERA and 90 strikeouts in 2016, ranking among the top five in the conference in each category. On March 26, Messenger posted her first of three consecutive shutouts in a 5-0 win at La Roche. One week later, she threw back-to-back shutout wins over Chatham, allowing just four hits while striking out 19 batters over 14 combined innings. During a four-day stretch in April, Messenger did not allow a run over 16 innings of work—picking up wins over Geneva, Pitt-Greensburg and Bethany. … Keri Renzler—one of just two Jackets to start all 40 games a year ago—led the team in batting average (.311), while also boasting team hits in hits (33) and walks (19). … Alex Lawrence (.305) and Katey Potopenko (.283) were both second to Renzler with 32 hits, while Lawrence owned a team-leading eight doubles and accounted for all four of Waynesburg's home runs. … Lawrence boasted a team-best 52 total bases and .495 slugging percentage, with Potopenko leading the Jackets with 21 RBIs. … Sabrina Stankus and Renzler shared the team lead with eight multiple-hit games, while Lawrence and Potopenko each collected five multiple-RBI contests. … Stankus put together the team's top hitting streak at eight consecutive games. … The Jackets were held to two runs or less in 18 of their 23 losses last season. … Waynesburg scored first in 15 of its 17 wins and went 13-5 when scoring three or more runs. … The Jackets were 12-1 when leading after five innings, but were winless (0-20) when trailing heading into the sixth inning. … Waynesburg scored 10 or more runs four times in 2016, including a season-high 25-run outburst in beating Penn State Fayette 25-4 on March 29.
 
Scouting The Otterbein Cardinals:
2017 Roster | 2016 Final Statistics | 2017 Schedule
• Otterbein is coming off a 29-7-2 campaign a year ago—including a 16-2 mark in the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC). … The Cardinals dropped its first two games in the OAC Tournament, falling to Heidelberg 6-1 and Ohio Northern 10-2. … Otterbein was ranked as high as No. 18 in the NFCA Top 25 during the 2016 season. … The Cardinals return five players who were named NFCA All-Central Region in 2016, including first-teamers Molly Riggs, Maddie Flasco, Bailey McElwain, and Rachael Owens. Megan Garner, a third-teamer, was the fifth Otterbein player honored. … Flasco closed out 2016 leading the team in batting average (.458), hits (60), and doubles (12). … Flasco was one of five Cardinal regulars to hit above .400—Riggs (.453), Meggin Kelley (.444), Owens (.438), McElwain (.429), and McElwain (.429) were the others. … Otterbein boasted five players with 50 or more hits and had three players with 30 or more runs. … McElwain belted 10 of the Cardinals' 17 home runs last season, while amassing a team-best 103 total bases, 46 RBIs, and a .774 slugging percentage. … Riggs stole a team-leading 19 bases in 20 attempts. … Rachel Owens was the ace of a five-pitcher staff, compiling a 15-4 record and a 1.86 ERA in 22 appearance. She tossed a team-high 14 complete games and logged 112.2 innings. … Gabby Johnson (8-2, 2.57 ERA) was second on the squad in appearances (20), complete games (6), shutouts (2), and innings pitched (94.1), while leading the Cardinals with 87 strikeouts.
 
Scouting The Hanover Panthers:
2017 Roster | 2016 Final Statistics | 2017 Schedule
• The Panthers are coming off a 20-20 campaign in 2016 that included the program's first HCAC Tournament title, not to mention its first appearance in the NCAA National Tournament. … The Panthers lost their two national tournament games, falling to Illinois Wesleyan 7-2 and DePauw 2-0. … Hanover boasted four players who hit .300 or better last season, led by Lyndsea Burke with a .398 average. Anna Phillipe (.333), Dabney Skutt (.331), Gabby Ritchey (.314), and McKenzie Writt (.310) were the others. … Skutt closed out 2016 as the team leader in at-bats (139), hits (46), triples (2), and total bases (61). … Ritchey scored a team-high 32 runs, while also leading the squad in walks (24) and stolen bases (30-for-35). … Writt drove in a team-best 34 runs, while Burke boasted a team-leading .454 slugging percentage. … Hanover his 13 home runs last season, led by Lillian Hughes and Sidney Powers with three each. … Sydney Griffin was the ace of the Panthers' pitching staff, compiling a 14-8 record and a 2.64 ERA. Griffin also led the team in appearances (25), complete games (19), shutouts (5), innings pitched (151.1) and strikeouts (123). … Twelve of Hanover's 20 games were decided by shutout—the Panthers were 6-6 in those 12 contests. … Hanover finished the season 11-2 when limiting its opponents to two runs or less, while going 1-11 when scoring less than three runs. … The Panthers scored first in 15 of their 20 wins a year ago.
 
