By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director

CLERMONT, Fla. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota fastpitch softball team kicks off its 2018 season with 10 nonconference games as part of their seven-day spring trip.
 
The Matchups:
February 25, 2018 | Legends Way Field #4 * Clermont, Fla. | 9 a.m. (EST)
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (2017: 13-25 Overall) vs. Alma Scots (2017: 29-10 Overall)
February 25, 2018 | Legends Way Field #4 * Clermont, Fla. | 11:30 a.m. (EST)
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (2017: 13-25 Overall) vs. Augustana Vikings (2017: 14-22 Overall)
February 26, 2018 | Legends Way Field #4 * Clermont, Fla. | 9 a.m. (EST)
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (2017: 13-25 Overall) vs. Rose-Hulman Fightin Engineers (2017: 11-25 Overall)
February 26, 2018 | Legends Way Field #5 * Clermont, Fla. | 2 p.m. (EST)
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (2017: 13-25 Overall) vs. Adrian Bulldogs (2017: 12-26 Overall)
February 28, 2018 | Legends Way Field #3 * Clermont, Fla. | 9 a.m. (EST)
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (2017: 13-25 Overall) vs. Johnson & Wales Wildcats (2017: 34-10 Overall)
February 28, 2018 | Legends Way Field #4 * Clermont, Fla. | 11:30 a.m. (EST)
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (2017: 13-25 Overall) vs. MSOE Raiders (2017: 29-14 Overall)
March 1, 2018 | Legends Way Field #5 * Clermont, Fla. | 9 a.m. (EST)
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (2017: 13-25 Overall) vs. Adrian Bulldogs (2017: 12-26 Overall)
March 1, 2018 | Legends Way Field #5 * Clermont, Fla. | 11:30 a.m. (EST)
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (2017: 13-25 Overall) vs. Neumann Knights (2017: 29-16 Overall)
March 3, 2018 | Legends Way Field #3 * Clermont, Fla. | 9 a.m. (EST)
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (2017: 13-25 Overall) vs. Mitchell Mariners (2017: 11-19 Overall)
March 3, 2018 | Legends Way Field #4 * Clermont, Fla. | 11:30 a.m. (EST)
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (2017: 13-25 Overall) vs. Johnson & Wales Wildcats (2017: 34-10 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats: Alma * Rose-Hulman * MSOE
 
Last Action:
• This week's games in Clermont, Fla., are the 2018 season-openers for the Cardinals and its nine opponents.
 
Saint Mary's vs. Spring Trip Opponents—Their Last Meeting:
• vs. Alma * March 11, 2001 * La Grange, Ga.: The Cardinals—coming off the school's first NCAA Division III national championship, picked up right where they left off, rolling to an 8-0 win over Alma as part of a 6-1 showing in winning the NFCA Leadoff Classic | Recap
• vs. Augustana (Ill.) * February 26, 2017 * Clermont, Fla.: Saint Mary's kicked off its 2017 season in exciting fashion, winning its spring trip opener against Augustana College 2-1 in 8 innings | Recap
• vs. Rose-Hulman * March 1, 2017 * Clermont, Fla.: Brittney Birkhauser (Wisconsin Rapids, Wis.) delivered a lead-off home run in the top of the first inning—one of two extra-base hits for the Saint Mary's junior—and the Cardinals never looked back, snapping a three-game slide with a 3-0 victory over the Fightin' Engineers | Recap
• vs. Neumann * March 2, 2017 * Clermont, Fla.: Neumann got a one-out, pinch-hit RBI single from Julia Cox in the bottom of the eighth inning, lifting the Knights to a 7-6 victory over the Cardinals | Recap
• vs. Mitchell * March 4, 2017 * Clermont, Fla.: The Cardinals closed out their spring trip in impressive fashion, kicking off the day with a 10-3 victory over Penn State-Brandywine, before completing a perfect 2-0 showing with an 8-0, six-inning victory over Mitchell | Recap
• The Cardinals' games against Adrian, Milwaukee School of Engineering, and Johnson & Wales will be the first meetings in program history.
 
