ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota fastpitch softball team is back in Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference action on Friday, as the Cardinals head to the Macalester Softball Complex for a 3:30 p.m. doubleheader against the Scots
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (1-10 MIAC, 7-20 Overall) at Macalester Scots (4-6 MIAC, 16-12 Overall), 4:30 p.m.
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—April 13, 2017 * Winona, Minn.: The last time the Cardinals played, St. Olaf scored all three of its runs in the third inning in dealing Saint Mary's a 3-0 setback. Thursday afternoon, it was another three-run inning that proved to be the Game 1 difference—this time in the fifth—as Gustavus handed the Cardinals a 4-1 loss at the Saint Mary's Field. The Gusties picked up right where they left off in the nightcap, scoring in each of the first three innings in completing the sweep with a 5-0 Game 2 win | Recap
• Macalester—April 13, 2017 * Northfield, Minn.: The Scots came up empty in their conference doubleheader at Carleton, falling to the Knights 9-6 in Game 1, before dropping a 3-2 nailbiter in the nightcap | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Macalester—Their Last Meeting:
• April 17, 2016 * Winona, Minn.: Saint Mary's got offensive—and defensive—in posting a key Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference sweep of Macalester at the Saint Mary's Field. The Cardinals scored eight runs—more runs than they had plated in their last seven games combined—in posted an 8-5 win over the Scots in Game 1, before riding the right arm of pitcher Ashley Betzold (Farmington, Minn.) to a 1-0 victory in the nightcap | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals are back in action—and back on the road—on Wednesday, traveling to Northfield, Minn., for a 3:30 p.m. conference doubleheader against Carleton.
• Macalester: The Scots return to action on Tuesday, welcoming St. Thomas to the Macalester Softball Complex for a 4:30 p.m. MIAC twinbill.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2017 Roster | 2017 Statistics | 2017 Schedule
• After back-to-back home doubleheaders against St. Olaf and Gustavus, the Cardinals will play their next two conference twinbills on the road—Friday at Macalester and next Wednesday at Carleton. Saint Mary's is 2-3 on its home diamond this season, while going 1-9 on the road and 4-6 in neutral-site contests. … The Cardinals' 6-4 Game 1 win over Bethel on April 5 snapped their season-high seven-game losing streak. … The Cardinals were held to eight hits—four in each game—against Gustavus Thursday. Kathi Opsahl (Elk River, Minn.) led the way for the Cardinals, collecting three hits—including a 2-for-3 effort in Game 2. … Betzold enters the Cardinals' doubleheader against Macalester owning the team's batting lead with a .358 average, while Opsahl (.307) and Alexa Diteman (Burnsville, Minn. / .304) are also hitting above .300. … Brittney Birkhauser (Wisconsin Rapids, Wis. / .292) leads or shares the team in runs (17), doubles (6), triples (1), home runs (3), RBIs (13), total bases (43), slugging percentage (.483), and walks (11). … Betzold leads the team in hits (29)—two more than Opsahl and three in front of Birkhauser—while also owning a team-best .398 on-base percentage. … Saint Mary's owns 37 extra-base hits this season—28 doubles, three triples, and six home runs. … Betzold owns a team-leading eight multiple-hit games, while Birkhauser is the team-leader with four multiple-RBI games. … Birkhauser was held hitless in Game 1 against Luther on March 28, snapping her season- and career-high 11-game hitting streak. Betzold was held without a hit in Game 2 vs. UW-La Crosse on March 26, ending her hit streak at a career-high nine consecutive games. … The Cardinals belted four home runs—all first-inning bombs—in their nonconference doubleheader against No. 9 Luther on March 30. Betzold and Opsahl laced back-to-back, two-out first-inning homers in Game 1, while Birkhauser delivered an HR to lead off Game 2, and Betzold added a two-run first-inning shot. … Amber Trendle (Chicago, Ill.) picked up her first collegiate win—via her first collegiate complete game—scattering seven hits and just one earned run against Bethel on April 5. … With her Game 1 complete game against Gustavus Thursday, Betzold pushed her career complete-game record to 71. … Betzold has thrown 15 complete games in 21 starts this season, and owns a 6-15 record and 3.52 ERA in 121.1 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 52 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 77 runs this season. … Saint Mary's is 4-0 when limiting its opponents to two runs or less. On the flip side, the Cardinals are 0-13 when their opponent scores six or more runs. … The Cardinals are 6-4 when scoring the game's first run, and 5-4 when scoring in the first inning. Saint Mary's is just 1-16 its opponent scores first. … The Cardinals are 6-0 when leading after five innings, but are 0-16 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 season-high three-game winning streak.
 
Scouting The Macalester Scots:
2017 Roster | 2017 Statistics | 2017 Schedule
• Macalester's two games against Saint Mary's are the first of back-to-back-to-back home conference doubleheaders for the Scots, who are 4-2 at the Macalester Softball Complex this season. … Macalester's last two doubleheaders have both been sweeps—3-0, 8-0 wins over Concordia and 9-6, 3-2 losses to Carleton. … G.G. Gunther, Kaela Jackson, and Makaya Resner all had two hits in Game 1 against Carleton Thursday, while Gunther and Julia Carpenter each posted two-hit games in the nightcap. … Carpenter enters the Scots' showdown with Saint Mary's hitting a team-best .546, while also leading the team in at-bats (97), runs (36), hits (53), triples (3), total bases (61), slugging percentage (.629), and on-base percentage (.573). … Morghan Bean (.341), Gunther (.337), and Nikki Calcedo (.312) are also hitting above .300 for the Scots, who are hitting .313 as a team. … Bean has laced a team-leading 10 doubles, while Claire O'Connor (.281) owns a team-best 23 RBIs, three more than Bean. … Macalester boasts six players who have scored 10 or more runs, while six Scots boast 10 or more RBIs. … Carpenter has posted 16 multiple-hit games—including three, four-hit games—and O'Connor owns a team-leading six multiple-RBI games. … Carpenter (11) and Bean (10) each posted hitting streaks of 10 or more games this season. … Sophie Migacz and Bean have shared the pitching duties for the Scots, with Migacz compiling a 10-5 record and 1.70 ERA in 107.0 innings, while Bean is 6-7 with a 2.26 ERA in 68.0 innings pitched. … Migacz has recorded 10 complete games among her 19 starts, with Bean chipping in six complete games in nine starts. … Migacz has fanned 84 batters, while Bean has collected 35 strikeouts. … The Scots have scored 10 or more runs three times this season—including a season-high 19 runs in a 19-2 win over Sewanee: The University of the South on March 17. … Eleven of the Scots' 28 games have been decided by shutout—Macalester is 6-5 in those 11 contests. … Eight of Macalester's 12 losses have been decided by two runs or less.