Scouting The Rose-Hulman Fightin' Engineers:
2017 Roster | 2016 Final Statistics| 2017 Schedule
• Rose-Hulman kicks off its 2017 season after going 12-20 overall in 2016—including a 3-11 mark in HCAC play. … Jenny Miller led the RHIT offense a year ago, hitting 352. Jessica Will (.327) and Gabbi Markison (.313) join Miller as the only three Fightin' Engineers to hit above .300 last season. … Along with her .327 batting average—second to Miller—Will led the team in at-bats (110), runs (21), hits (36), and doubles (7). … Miller belted a team-high  seven home runs, recorded a team-best 24 RBIs, and boasting a team-leading .670 slugging percentage. … With seven home runs in both 2015 and 2016, Miller ranks second in program history with 14 home runs. … Taylor Lockhart was the workhorse of the RHIT pitching staff, compiling an 8-8 record and a 1.85 ERA in 109.2 innings of work. Lockhart also accounted for 85 of the staff's 114 strikeouts, while posting 14 complete games among her 19 appearances—including 16 starts. … Rose-Hulman scored 10 or more runs four times in 2016—including a season-high 12-run effort in beating Spalding 12-4 on March 26. On the flip side, RHIT was held to two runs or less in 10 of its 20 losses. 
 
Scouting The Wartburg Knights:
2017 Roster | 2016 Final Statistics | 2017 Schedule
• The Knights are coming off an 18-24 season a year ago, including a 7-7 showing in the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC)—and a berth in the IIAC tournament for the first time since 2009. … Erica Countryman closed out 2016 with a team-leading .450 batting average, with Mara Forsyth close behind at .437. The Knights also had two other regulars—Kristie Sommer (.338) and Kailee O'Brien (.324)—hitting above .300. … Countryman also led the Knights in at-bats (131), runs (30), hits (59), and stolen bases (16-for-21). … Forsyth owned a team-leading 10 doubles, two triples and 10 home runs, while driving in a team-best 43 runs and owning an .807 slugging percentage. … Kimberly Wedeking logged a team-high 149.2 innings in the pitcher's circle, compiling an 11-13 record and a 3.61 ERA. Wedeking made 24 starts—completing 19— and tossed a pair of shutouts. She also struck out a tea-high 87 batters. … Wartburg scored 10 or more runs five times in 2016—including a season-high 17-run performance in routing UW-Platteville 17-1 on April 6. … Wartburg collected its biggest win in program history last season, beating second-ranked Luther 12-4 in six innings. It snapped Luther's 27-game winning streak, while ending Wartburg's 12-game losing streak against the Norse.
 
