By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota fastpitch softball team is back in conference play on Sunday, as the Cardinals entertain St. Olaf in a 1 p.m. MIAC doubleheader at the Saint Mary's Field.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (1-1 MIAC, 5-11 Overall) vs. St. Olaf Oles (0-0 MIAC, 10-6 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—March 30, 2019 * Winona, Minn.: The Cardinals opened their MIAC-opening doubleheader with a 5-4, come-from-behind win in Game 1, but Gustavus responded by scoring seven unanswered runs, erasing a 5-0 Saint Mary's lead in winning the nightcap 7-5 at the Saint Mary's Field | Recap
• St. Olaf—March 22-26, 2019 * Clermont, Fla.: The Oles closed out their eight-game spring trip to Clermont, Fla., last week with a 5-3 record — including back-to-back losses to No. 20 UW-Oshkosh (6-5) and No. 21 UW-Eau Claire (6-0) last Tuesday | Spring Trip Recaps
 
Saint Mary's vs. St. Olaf — Their Last Meeting:
• April 4, 2018 * Dundas Dome * Dundas, Minn.:  Saint Mary's got downright defensive its conference-opening doubleheader against St. Olaf. The Cardinals did not allow the Oles to score a single run — limiting St. Olaf to a combined seven hits over 14 innings — as Saint Mary's cruised to wins of 1-0 and 4-0 at the Dundas Dome | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals hit the road on Wednesday, traveling to Carleton's Ele Hansen Field in Northfield, Minn., for a conference doubleheader against the Knights. First pitch is set for 3:30 p.m.
• St. Olaf: The Oles return home to Mabel Shirley Field in Northfield, Minn., on Wednesday for a 3:30 p.m. MIAC twinbill against Gustavus.
 
Scouting the Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2019 Roster | 2019 Schedule | 2019 Statistics
• The Cardinals' games against St. Olaf are the third and fourth straight home games Saint Mary's, which opened the season with 14 straight road games. … The Cardinals' 5-4 win over Gustavus in the opener Saturday marked the first time this season they have scored more than three runs, and less than 10, in a victory. On the flip side, Saint Mary's has been held to two runs or less in seven of their 10 losses. … Justine Schultz (Winona, Minn.) and Amber Chow (West St. Paul, Minn.) each collected two-hit games against Gustavus Saturday — Schultz in Game 1 and Chow in Game 2. … Hallie Schmeling (Onalaska, Wis.) owns a team-leading .319 batting average, while also leading or sharing the team lead in hits (15), triples (1), RBIs (9), slugging percentage (.404), and on-base percentage (.400). … Schmeling has a hit in 11 of the team's 16 games, including a team-best seven-game hitting streak. … Schultz is second to Schmeling with a .294 batting average, while leading the team in doubles (5) and sharing the lead in hits with 15. … Roni Stevens (Delano, Minn.) and Amy Kulaga (Riverside, Ill.) share the team lead with eight runs scored, with Kulaga also leading the team in walks with nine. … Saint Mary's boasts six players who have recorded their first hits in a Cardinal uniform this season. McKayla Ahlrich (Sleepy Eye, Minn.) had one of the Cardinals' five Game 2 hits vs. UW-La Crosse last Thursday, while Signey Stoesz (Mountain Lake, Minn.) and Erin Sullivan (Wisconsin Rapids, Wis.) recorded theirs against Luther on March 15, and Kulaga, DeJaye Baab (Wabasha, Minn.), and Maria Averbeck (Lewiston, Minn.) collected their first collegiate hits during the Cardinals' 10-game spring trip. … The Cardinals are 9-for-10 in stolen base attempts — led by Schultz, who is a perfect 5-for-5. … The Cardinals boast 24 multiple-hit games — including the first two three-hit contests by Kulaga and Erin Sullivan (Wisconsin Rapids, Wis.) against UW-La Crosse Thursday. Schultz leads the Cardinals with six multiple-hit games, while Schmeling and Tara Nikolich (Chicago, Ill.) both own four. … Baab, Chow, and Stevens all recorded their first two, two-hit games during Saint Mary's spring trip. … Schmeling delivered her first career five-RBI game in the Cardinals' season-opening 10-9 win over Alma on Feb. 24. … Chow has made a team-leading nine starts in the pitcher's circle, two more than Trendle. Chow has logged a team-high 57.0 innings, compiling a 2-5 record and 3.56 ERA, while Trendle boasts a 2-6 record and 4.54 ERA in 41.2 innings. … Stoesz has made five pitching appearances, going 1-0 with a 0.91 ERA in 7.2 innings. … Trendle has struck out a team-best 19 batters, four more than Chow. … Trendle struck out a career-high eight batters in the Cardinals' 1-0 win over Rose-Hulman on Feb. 25. … Stoesz pitched one inning of shutout, one-hit relief en route to her first collegiate pitching win in the Cardinals' season-opening, 10-9 victory over Alma. … The Cardinals' five runs in the first inning against Gustavus Saturday marked the first time this season Saint Mary's has scored in their first at-bat. … The Cardinals are 3-2 when scoring first, but just 2-9 when their opponent plates the game's first run.
 