Cardinals' Up Next:
• The Cardinals return to action—weather permitting—on March 27, hosting UW-La Crosse in a 3 p.m. nonconference doubleheader at the Saint Mary's Field.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2018 Roster | 2018 Schedule | 2017 Final Statistics
• The Cardinals boasted two players—Ashley Betzold (Farmington, Minn.) and Kathi Opsahl (Elk River, Minn.)—on the All-MIAC First-Team, while Brittney Birkhauser (Wisconsin Rapids, Wis.) was an honorable-mention All-MIAC selection. … Saint Mary's closed out its season winning four of its last six—including the second game of each of its last three conference doubleheaders. … Betzold tossed her first collegiate no-hitter—and the Cardinals' first since 2009—on April 29 against Concordia, recording nine ground-ball outs and four flyouts, while walking two and striking out two, in the Cardinals' 10-1, five-inning victory. Ironically, the starting pitcher in Saint Mary's 2009 no-hitter—posted on March 14 against North Central—was Betzold's sister, Mallory. … Betzold closed out the season having thrown 22 complete games—tying her single-season school record, set a year ago. Betzold finished her collegiate career with a school-record 78 complete games. Betzold owns the career record in innings pitched (699.1) and batters faced (3066). … Betzold, who started 30 of the team's 38 games in the pitcher's circle, owned a 12-20 record and 2.95 ERA in 182.2 IP. … Betzold tossed two shutouts—a six-hitter against Rose-Hulman on March 1 and a three-hitter against Mitchell on March 4. … Betzold led the team with 92 strikeouts—including a season-high eight against Mitchell. … Betzold's no-hitter against Concordia on April 29 marked the 10th time over her final two seasons she held the opposition to three hits or less. … Along with her efforts from inside the pitcher's circle, Betzold also boasted a team-leading .333 batting average, while Birkhauser and Opsahl also closed out the year hitting above .300 with batting averages of .320 and .317, respectively. … Birkhauser led or shared the team in runs (24), doubles (9), triples (1), home runs (3), RBIs (17), total bases (61), walks (17), and slugging percentage (.477). … The Cardinals boasted three players—Birkhauser (41), Betzold (39), and Opsahl (38)—with 35 or more hits. … Saint Mary's owned 47 extra-base hits—38 doubles, three triples, and six home runs. … With her back-to-back two-hit games against Concordia on April 29, Birkhauser finished the year with a team-leading 11 multiple-hit games, one more than Betzold. Birkhauser also was the team-leader with five multiple-RBI games. … Birkhauser and Opsahl each owned season- and career-high 11-game hitting streaks. Birkhauser was held hitless in Game 1 against Luther on March 28, snapping her 11-game run, while Opsahl was held without a hit in the opener against Carleton on April 28 to put an end to her 11-game hitting streak. Betzold, meanwhile, 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. … Opsahl recorded her first collegiate four-hit game in the nightcap against Carleton on April 28, going 4-for-5. … 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. / 1-4, 4.85 ERA) 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. … Trendle also notched her first collegiate save this season, allowing one run on three hits in three innings of relief against Augsburg on April 23. … Saint Mary's 10-inning, 2-1 win over Augsburg on April 23 was its longest game since dropping an 8-7, 10-inning decision to Saint Vincent on March 1, 2015. … The Cardinals' 2-1 win over Augsburg on April 23 was their fifth extra-inning game of the season. … Saint Mary's scored 124 runs last season. … The Cardinals scored a season-high 11 runs in their 11-4 Game 2 win over Carleton on April 28. Saint Mary's followed that season-high performance up with another 10-run Game 2 showing a day later in a 10-1 win over Concordia. … The Cardinals scored 10 or more runs three times, having also plated 10 runs in a 10-3 win over Penn State-Brandywine on March 4. … Saint Mary's finished 8-1 when limiting its opponents to two runs or less. On the flip side, the Cardinals were 2-18 when scoring two runs or less. … The Cardinals were 10-6 when scoring the game's first run, and 8-6 when scoring in the first inning. Saint Mary's was just 3-19 its opponent scores first. … The Cardinals closed out the year 9-1 when leading after five innings, but were just 1-20 when trailing heading into the sixth.
 