Scouting The Neumann Knights:
2017 Roster | 2016 Final Statistics | 2017 Schedule
• The Knights put together a 26-16 season in 2016, including a 21-1 showing in Colonial States Athletic Conference (CSAC) play. … Neumann won both of its conference tournament games to capture its second straight CSAC title and earn a berth into the NCAA National Tournament. The Knights fell to Manhattanville (9-0) and College of Staten Island (3-2) in its two national tournament contests. … Neumann was an offensive juggernaut in 2016, hitting .348 as a team—boasting seven regulars who hit above .300—led by Julia Cox (.419) and Danielle Grayson (.419). … Cox—one of just two players to start all 42 games—led the Knights in at-bats (124), runs (38), hits (52), doubles (11), triples (2), total bases (76), walks (17) and on-base percentage. … Grayson belted a team-best eight home runs, while also leading the team in RBIs (423) and slugging percentage (.742). … Neumann had eight players with 20 or more RBIs. … Lauren Wilkie and Haley Broomell were the workhorses of the Neumann pitching staff. Wilkie posted a 10-5 record and a 2.60 in 99.2 innings of work, with Broomell close behind with a 9-6 record and 3.98 ERA in 84.1 innings pitched. … Wilkie tossed 13 complete games—with three shutouts—while Broomell also had three shutouts among her 10 complete games. … Wilkie and Broomell finished with 62 and 56 strikeouts, respectively. … Neumann did not win a game (0-11) when held to two runs or less. The Knights finished 18-2 when limiting their opponents under thre runs. … Neumann went 24-3 when scoring six or more runs—including a perfect 13-0 mark in games in which the Knights plated 10 or more runs. … Neumann scored first in 20 of its 26 wins in 2016.
 
Scouting The Penn State-Brandywine Lions:
2017 Roster | 2016 Final Statistics | 2017 Schedule
• PS-B enters its spring trip on the heels of a 25-18 showing in 2016, including a near-perfect 12-1 performance in Penn State University Athletic Conference (PSUAC). … The Lions captured their second straight PSUAC title and earned the conference's automatic berth in the USCAA Softball National Championship, which they finished fourth. … Brandywine's No. 4 finish was the top finish by a PS-B team in any sport at a USCAA national tournament. … After losing their first 10 games of the 2016 season, PS-B went 25-8 over its final 33 games. … The Lions return three USCAA All-Americans in Robyn Gannon, Olivia Encarnacion, and Steph Harvey. … Gannon and Arianna Segich shared the team lead with .395 batting averages. The duo were two of nine Lions who hit above .300 a year ago. … Segich led the team in at-bats (129), runs (50), hits (51), triples (6), home runs (4), slugging percentage (.597), and stolen bases (36). … Gannon—second to Segich in at-bats (124) and hits (49)—shared the team lead in RBIs (31) with Harvey. … PS-B relied a trio of pitchers in 2016, led by Encarnacion and Grace DeRosa, who both collected 10 wins—Encarnacion going 10-7, while DeRosa was 10-6—and logged over 94 innings in the pitcher's circle. … Encarnacion tossed 15 complete games among her 16 starts, with DeRosa close behind with 14 complete games in 16 starts. … DeRosa fanned a team-high 66 batters, eight more than Encarnacion.
 
Scouting The Mitchell Mariners:
2017 Roster | 2016 Final Statistics | 2017 Schedule
• The Mariners enter the 2017 season on the heels of an 11-22 effort in 2016—including a 10-8 showing in the New England Collegiate Conference and an appearance in the NECC tournament. … Shannon O'Neil, named to the All-NECC First-Team during her senior season a year ago, led the Mariners with a .426 batting average, while also boasting team-highs in hits (40), doubles (9), home runs (4), RBIs (22), walks (13), on-base percentage (.500), and slugging percentage (.649). … Samantha DelConte and Brittany Fiederlein also hit above .300 last season, each compiling batting averages of .333. … DelConte was the team-leader in at-bats (102) and runs (29), and shared the team lead in doubles (9) with O'Neil. … Mitchell finished with 18 stolen bases a year ago, led by DelConte and Jacquelyn White with four each. … Brittany Fiederlein was the workhorse of the Mariner pitching staff, appearing in 23 of the team's 33 games—including 23 starts. She posted an 11-12 record with a 3.86 ERA in 137.2 innings pitched. Fiederlein tossed 20 complete games and struck out 103 batters. … Mitchell scored 10 or more runs five times—including a stretch of four games in late April in which the Mariners scored 14, 23, 13, and 11 runs in sweeping Daniel Webster and Southern Vermont, respectively. On the flip side, Mitchell surrendered 10 or more runs in a game eight times, including a season-high 22 in a 22-1, five-inning loss to Central (Iowa) on March 5.