WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota fastpitch softball team is back in Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference action on Saturday, as the Cardinals entertain Hamline in a 1 p.m. doubleheader at the Saint Mary's Field.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (2-11 MIAC, 8-21 Overall) vs. Hamline Pipers (10-4 MIAC, 15-11 Overall), 1 p.m.
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats | GameDay Program
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—Friday, April 14, 2017 * St. Paul, Minn.: You'll have to forgive Saint Mary's if they entered its Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference doubleheader with a chip on their shoulder. Dropping six straight—and plating just six runs in that six-game span—will do that to a team. And the Cardinals took out their frustrations on host Macalester early, scoring as many runs in the opener as they had in their previous six games combined—cruising to a streak-snapping 6-2 victory in Game 1. Unfortunately, the Cardinals could not carry their offensive momentum into the nightcap, managing just five hits—and no runs—in falling to the Scots 2-0 | Recap
• Hamline—Friday, April 21, 2017 * St. Paul, Minn.: The Pipers knocked off league-leading Saint Benedict 4-3 in the opening game of their MIAC doubleheader at Meredith Field, but the Blazers got the better of Hamline in the nightcap, coming away with a 10-4 | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Hamline—Their Last Meeting:
• April 23, 2016 * St Paul, Minn.: After going through a stretch of 10 games in which they scored one run or less eight times, Saint Mary's offense broke out of its mid-season slumber against Carleton three days ago—erupting for 15 runs in a 7-2, 8-0 sweep. And the Cardinals had so much fun against the Knights they decided to break out the heavy lumber again against Hamline—erupting for nine runs in the opening game of their MIAC doubleheader. Unfortunately for Saint Mary's, the Pipers' lumber proved a bit heavier—especially in the seventh inning—as Hamline scored six runs in the bottom of the seventh to erase a 9-4 deficit and hand the Cardinals a heartbreaking 10-9 setback. And the Cardinals could not recover from the Pipers' six-run Game 1 rally in the nightcap, falling to Hamline 6-2 | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals are right back in action play on Sunday, as Saint Mary's plays host to Augsburg in a 1 p.m. MIAC doubleheader at the Saint Mary's Field.
• Hamline: The Pipers return home to Meredith Field in St. Paul, Minn., on Sunday, hosting Concordia in a 1 p.m. conference twinbill.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2017 Roster | 2017 Statistics | 2017 Schedule
• This weekend's doubleheaders against Hamline and Augsburg are the final four home games of the season for Saint Mary's. … The Cardinals' 6-2 Game 1 win over Macalester last Friday snapped their six-game losing streak. … Thirteen of the Cardinals' 20 losses have come during losing streaks of six and seven games. … Brittney Birkhauser (Wisconsin Rapids, Wis.), Jordyn Keprios (Farmington, Minn.), and Ashley Betzold (Farmington, Minn.)—the top three hitters in the Cardinals' batting order—all had two hits in Game 1 against Macalester last Friday. Molly Urban (Roseville, Minn.) had two of the Cardinals' five hits in Game 2 vs. the Scots, with Keprios, Betzold, and Opsahl accounting for the other three. … Kathi Opsahl (Elk River, Minn.) had a hit in both games against Macalester last Friday and has now collected five hits in the team's last four games. … Opsahl is currently riding a seven-game hitting streak, one shy of her season high. … Betzold enters the Cardinals' doubleheader against Hamline owning the team's batting lead with a .368 average, while Opsahl (.309) is also hitting above .300. … Brittney Birkhauser (Wisconsin Rapids, Wis. / .295) leads or shares the team in runs (19), doubles (6), triples (1), home runs (3), RBIs (14), total bases (45), slugging percentage (.474), and walks (13). … Betzold leads the team in hits (32)—three more than Opsahl and four in front of Birkhauser—while also owning a team-best .411 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 nine 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 Macalester Friday, Betzold pushed her career complete-game record to 73. … Betzold has thrown 17 complete games in 23 starts this season, and owns a 7-16 record and 3.33 ERA in 134.1 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 67 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 83 runs this season. … Saint Mary's is 5-1 when limiting its opponents to two runs or less. On the flip side, the Cardinals are 1-16 when scoring two runs or less. … The Cardinals are 7-4 when scoring the game's first run, and 6-4 when scoring in the first inning. Saint Mary's is just 1-17 its opponent scores first. … The Cardinals are 7-1 when leading after five innings, but are 0-17 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 Hamline Pipers:
2017 Roster | 2017 Statistics | 2017 Schedule
• The Pipers are in the midst of playing six games in three days—beginning with their doubleheader against Gustavus Friday, and continuing with Saturday's road DH at Saint Mary's and Sunday's home twinbill against Concordia. … Heading into Saturday's matchup against Saint Mary's, the Pipers have played just four of their 12 April games on the road. … As a team, the Pipers enter Saturday's matchup against Saint Mary's hitting .315, and boast four players—Chelsea Koehn (.446), Aubree Douglas (.435), Mary-Clare Couillard (.382), and Casey Anderson (.345)—who are hitting .340 or better. … Koehn leads or shares the team lead in runs (20), hits (33), total bases (50), and slugging percentage (.676). … Douglas is the team-leader in doubles (7), RBIs (17), walks, and on-base percentage (.519). … Hamline has four players—Koehn (33), Douglas (30), Couillard (29), and Anderson (20)—with 20 or more hits, while five different Pipers—Douglas (17), Koehn (15), Anderson (13), Sydney Fransiscus (13), and Couillard (12)—have amassed 10 or more RBIs. … Hamline has belted 10 home runs this season, led by Koehn and Anderson with three each. … Douglas has collected 10 multiple-hit games this season, two more than both Koehn and Couillard. … Douglas and Koehn share the team lead with five multiple-RBI games. … Douglas reached base safely in each of the Pipers' first 22 games, before being held off the base paths in both games against Bethel. … Anderson and Sarah DeMars have been the workhorses in the pitcher's circle for the Pipers this season, with Anderson (7-4, 3.59 ERA) logging 77.2 innings, while DeMars (7-4, 4.40 ERA) has thrown 71.2 innings. … Anderson owns a team-leading eight complete games in her 12 starts, while DeMars has tossed six complete games in 11 starts. … DeMars owns a team-leading 54 strikeouts, 13 more than Anderson. … Anderson has thrown a tea-best five shutouts and boasts the team's lone save. … The Pipers have scored 10 or more runs just once this season, plating a season-high 17 in a 17-10 win over St. Thomas on April 9. … Hamline hit three home runs in its 17-10 win over St. Thomas on April 9—including a pair of grand slams.