Scouting The Alma Scots:
2018 Roster | 2017 Final Statistics | 2018 Schedule
• The Scots head into their spring trip coming off a 29-10 showing a year ago, including a 13-3 record in the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAA). … Alma won its second straight MIAA post-season tournament title with a 10-2 win over Trine in the title game. … The Scots finished 2-2 in the NCAA Regional, with both losses coming to Illinois Wesleyan (4-3 and 4-1). … The Scots finished the season ranked No. 21 in the final 2017 NFCA Top 25, and received votes in the 2018 NFCA Preseason Poll. … Alma opens 2018 without the services of graduated All-American Morgan Stratton, who went 21-6 as a senior in 2017 with a 1.27 ERA. … Stratton accounted for 182.1 of the team's 258.2 innings pitched, throwing 26 complete games, while striking out 167. … Offensively, Alma finished 2017 with seven regulars hitting above .300—led by Chelsea Schweiger (.398), Mary Brooks (.393), and Danielle Service (.387). … Along with her team-leading .398 batting average, Schweiger also led the team in runs (31), hits (51), and stolen bases (14). … Schweiger was one of five Scots with 40 or more hits a year ago. … Brooks posted a team-best nine doubles, while Service belted a team-high nine of the Scots' 20 home runs and owned a team-high .672 slugging percentage. … Alma, which hit .329 as a team, scored 10 or more runs six times last season—including a season-high 12 runs twice. Alma beat Wartburg 12-4 on Feb. 27, while dropping Michigan-Dearborn 12-5 on March 2.
Scouting The Augustana Vikings:
2018 Roster | 2017 Final Statistics | 2018 Schedule
• Augustana closed out 2017 with a 14-22 overall record, including going 6-10 in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW). … The Vikings boasted six players who hit .300 or better in 2017—led by Amanda Ebert (.373), Alaina Hofmann (.359), and Carly Wilson (.323). … Wilson led the team with 32 hits, one more than Rachel Anderson (.313), while Anderson was the team-leader in runs scored with 19. … Wilson recorded nine multiple-hit games in 2017, with Hofmann leading the team in multiple-RBI games with eight. … 
Shelby Grandt (.312) collected a team-high eight doubles, while Wilson (4) and Anderson (3) accounted for seven of the Vikings' 13 triples. … Hofmann collected team-highs in home runs (6) and RBIs (19) and owned a team-best .703 slugging percentage. … Augustana finished 42-for-47 in stolen bases, led by Ebert, who was a perfect 7-for-7. …  Kelc Fredrickson was the workhorse in the pitcher's circle for the Vikings in 2017, tossing 112.1 innings and making a team-high 21 appearances. … Fredrickson (6-11, 3.30 ERA) threw 11 complete games and struck out a team-best 41 batters. … Danielle Klagg (3-5, 4.65 ERA, 64.2 IP) and Hofmann (5-3, 4.50 ERA, 42.0 IP) also saw extensive action in the pitcher's circle. … Augustana finished the year 10-1 when limiting its opponents to two runs or less, but the Vikings were 0-12 when their opponents scored six runs or more. … Augustana scored first in eight of its 14 wins.
 
Scouting The Rose-Hulman Fightin' Engineers:
2018 Roster | 2017 Final Statistics | 2018 Schedule
• Rose-Hulman enters 2018 on the heels of an 11-25 season a year ago, including winning just one of 14 Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) contests. … The Fightin' Engineers closed out 2017 with back-to-back losses to Franking, while dropping eight of their last nine. … Jenny Miller hit a team-best .368 last season. She was one of four players to hit above .300—being joined by Morgan Dreyer (.342), Jessica Will (.342), and Alexis Price (.333). … Will led the team in at-bats (120), hits (41), and doubles (9), while sharing the team lead in runs (20) with Miller. … Will posted 12 multiple-hit games a year ago—nine two-hit contests and three, three-hit outings. … Rose-Hulman had six players with two or more home runs, led by Miller and Dreyer with three each. … Maddie Struble (.298( led the team in RBIs with 24. … Moller was the team-leader in both on-base percentage (.507) and slugging percentage (.632). … Baylee Sparks (5-13, 4.42 ERA) and Michelle Korf (6-11, 4.77 ERA) shared the pitching duties for the Fightin' Engineers a year ago, tossing 109.1 and 105.2 innings, respectively. … Korf made a team-high 20 pitching appearances, one more than Sparks, and led the team with 31 strikeouts—two in front of Sparks. … Rose-Hulman was just 3-24 when held to five runs or less last season. The Fightin' Engineers were 8-1 when scoring six or more runs. … Rose-Hulman scored first in eight of its 11 wins, going 4-22 when its opponent plated the game's first run.
 
