MOORHEAD, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota fastpitch softball team is back in Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference action on Saturday, as the Cardinals travel to Concordia for an 11 a.m. doubleheader against the Cobbers.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (5-14 MIAC, 11-24 Overall) at Concordia Cobbers (0-20 MIAC, 8-30 Overall), 11 a.m.
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats: Game 1 * Game 2
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—Friday, April 28, 2017 * Northfield, Minn.: The Cardinals scored a pair of runs in the sixth inning, but their comeback fell one run short, as Carleton opened the teams' Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference doubleheader with a 5-4 victory. In the nightcap, however, the Cardinals turned up the offensive heat, erupting for 11 runs—including at least one run in every inning but the third and seventh—en route to an 11-4 victory and a conference split | Recap
• Concordia—Friday, April 28, 2017 * Moorhead, Minn.: The Cobbers could not put an end to their lengthy losing streak, dropping a pair of nonconference games to Minnesota State-Moorhead, falling 11-2 and 9-1 | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Concordia—Their Last Meeting:
• April 30, 2016 * Winona, Minn.: A year after limiting the Cobbers to just one run over 14 innings in the Cardinals' split, the Cardinal junior was at it again this season—in record-setting fashion.  Betzold struck out a career-high 11 batters en route to her school-record 53^rd complete-game—a four-hit shutout in leading Saint Mary's to a 3-0 Game 1 victory at the Saint Mary's Field. And Betzold pushed that school-record complete game mark to 54 in Game 2—but this time around, she had a lot more offensive support. Brittney Birkhauser (Wisconsin Rapids, Wis.) completed a 4-for-5, three-home run, four-RBI afternoon by going 2-for-2 with HR No. 3 and a pair of runs batted in,  leading the Cardinals to a sweep-clinching 10-3 victory in the nightcap | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals step out of conference play for the final time on Tuesday, heading to Eau Claire, Wis., for a 4 p.m. nonconference doubleheader against UW-Eau Claire.
• Concordia: Saturday's games against Saint Mary's are the season finale for the Cobbers.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2017 Roster | 2017 Statistics | 2017 Schedule
• Last Sunday's games against Augsburg were 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.). … With their 2-1, 10-inning win over Augsburg last Sunday, the Cardinals snapped their three-game losing streak. … Saint Mary's 10-inning win over the Auggies Sunday was its longest game since dropping an 8-7, 10-inning decision to Saint Vincent on March 1, 2015. … Sunday's win over Augsburg was also the Cardinals' fourth extra-inning game of the season—with the previous three all decided in the eighth inning. … The Cardinals' 11 runs in Friday's 11-4 Game 2 win over Carleton were a season high—and marked the first time this season the Cardinals have plated 10 or more runs. … Amber Trendle (Chicago, Ill.) and Kali Aldrich (Rochester, Minn.) each collected a pair of hits—with Aldrich driving in two runs—in the opener against Carleton, while Kathi Opsahl (Elk River, Minn.) went 4-for-5 to pace Saint Mary's 13-hit attack in the nightcap. … Opsahl's four-hit game against Carleton Friday was her first collegiate four-hit performance. … Opsahl was held without a hit in the opener against Carleton Friday, snapped her season- and career-high 11-game hitting streak. … Ashley Betzold (Farmington, Minn.) tossed her season-high 20^th complete game against Carleton Friday, allowing five runs—just two of which were earned—on six hits in the 5-4 loss. … Betzold now owns a school-record 76 complete games. …  had a hit in both games against Augsburg Sunday and has now collected nine hits in the team's last eight games. … Betzold enters the Cardinals' doubleheader against Concordia owning the team's batting lead with a .349 average, while Opsahl (.327) and Brittney Birkhauser (Wisconsin Rapids, Wis. / .308) are also hitting above .300. … Birkhauser leads or shares the team in runs (22), doubles (9), triples (1), home runs (3), RBIs (17), total bases (56), walks (16), slugging percentage (.479) and on-base percentage (.388). … Betzold leads the team in hits (38)—one more Opsahl and two in front of Birkhauser. … Saint Mary's owns 45 extra-base hits this season—36 doubles, three triples, and six home runs. … Betzold owns a team-leading 10 multiple-hit games, while Birkhauser is the team-leader with five 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.), who 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, recorded her first collegiate save against Augsburg last Sunday. Trendle allowed one run on three hits in three innings of work in relief of Betzold. … Betzold, who has started 28 of the team's 35 games in the pitcher's circle, owns a 10-19 record and 3.00 ERA in 170.1 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 88 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 104 runs this season. … Saint Mary's is 6-1 when limiting its opponents to two runs or less. On the flip side, the Cardinals are 2-17 when scoring two runs or less. … The Cardinals are 9-5 when scoring the game's first run, and 8-5 when scoring in the first inning. Saint Mary's is just 2-19 its opponent scores first. … The Cardinals are 9-1 when leading after five innings, but are 0-19 when trailing heading into the sixth. … 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 Concordia Cobbers:
2017 Roster | 2017 Statistics | 2017 Schedule
• After opening the season 8-6 in their 14 neutral-site games—10 in Clermont, Fla., and four at the West St. Paul (Minn.)—the Cobbers have lost 24 straight, going 0-8 on their home diamond and 0-16 on the road. … The Cobbers, who are hitting .244 as a team, boast three players—Madison Little (.375), Devonie Smith (.319), and Sydney Roberts (.302)—hitting above .300. … Along with her team-leading .375 batting average, Little also leads the Cobbers in at-bats (104), runs (25), hits (39), triples (2), walks (13), and on-base percentage (.454). … Roberts owns a team-high seven doubles, has hit four of CC's six home runs, boasts a team-high 18 RBIs, and also leads the squad in total bases (48) and slugging percentage (.500). … Concordia has stolen 53 bases in 65 attempts, led by Little, who is 25-for-29 in stolen base attempts. … Little leads the team with 11 multiple-hit games, while Smith boasting a team-leading five multiple-RBI games. … The Cobbers have used four different pitchers this season, led by Kendra Spindler (2-15, 11.04 ERA) with 97.0 innings pitched. Kelly Riordan (1-11, 14.80 ERA) has thrown 55.1 innings, with Abigail Haraldson (5-2, 4.30 ERA) and Lexi Olek (0-0, 16.20 ERA) adding 44.0 IP and 10.0 IP, respectively. … Spindler has made a team-high 22 pitching appearances—including 17 starts—and has posted 12 of the team's 20 complete games. … Haraldson is the team's strikeout leader with 43 Ks. … Concordia has been held to two runs or less in 20 of its 28 losses, and has been shut out 10 times. … The Cobbers have scored 10 or more runs twice this season, including a season-best 17 runs in a 17-9 win over Bethany Lutheran on March 16. On the flip side, CC has surrendered 10 or more runs 14 times, including allowing a season-high 20 runs in a 20-2 setback against Concordia on April. 1.