ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota fastpitch softball team kicks off Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Saturday, traveling to St. Catherine for a doubleheader against the Wildcats. First pitch is slated for 1 p.m.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (0-0 MIAC, 6-10 Overall) at St. Catherine Wildcats (0-0 MIAC, 12-6 Overall), 1 p.m.
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—March 28, 2017 * Decorah, Iowa: The Cardinals scored a combined five runs in the first inning of their two nonconference games against ninth-ranked Luther. Over the other 10 innings, however, they managed just one run, as the Norse handed the Cardinals 10-2 and 10-4 setbacks | Recap
• St. Catherine—March 28, 2017 * Waverly, Iowa: The Wildcats put an end to their three-game losing streak, posting wins of 2-0 and 6-4 in their nonconference doubleheader at Wartburg | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. St. Catherine—Their Last Meeting:
• April 3, 2016 * Winona, Minn.: Thanks to two swings of Brittney Birkhauser's (Wisconsin Rapids, Wis.) bat, the Wildcats were unbeaten no more, as the Cardinal sophomore belted a three-run home run in the fourth and a game-winning double in the sixth to lift Saint Mary's to a 6-5 win in Game 1 of the team's doubleheader at Saint Mary's Field. A sweep was not in the cards, however, as Megan Lindenfelser—who surrendered the game-winning run in relief in the bottom of the sixth in Game 1—atoned for herself in the nightcap, shutting out the Cardinals on two hits in leading SCU to a 3-0 victory | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals are right back in action—and right back on the road—on Sunday, traveling to St. Joseph, Minn., for a 1 p.m. MIAC doubleheader against Saint Benedict.
• St. Catherine: The Wildcats are back on their home diamond in St. Paul, Minn., on Sunday, entertaining St. Olaf in a 1 p.m. conference twinbill.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2017 Roster | 2017 Statistics | 2017 Schedule
• Saturday's doubleheader at St. Catherine is the third of four straight road doubleheaders for the Cardinals, who have played 14 of their first 16 games away from Saint Mary's Field. … Saint Mary's last two opponents have been nationally ranked—Saint Mary's split against No. 24 UW-La Crosse last Sunday, while falling twice to ninth-ranked Luther on Tuesday. … The Cardinals belted four home runs—all first-inning bombs—in their nonconference doubleheader against No. 9 Luther Tuesday. Ashley Betzold (Farmington, Minn.) and Kathi Opsahl (Elk River, Minn.) laced back-to-back, two-out first-inning homers in Game 1, while Brittney Birkhauser (Wisconsin Rapids, Wis.) delivered an HR to lead off Game 2, and Betzold added a two-run first-inning shot. … Birkhauser has now homered in two of the Cardinals' last three games, having also delivered a two-out, two-run shot in the second game against UW-La Crosse on Sunday. … With her two hits against Luther, Betzold moved into the team lead with a .385 average, percentage points ahead of Birkhauser (.357). … Alexa Diteman (Burnsville, Minn. / .333) and Opsahl (.309) are also hitting above .300. … Birkhauser also leads the team in runs (14), doubles (5), triples (1), home runs (3), RBIs (12), total bases (36), slugging percentage (.643), and walks (7). … Betzold shares the team lead in hits (20) with Birkhauser, while also owning a team-best .431 on-base percentage. … Birkhauser and Betzold are two of five Cardinals with 10 or more hits this season—Opsahl (17), Kali Aldrich (Rochester, Minn. / 13), and Haley Vanourney (Marion, Iowa / 11) are the others. … Saint Mary's owns 25 extra-base hits this season—16 doubles, three triples, and six home runs. … Betzold and Birkhauser have both put together five multiple-hit games, while Birkhauser is the team-leader with four multiple-RBI games. … Birkhauser was held hitless in Game 1 against Luther Tuesday, snapping her season- and career-high 11-game hitting streak. Betzold was held without a hit in Game 2 vs. UW-La Crosse, ending her hit streak at a career-high nine consecutive games. … With her Game 1 complete game against UW-La Crosse on Sunday—her third complete game of the weekend—Betzold pushed her career complete-game record to 66. … Betzold has thrown 10 complete games in 12 starts this season, and owns a 6-6 record and 2.85 ERA in 78.2 IP. … Betzold has tossed a pair of shutouts this season—a six-hitter against Rose-Hulman on March 1, and a three-hitter against Mitchell on March 4. … Betzold leads the team with 46 strikeouts—including a season-high eight against Mitchell. … Betzold's three-hit shutout against Mitchell on March 4 marked the ninth time in the last two seasons she has held the opposition to three hits or less. … Saint Mary's has scored 62 runs this season and have plated at least one run in all 16 games. … Saint Mary's is 4-0 when limiting its opponents to two runs or less. On the flip side, the Cardinals are 0-8 when their opponent scores six or more runs. … The Cardinals are 5-3 when scoring the game's first run, and 4-3 when scoring in the first inning. Saint Mary's is just 1-7 its opponent scores first. … The Cardinals are 5-0 when leading after five innings, but are 0-8 when trailing heading into the sixth. … Saint Mary's has played three extra-inning games this season—beating Augustana 2-1, while falling to Neumann (7-6) and UW-River Falls (6-2). All three extra-inning games were decided in the eighth inning. … The Cardinals' 10 runs against Penn State-Brandywine on March 10 were a season-high, while the shutout win over Mitchell was their second shutout of the season—Saint Mary's also blanked Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology on March 1. … The Cardinals' 6-2 Game 2 loss to UW-River Falls on March 25 snapped their three-game winning streak.
 
Scouting The St. Catherine Wildcats:
2017 Roster | 2017 Statistics | 2017 Schedule
• Saturday's doubleheader against Saint Mary's is not only the Wildcats' MIAC opener, but also their first home games of the season. SCU played its first 16 contests on neutral-site fields, while Tuesday's sweep of Wartburg was the Wildcats' first "official" road games. … St. Catherine's 2-0 win over Wartburg Tuesday snapped the Wildcats' season-high three-game losing streak. … Jenna George heads into Saturday's conference opener against Saint Mary's owning a team-leading .486 batting average. George is one of five Wildcats hitting above .300—Anna Hinderaker (.383), Sam Skwarek (.333), Sammie Galvez (.320), and Amber Montero (.316) are the others. … Hinderaker leads the team in at-bats (60), runs (18), hits (23), doubles (6), and total bases (29). … George is the team-leader in RBIs, slugging percentage (.784), walks (13), and on-base percentage (.620). … St. Catherine boasts five players with 10 or more RBIs—George (17), Ashley Sis (11), Krista Flugstad (11), Amber Montero (10), and Kylie Maczlewski (10). … The Wildcats have belted nine home runs this season, led by George (3), Montero (2), and Maczlewski (2). … Flugstad has logged a team-high 69.1 innings, compiling a 9-3 record and a 1.31 ERA. … Flugstad has pitched in 14 of the team's 18 games, tossing two complete games—both shutouts—and owns 56 of the Wildcat pitchers' 78 strikeouts. … Kailee Berquam (3-2, 4.10 ERA) has tossed 29.0 innings in 13 appearances, while Hannah Johnson (0-1, 3.00 ERA) has thrown 16.1 innings, including five starts. … St. Catherine has scored six or more runs in seven of their 12 wins—including a season-high 14 runs in a season-opening 14-0 win over St. Scholastica on Feb. 25. … St. Catherine is 9-3 when scoring first, and 5-1 in scoring in the first inning. … SCU is 9-0 when leading after the fifth inning.