 
Scouting the St. Olaf Oles:
2019 Roster | 2019 Schedule | 2019 Statistics
• The Oles closed out their eight-game spring trip to Clermont, Fla., last week with a 5-3 record — including back-to-back losses to No. 20 UW-Oshkosh (6-5) and No. 21 UW-Eau Claire (6-0) last Tuesday. … UW-Oshkosh and UW-Eau Claire were the third and fourth nationally ranked teams the Oles have already faced this season — St. Olaf also dropped a 1-0 decision to then-No. 16 Luther, while beating then-No. 9 UW-Whitewater 2-1. … St. Olaf enters its conference showdown against Saint Mary's hitting .286 as a team, while boasting five players with 40 or more at-bats who are hitting above .300. … Abby Grismer leads the Oles' offense, hitting .400, while Emily Carr (.333), Jordan Melz (.333), Hannah Matthies (.320), and Alison Curry (.318) have also eclipsed the .300 mark. … Carr — one of just three Oles to have started all 16 games this season — also leads the team in at-bats (54), runs (12), hits (18), doubles (11), home runs (1), total bases (32), and slugging percentage (.593). … Curry and Andrea Conway (.214) have accounted for the Oles' two triples this season. … As a team, St. Olaf has gone 28-for-30 in stolen base attempts, led by Ally Bod (.256) and Conway, who are 7-for-7 and 6-for-6, respectively. … Carr has delivered a team-high five multiple-hit games, while Hannah Matthies is the team-leader with four multiple-RBI games. … Carr and Grismer each put together team-high 11-game hitting streaks earlier this year, but no Ole has a current hit streak of more than two. … The Oles have used five different pitchers this season, led by workhorse Julie Graf, who has thrown a team-leading 69.2 innings, compiling a 7-5 record and 1.31 ERA. … Sydney Robson (1-1, 2.55 ERA) is second to Graf with 24.2 IP, while Abby Grismer (1-0, 3.00, 9.1 IP), Carly Dammann (0-0, 3.00 ERA, 2.1 IP), and Rachel Niederkorn (1-0, 21.00 ERA, 2.1 IP) have also seen time in the pitcher's circle. … Graf owns all seven of St. Olaf's complete games — including one shutout — while striking out a whopping 134 batters. … Opponents are hitting just .126 off Graf this season. … St. Olaf has outscored its opponents 79-50, including 10-5 in the first, 19=8 in the second, and 17-6 in the third. … St. Olaf, which is unbeaten (5-0) when scoring six or more runs, has plated 10 or more runs twice this season — beating UW-River Falls 12-4 on March 2, and dropping Knox 13-5 on March 3. … St. Olaf is 5-1 when scoring in the first inning, and 6-2 when scoring the game's first run.