WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota fastpitch softball team is back in Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference action on Sunday, as the Cardinals entertain Augsburg in a 1 p.m. doubleheader at the Saint Mary's Field.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (2-13 MIAC, 8-23 Overall) vs. Augsburg Auggies (7-7 MIAC, 19-13 Overall), 1 p.m.
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats | GameDay Program | Senior Salute
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—Saturday, April 22, 2017 * Winona, Minn.: Saint Mary's limited high-powered Hamline to just one run over the final six innings of the teams' opening game of their MIAC doubleheader. Unfortunately, the Pipers had erupted for four, first-inning runs and Saint Mary's could not generate a comeback in falling 5-1 at the Saint Mary's Field. It was the Cardinals who would enjoy a high-scoring opening inning in the nightcap—taking advantage of three Hamline errors to score five runs and grab a 5-1 lead. Five runs would not be enough, however, as Hamline plated seven unanswered runs  in completing the sweep with an 8-5 Game 2 victory | Recap
• Augsburg—Saturday, April 22, 2017 * Minneapolis, Minn.: The Auggies collected a pair of one-run wins over Bethel—going to both extremes to earn the sweep. Augsburg posted a 1-0 win in the opener, before outscored the visiting Royals 11-10 in the nightcap | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Augsburg—Their Last Meeting:
• May 3, 2016 * Roseville, Minn.: Brittney Birkhauser (Wisconsin Rapids, Wis.) launched her fourth home run in the last three games, and the Cardinals scored in each of the last six innings in cruising to a 9-4 win over Augsburg in Game 1 of the teams' Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference doubleheader at the University of Northwestern. There would be no fifth home run in the last four games in the nightcap for Birkhauser— but there would be another Cardinal win. Saint Mary's used a pair of two-run innings, one in the first and one in the fourth—not to mention a 3-for-4, two-triple effort by Stanzy Snyder (Johnston, Iowa) from the lead-off spot—to run away for a 6-2 win in the nightcap | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals are back in action on Tuesday, traveling to Ele Hansen Field in Northfield, Minn., for a 3:30 p.m. MIAC doubleheader against Carleton.
• Augsburg: The Auggies close out regular-season play next Thursday and Friday, traveling to Northfield, Minn., for a 3:30 p.m. conference doubleheader against St. Olaf on Thursday, before returning home to Edor Nelson Field in Minneapolis, Minn., for a 4:30 p.m. conference twinbill against Hamline the following day.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2017 Roster | 2017 Statistics | 2017 Schedule
• Sunday's games against Augsburg is the final home games for Cardinal seniors Ashley Betzold (Farmington, Minn.), Kathi Opsahl (Elk River, Minn.), Molly Urban (Roseville, Minn.), and Alexa Diteman (Burnsville, Minn.). … The Cardinals' 6-2 Game 1 win over Macalester on April 14 snapped their six-game losing streak. … Brittney Birkhauser (Wisconsin Rapids, Wis.) had two of Saint Mary's five Game 1 hits vs. Hamline Saturday, while Betzold went 2-for-3 to account for two of Saint Mary's six hits in the nightcap vs. the Pipers. … Opsahl had a hit in both games against Hamline Saturday and has now collected seven hits in the team's last six games. … Opsahl is currently riding a season-high nine-game hitting streak. … Betzold enters the Cardinals' doubleheader against Augsburg owning the team's batting lead with a .376 average, while Opsahl (.310) is also hitting above .300. … Birkhauser (.291) leads or shares the team in runs (19), doubles (7), triples (1), home runs (3), RBIs (14), total bases (48), and walks (13). … Betzold leads the team in hits (35)—four more than Opsahl and five in front of Birkhauser—while also owning a team-best .484 slugging percentage and .411 on-base percentage. … Saint Mary's owns 38 extra-base hits this season—29 doubles, three triples, and six home runs. … Betzold owns a team-leading 10 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 Hamline Saturday, Betzold pushed her career complete-game record to 74. … Betzold has thrown 18 complete games in 24 starts this season, and owns a 7-18 record and 3.32 ERA in 145.1 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 75 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 89 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 1-17 when scoring two runs or less. … The Cardinals are 7-4 when scoring the game's first run, and 6-5 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 0-19 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 Augsburg Auggies:
2017 Roster | 2017 Statistics | 2017 Schedule
• Saturday's doubleheader against Saint Mary's is the first of back-to-back road twinbills for the Auggies, who are 9-11 away from Edor Nelson Field. Augsburg is an impressive 10-2 on its home diamond this season—the lone losses a 3-2 setback vs. Gustavus on April 5, and a 3-1 loss to St. Catherine on April 13. … The Auggies headed into the weekend riding a three-game winning streak. … Augsburg has held its opponents to five runs or less in 10 of the Auggies' last 12 games. … With their sweep of Bethel Saturday, the Auggies pushed their winning streak to five straight. … Augsburg has scored 10 or more runs in three of their last four games. … As a team, Augsburg is hitting .303, and boasts five players—Katie Parker (.382), Carly Dropik (.364), Anesia King (.360), Brianna Cline (.356), and Amanda Niznik (.309)—who are hitting above .300. … Parker leads or shares the team lead in hits (42), doubles (9), home runs (2), RBIs (32), total bases (57), and slugging percentage (.518). … Dropik has scored a team-high 32 runs, three more than Parker and four in front of Cline. … Parker and Hermanson have each hit two of Augsburg's five home runs this season, with Cline accounting for the other one. … Augsburg is 34-for-40 in stolen base attempts, led by Dropik with 11 and Cline with eight. … Parker has amassed a team-high 14 multiple-hit games, four more than Cline, while Cline holds the team lead in multiple-RBI games with seven. … Cline has reached base safely in each of the Auggies' last 18 games. … Anderson has been the workhorse in the pitcher's circle for the Auggies, logging 129.2 of the team's 216.1 innings. … Anderson enters Sunday's games against Saint Mary's owning a 12-7 record and 2.65 ERA in 20 starts. … Anderson has tossed 18 complete games and owns six shutouts, while also leading the team with 111 strikeouts. … Augsburg has scored 10 or more runs nine times this season—including a season-high 14-run showing in a 14-1 win over UM-Morris on March 3. On the flip side, the Auggies surrendered a season-high 26 runs in falling to Stevens Tech 26-5 on March 12. … The Auggies have outscored their opponents in every inning but the third, including holding a 21-11 scoring edge in the second and a 29-18 advantage in the fifth. … Augsburg is unbeaten (15-0) when scoring six or more runs. The Auggies are 15-1 when holding their opponent to two runs or less. … Augsburg is 13-0 when leading after the fifth inning, but just 1-10 when trailing heading into the sixth inning.