WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota fastpitch softball team is back in Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference action on Wednesday, as the Cardinals host Bethel in a 3:30 p.m. doubleheader at Saint Mary's Field.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (0-4 MIAC, 6-12 Overall) vs. Bethel Royals (3-1 MIAC, 7-9 Overall), 1 p.m.
 
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Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—April 2, 2017 * St. Joseph, Minn.: The Cardinals dropped both ends of their conference doubleheader against Saint Benedict, falling 8-2 in the opener and 4-1 in Game 2 | Recap
• Bethel—April 2, 2017 * Arden Hills, Minn.: The Royals picked up a pair of conference wins over Macalester, scoring the game-winning run on a wild pitch in the bottom of the eighth inning in a 6-5 Game 1, while getting a walk-off, two-out single in the bottom of the eighth inning to complete the sweep with a 7-6 victory | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Bethel—Their Last Meeting:
• April 19, 2016 * Arden Hills, Minn.: Saint Mary's came out swinging in Game 1 of its Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference doubleheader against Bethel. In fact, Saint Mary's scored a run on two hits in their very first at-bat. Unfortunately for the Cardinals, that first-inning run was all the offense they would muster—until the seventh inning of Game 2, when Alexa Diteman (Burnsville, Minn.) belted her first collegiate home run—as Bethel handed Saint Mary's 4-1 and 7-0 conference setbacks at Ona Orth Athletic Complex | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals are back in action this weekend, traveling to St. Paul, Minn., on Saturday for a 1 p.m. MIAC matchup against St. Thomas, before returning home to Saint Mary's Field for a 1 p.m. conference showdown against St. Olaf the following day.
• Bethel: The Royals return to conference play this weekend, heading to St. Paul, Minn., for a 1 p.m. MIAC doubleheader against St. Catherine, before entertaining Concordia in a 1 p.m. conference matchup at Ona Orth Complex.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2017 Roster | 2017 Statistics | 2017 Schedule
• After four straight road doubleheaders, the Cardinals play three of their next four conference twinbills on their home field—beginning Wednesday against Bethel. … Saint Mary's is 1-1 at Saint Mary's Field—splitting a pair of games against UW-River Falls on March 25. The Cardinals are 1-3 in road games and 4-6 in neutral-site contests. … The Cardinals belted four home runs—all first-inning bombs—in their nonconference doubleheader against No. 9 Luther on March 30. 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. … The Cardinals finished with five hits in both games of their doubleheader against Saint Benedict Sunday. Haley Vanourney (Marion, Iowa) had two hits in the opener, while Ashley Betzold (Farmington, Minn.) delivered a pair of hits in the nightcap. … Allie Borawski (Stickney, Ill.), Brittney Birkhauser (Wisconsin Rapids, Wis.), and Betzold (Farmington, Minn.) accounted for the Cardinals' three hits against St. Catherine last Saturday. … Saint Mary's 7-0 Game 1 loss to St. Catherine marked the first time this season the Cardinals had been shut out. … The Cardinals belted four home runs—all first-inning bombs—in their nonconference doubleheader against No. 9 Luther on March 28. Betzold and Kathi 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. … Betzold owns the team's batting lead with a .371 average, while Alexa Diteman (Burnsville, Minn. / .308) and Birkhauser (.304) also hitting above .300. … Birkhauser leads or shares the team in runs (14), doubles (5), triples (1), home runs (3), RBIs (12), total bases (37), slugging percentage (.536), and walks (7). … Betzold is the team leader in hits (23), while also owning a team-best .420 on-base percentage. … Birkhauser and Betzold are two of five Cardinals with 10 or more hits this season—Opsahl (19), Kali Aldrich (Rochester, Minn. / 14), Haley Vanourney (14), and Allie Borawski (Stickney, Ill. / 10) are the others. … Saint Mary's owns 30 extra-base hits this season—21 doubles, three triples, and six home runs. … Betzold has put together six multiple-hit games, one more than Birkhauser, 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. … With her Game 2 complete game against Saint Benedict on Sunday, Betzold pushed her career complete-game record to 68. … Betzold has thrown 12 complete games in 16 starts this season, and owns a 6-10 record and 3.70 ERA in 98.1 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 50 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 65 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 0-11 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 1-9 its opponent scores first. … The Cardinals are 5-0 when leading after five innings, but are 0-11 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 Bethel Royals:
2017 Roster | 2017 Statistics | 2017 Schedule
• After playing its first 14 games on the road, last Sunday's conference DH against Macalester was Bethel's home opener. Starting Wednesday at Saint Mary's, Bethel plays three of its next four doubleheaders away from Ona Orth Athletic Complex. … With their sweep of Macalester on Sunday, the Royals have now won three of their last four. … Bethel's 5-3, Game 1 win over Gustavus last Saturday snapped its season-high four-game losing streak. … Emily Eaton boasts a team-leading .324 batting average. She is one of four players hitting .300 or better—Mariah Uphoff (.313), Wendy Roberts (.308), and Erika Schwartz (.300) are the others. … Roberts is the team-leader in at-bats (52) and hits (16), while Jena Roste (.294) leads or shares the team lead in runs (10), home runs (2), total bases (26), and slugging percentage (.510). … Anna Nichols (.233) has driven in a team-leading 10 runs and shares the team lead in home runs with Roste. … Eaton has induced a team-best 11 walks and owns a team-high four stolen bases. … BU has four players—Roberts (16), Roste (15), Uphoff (15), and Eaton (12)—with 10 or more hits. … Roste and Uphoff has each posted four multiple-hit games, while four different players share the team lead with two multiple-RBI contests. … Nichols and Schmidt have been the workhorses in the pitcher's circle for the Royals, with Nichols compiling a 5-6 record and 4.04 ERA in 75.2 innings, while Schmidt is 2-3 with an 8.10 ERA in 23.1 innings or work. … Nichols has started 13 of the team's 16 games, posting nine complete games, while walking 21 and striking out 28. … Bethel has scored a season-high seven runs twice this season—beating Macalester 7-6 last Sunday, while dropping Saint Mary's College (Ind.) 7-5 on March 13. … Six of the Royals' seven wins have been by two runs or less.