Scouting The Adrian Bulldogs:
2018 Roster | 2017 Final Statistics | 2018 Schedule
• Adrian is coming off a 12-26 season in 2017, including a 5-11 showing in the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAA). … The Bulldogs closed out 2017 losing their last six straight and seven of their last nine. … Adrian finished the year with three players—Paige Cubberty (.311), Taylor Van'tland (.309), and Sarah Richardson (.308)—hitting above .300. … Cubberty also led the Bulldogs in at-bats (103), hits (32), RBIs (21), walks (11), and on-base percentage (.371). … Krista Lynch (.274) and Paige Vanetta (.250) shared the team lead with two home runs each, with the Bulldogs' other five home runs coming from five different players. … Chelsea Shellman (.287) owned the team lead in stolen bases with 11. … Along with her strong offensive numbers, Cubberty also led the Bulldogs in the pitcher's circle, tossing 72.1 innings. … Cubberty compiled a 6-6 record and a 3.77 ERA in 19 appearances, including 10 starts. … Katie Jenkins (2-7, 5.90 ERA) and Rebecca Neal (0-3, 5.93 ERA) logged 40.1 and 30.2 innings pitched, respectively. … Adrian scored a season-high 12 runs twice last year—falling to Bluffton 15-12 on March 24, and beating Albion 12-0 on April 21. The 15 runs surrendered against Bluffton on March 24 were also a season-high.
 
Scouting The Johnson & Wales Wildcats:
2018 Roster | 2017 Final Statistics | 2018 Schedule
• The Wildcats put together an impressive 34-10 overall record a year ago, including a near-perfect 21-1 run in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC). … Johnson & Wales won the GNAC post-season tournament, beating Suffolk 15-5 in the title game, but dropped both of their games in the NCAA Regional—falling to Messiah (5-2) and Cortland State (4-3). … The Wildcats return a lot of firepower in 2018, but will be without the services of graduated seniors Emily Gorecki and Dianna Amendolara. Gorecki left JWU as the career leader in every offensive category, while Amendolara ranked in the program's top 10 in batting average, RBIs, and home runs. … The Wildcats finished 2017 with eight regular hitting .300 or better, led by Gorecki (.477), Alex Fantassia (.446), and Kristin Frost (.403). … Gorecki closed out the year as the team-leader in home runs (11), RBIs (52), walks (27), on-base percentage (.579) and slugging percentage (.901), while sitting second on the team in hits (53), doubles (10), and triples (2). … Frost was the Wildcats' team-leader in hits (54), doubles (11), and triples (3). … JWU belted 43 home runs last season, with five players hitting five or more round-trippers. … Johnson & Wales used five different pitchers last season, led by Jennifer Corona, who went 19-4 with a 2.11 ERA in 29 appearances—including 24 starts. … Corona tossed 16 complete games and fanned 151. … Emily Gundrum (9-1, 2.76 ERA, 63.1 IP) and Noelle Weiss (5-3, 2.65 ERA, 46.2 IP) also logged more than 45 innings last season. … Corona and Caitlin Kiene (1-1, 1.54 ERA, 13.2 IP) led the team with two saves each, while Weiss and Frost (0-1, 4.20 ERA, 11.2 IP) recorded the Wildcats' other two saves. … Johnson & Wales scored 10 or more runs in a game 14 times last season—including a season-high 24 in a 24-0 rout of Lasell on April 11. JWU had posted a 16-0 win over Lasell in the first game of the teams' conference doubleheader. … Seven of the Wildcats' 10 losses were decided by two runs or less.
 
Scouting The MSOE Raiders:
2018 Roster | 2017 Final Statistics | 2018 Schedule
• The Raiders are coming off a 29-14 season in 2017, which included a 17-5 showing in Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) play. … MSOE went 1-2 in the NACC post-season tournament last season, being eliminated by Aurora 4-0. … The Raiders finished 3-2 in their final five games of 2017. … Emily Snow was the team's offensive leader a year ago, hitting .477, while also leading the Raiders in hits (62), doubles (23), RBIs (43), walks (18), on-base percentage (.542) and slugging percentage (.708). … Snow was one of seven Raiders who hit above .300 a year ago—Emma Megal (.346), Caitlyn Moran (.345), Amanda Manssen (.318), Riley Rossbach (.308), Kiersti Davis (.303), and Rachel Ziemba (.303) were the others. … Megal scored a team-best 37 runs, while also leading the team in triples with five. … Moran accounted for four of the team's eight home runs a year ago. … MSOE stole 68 bases last season, led by Megal and Moran with 13 steals each. … Shannon Curtis was the ace of the Raiders' pitching staff last season, compiling a 19-8 record and 2.42 ERA in 193.2 innings pitched. … Curtis posted 19 complete games among her 24 starts and struck out 172 batters (6.22 k/7). … Liz Gale (6-4, 5.88 ERA) logged 62.1 innings, striking out 23 and walking 10. … MSOE scored 10 or more runs in a game eight times last season—including their top two offensive performances in a sweep of Maranatha Baptist on April 6, winning 18-0 and 20-0. On the flip side, the Raiders surrendered 10 or more runs in a game just four times—and only twice after dropping 11-3 and 10-0 decisions to Capital and Cleary in their first two games of the season.
 
