ST. PAUL, 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 St. Thomas for a doubleheader against nationally ranked Tommies. First pitch is set for 1 p.m.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (0-4 MIAC, 6-12 Overall) at St. Thomas Tommies (5-1 MIAC, 18-4 Overall), 1 p.m.
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—April 5, 2017 * Winona, Minn.: Saint Mary's almost picked up their first two wins of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference season against Bethel. Almost. Unfortunately for coach Jen Miller, Mother Nature had to throw in her two cents worth. The Cardinals picked up conference win No. 1 in their opening game against Bethel at the Saint Mary's Field—posting a 6-4 victory—and pulled even with the Royals 3-3 with a run in the bottom of the sixth inning in the nightcap. After a scoreless seventh, however, darkness made it impossible for play to continue and the game was suspended—deadlocked at 3-3 heading into extra innings | Recap
• St. Thomas—April 5, 2017 * St. Paul, Minn.: After leading 4-0 after three innings in Game 1 against St. Catherine, the Wildcats came back to score 10 unanswered runs to win the first game of the teams' MIAC doubleheader 10-4 at South Field. In game two, St. Thomas jumped out to a 9-0 lead in the first inning on its way to a 10-7 win | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. St. Thomas—Their Last Meeting:
• April 10, 2016 * Winona, Minn.: Saint Mary's entered its Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference doubleheader against No. 20 St. Thomas looking to do something that hadn't happened in the last 15 contests—beat the Tommies. Unfortunately for the Cardinals, the Tommies weren't ready for their lengthy winning streak to come for an end, as St. Thomas picked up wins No. 16 and No. 17 in a row—sweeping Saint Mary's 11-0 and 5-1 at the Saint Mary's Field | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals return home to the Saint Mary's Field on Sunday, as Saint Mary's entertains St. Olaf in a 1 p.m. conference doubleheader.
• St. Thomas: The Tommies are right back in action on Sunday, traveling across town to Hamline for a 1 p.m. MIAC twinbill against the Pipers.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2017 Roster | 2017 Statistics | 2017 Schedule
• The Cardinals' 6-4 Game 1 win over Bethel on Wednesday snapped their season-high seven-game losing streak. … After four straight road doubleheaders, the Cardinals' DH against Bethel Wednesday was the first of three over the next four conference twinbills played their home field. … Saint Mary's is 2-1 at Saint Mary's Field—beating Bethel Wednesday, while 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. … Brittney Birkhauser (Wisconsin Rapids, Wis.) was a perfect 3-for-3 with an RBI and two runs scored to pace the Cardinals' offensive attack in Game 1 against Bethel Wednesday. … After finishing with a combined 10 hits in two games against Saint Benedict last Sunday, the Cardinals banged out 10 hits in Game 1 alone against Bethel Wednesday. … Saint Mary's 7-0 Game 1 loss to St. Catherine marked the only time this season the Cardinals have been shut out. … Ashley Betzold (Farmington, Minn.) enters this weekend's doubleheaders against St. Thomas and St. Olaf owning the team's batting lead with a .371 average, while Birkhauser (.333) and Alexa Diteman (Burnsville, Minn. / .308) also hitting above .300. … Birkhauser leads or shares the team in runs (16), doubles (6), triples (1), home runs (3), RBIs (13), total bases (41), slugging percentage (.569), and walks (7). … Betzold second to Birkhauser in hits (23), while owning a team-best .420 on-base percentage. … Birkhauser and Betzold are two of five Cardinals with 10 or more hits this season—Kathi Opsahl (Elk River, Minn. / 20), Kali Aldrich (Rochester, Minn. / 14), Haley Vanourney (Marion, Iowa / 14), and Allie Borawski (Stickney, Ill. / 11) are the others. … Saint Mary's owns 32 extra-base hits this season—23 doubles, three triples, and six home runs. … Betzold and Birkhauser have each put together six 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 Wednesday. … With her Game 2 complete game against Saint Benedict last 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 71 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 6-3 when scoring the game's first run, and 5-3 when scoring in the first inning. Saint Mary's is just 1-11 its opponent scores first. … The Cardinals are 6-0 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 St. Thomas Tommies:
2017 Roster | 2017 Statistics | 2017 Schedule
• The Tommies enter Saturday's matchup against Saint Mary's ranked No. 17 in the latest NFCA Poll. … Saturday's matchup against Saint Mary's is the third straight home doubleheader for the Tommies, who are 5-1 on their home diamond this season—the lone loss a 10-4 setback to St. Catherine in Game 1 on Wednesday. … St. Thomas' 10-4 loss to St. Catherine snapped its 11-game winning streak. … The Tommies have not lost back-to-back games this season, while putting together winning streaks of two, three, and 11 games. … St. Thomas surrendered 10 unanswered runs in its 10-7 loss to St. Catherine in Game 1 Wednesday, while the Tommies erupted for nine unanswered runs—all in the first inning—of their 10-4 win in the nightcap. … As a team, the Tommies are hitting .347 and boast seven regulars with batting averages above .300—Chase Shortly (.455), Jenna Besso (.400), Melissa Barry (.390), Elise Barnes (.381), Megan Bush (.377), Jenna Bromen (.364), and Brenna Walek (.357). … Shortley has scored a team-high 18 runs, two more than Bush. The duo are two of seven Tommies with at least 10 runs scored. … Shortly also leads the team in hits (30< doubles="" (11),="" home="" runs="" (3),="" rbis="" (19),="" total="" bases="" (50),="" slugging="" percentage="" (.758),="" and="" on-base="" percentage="" (.486).="" … bromen="" shares="" the="" team="" lead="" in="" rbis="" with="" shortly="" with="" 19.="" … the="" tommies="" have="" launched="" nine="" home="" runs="" this="" season—three="" by="" shortly,="" two="" each="" by="" barnes="" and="" bromen,="" with="" bush="" and="" walek="" each="" adding="" one.="" … dana="" connelly="" (.279)="" has="" collected="" two="" of="" the="" team's="" three="" triples="" through="" 22="" games.="" … ust="" is="" 23-for-30="" in="" stolen="" base="" attempts,="" led="" by="" barry="" with="" seven="" steals.="" … sammy="" hogan="" (7-2,="" 2.28="" era)="" and="" jessica="" eppenberger="" (11-2,="" 2.95="" era)="" have="" seen="" the="" majority="" of="" the="" work="" in="" the="" pitcher's="" circle,="" with="" hogan="" tossing="" a="" team-high="" 70.2="" innings,="" with="" eppenberger="" close="" behind="" at="" 59.1="" ip.="" … eppenberger="" has="" made="" a="" team-high="" starts,="" while="" hogan="" leads="" the="" team="" with="" 18="" pitching="" appearances—including="" 10="" starts.="" … hogan="" has="" thrown="" five="" complete="" games,="" and="" both="" hogan="" and="" eppenberger="" own="" a="" pair="" of="" shutouts.="" … hogan,="" who="" leads="" the="" team="" in="" strikeouts="" with="" 34—one="" more="" than="" eppenberger—has="" picked="" up="" all="" four="" of="" the="" tommies'="" saves.="" … the="" tommies="" are="" 11-1="" when="" scoring="" in="" the="" first="" inning,="" and="" 14-0="" when="" plating="" the="" game's="" first="" run.="" … wednesday's="" 10-4="" game="" 1="" loss="" to="" st.="" catherine="" marked="" the="" first="" time="" this="" season="" the="" tommies="" have="" surrendered="" 10="" or="" more="" runs="" in="" a="" game.="" … st.="" thomas="" has="" scored="" six="" or="" more="" runs="" in="" 10="" of="" its="" 18="" wins="" this="" season.="" on="" the="" flip="" side,="" the="" tommies="" have="" held="" their="" opponents="" to="" two="" runs="" or="" less="" in="" 13="" of="" their="" 18="" victories.="" … st.="" thomas="" scored="" a="" season-high="" 16="" runs="" in="" its="" 16-2="" win="" over="" uw-stevens="" point="" on="" march="">