Scouting The Neumann Knights:
2018 Roster | 2017 Final Statistics | 2018 Schedule
• The Knights head into 2018 on the heels a very successful 2017 campaign, in which they finished 29-16—including 19-3 in Colonial States Athletic Conference (CSAC) play. … Neumann beat Immaculata 5-0 in the title game of the CSAC post-season tournament, earning the Knights their third straight NCAA tournament berth. … Neumann went 1-2 at the NCAA Regional, falling to Kean (4-3) and beating Mount Saint Mary (2-1), before being eliminated by Christopher Newport 5-1. … Neumann his .365 as a team last year, led by Jackie Schneider (.481), Becky Guinto (.442), and Taylor Sirolli (.406). … Schneider led the Knights in hits (63), home runs (6), RBIs (50), total bases (100), slugging percentage (.763), and on-base percentage (.527). … Guinto, who was second to Schneider in hits (61), home runs (5), RBIs (43), total bases (98), slugging percentage (.710), and on-base percentage (.494), owned team-highs in runs scored (50) and doubles (18). … Schneider and Guinto each belted two of the team's nine triples, while accounting for 11 of the Knights' 14 home runs. … Neumann went 22-for-25 in stolen base attempts, led by Grace Sperrazza, who went 8-for-10. … Jen Sieminski (11-8, 2.65 ERA) and Haley Broomell (7-4, 2.55 ERA) were the workhorses for the Neumann pitching staff, logging 113.2 and 82.1 innings, respectively. … Sieminski made a team-leading 22 appearances—including 20 starts—and tossed 14 complete games. Broomell appeared in 14 games—all starts—and recorded eight complete games. … Sieminski was the Knights' strikeout leader with 105, followed closely by Broomell with 88. … Neumann scored 10 or more runs 13 times in 2017—winning all 13 games. … The Knights were held to two runs or less in 12 of their 16 losses. … Neumann posted 11 shutouts a year ago, while being held without a run just four times.
 
Scouting The Mitchell Mariners:
2018 Roster | 2017 Final Statistics | 2018 Schedule
• The Mariners open 2018 coming off an 11-19 showing last season, including a 7-11 effort in the New England Collegiate Conference (NECC). … The Mariners closed out 2017 with five players hitting above .300—led by Suzanne Vachon, who hit a team-best .439, while also leading or sharing the team in hits (36), doubles (15), RBIs (20), stolen bases (6), on-base percentage (.489), and slugging percentage (.732). … Vachon was one of six Mariners to collect 20 or more hits—Samantha DelConte (34), Italia Krick (28), Megan Elphick (21), Danielle Autieri (24), and Taylor Duchesneau (21) were the others. … DeConte, who was second to Vachon in batting average (.366), hits (34), on-base percentage (.433), and slugging percentage (.602), was Mitchell's offensive leader in at-bats (93), triples (7), and walks (17). … Mitchell's four home runs in 2017 came from four different players—Vachon, Elphick, Autieri, and Reanna Clark. … Duchesneau tossed 136.1 of the Mariners' 180.0 innings in the pitcher's circle last season. … Duchesneau compiled a 7-15 record and a 5.60 ERA in 26 appearances—including 21 starts. … Duchesneau, who posted 19 complete games, recorded the team's only save and finished with 53 strikeouts. … Vachon went 4-4 with a 6.73 ERA in 10 appearances in the circle, while walking 30 and strikeout out 26. … Mitchell scored 10 or more runs in a game three times—including a 12-7 win over Wheelock on April 30 and a pair of 16-run efforts in a 16-3 triumph over Lyndon State on Mach 30 and a 16-5 victory over Daniel Webster on April 3. On the flip side, the Mariners gave up 10 or more runs eight times a year ago—including a season-high 18 runs in an 18-0 loss to Becker on April 22. … Mitchell's 7-3 win over Southern Vermont on April 23 snapped the Mariners' season-high 12-game losing streak, while also kicking off a four-game winning streak.