By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota fastpitch softball team returns to MIAC action on Saturday, as the Cardinals head to St. Catherine for a 1 p.m. conference doubleheader with the Wildcats.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (3-11 MIAC, 7-21 Overall) at St. Catherine Wildcats (11-3 MIAC, 21-9 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—April 18, 2019 * CSB Softball Complex * St. Joseph, Minn.: The Cardinals came up empty in their conference doubleheader at Saint Benedict, falling to the Bennies 3-0 in the opener and 4-1 in the nightcap | Recap
• St. Catherine—April 19, 2019 * SCU Outdoor Fields & Courts * St. Paul, Minn.: The Wildcats picked up a pair of key MIAC victories in their chase for one of the four MIAC Playoff berths, sweeping Bethel 6-2 and 4-3 | Game 1 Box * Game 2 Box
 
Saint Mary's vs. St. Catherine — Their Last Meeting:
• April 22, 2018 * Saint Mary's Field * Winona, Minn.: The Saint Mary's fastpitch softball team was finally able to play an official home doubleheader — after playing their past several "home" games inside at the Rochester Regional Stadium in Rochester, Minn. Unfortunately, even the home-field advantage could not help Saint Mary's slow down red-hot St. Catherine, as the Wildcats handed the Cardinals a pair of Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference losses, 6-1 and 6-4, at the Saint Mary's Field | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals are right back in action on Monday, returning home to the Saint Mary's Field for a 3 p.m. conference doubleheader against Bethel.
• St. Catherine: The Wildcats step out of conference play on Monday, entertaining Wartburg in a 2 p.m. nonconference doubleheader at the SCU Outdoor Fields & Courts.
 
Scouting the Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2019 Roster | 2019 Schedule | 2019 Statistics
• The Cardinals picked up their first sweep of the season with their 4-0, 4-2 win over Macalester on April 8. … Saint Mary's 4-0 win over the Scots snapped their season-high seven-game losing streak. … The Cardinals' Game 1 victory over Macalester on April 8 was their second shutout win of the season — Saint Mary's also blanked Rose-Hulman 1-0 on Feb. 25. … The Cardinals' three hits in their 3-0 Game 1 loss to Saint Benedict Thursday came from three different players, while Justine Schultz (Winona, Minn.) went 2-for-3 to lead the Saint Mary's offense in the nightcap. … Schultz has now gone a combined 5-for-8 in the second game of the Cardinals' last two doubleheaders — having recorded a 3-for-4 Game 2 effort against St. Thomas on April 14. … Schultz's 3-for-4 showing against St Thomas was her first three-hit game of the season, while her 2-for-3 effort against Saint Benedict Thursday was her team-leading eighth multiple-hit game. … Maria Averbeck (Lewiston, Minn.) drove in a pair of runs in both of the Cardinals' games against St. Thomas on April 14 — it was the first two two-RBI games of her collegiate career. … Averbeck also delivered her first collegiate double as part of her first career two-hit game in the nightcap. …  Schultz and Amber Chow (West St. Paul, Minn.) lead the team with .309 and .308 batting averages, respectively, followed Hallie Schmeling (Onalaska, Wis. / .274). … Schultz also leads the team with 25 hits, one more than Chow and two in front of Schmeling. … Schmeling is the team-leader in runs scored with 11, while also leading the Cardinals in RBIs (10), walks (11), total bases (33), and slugging percentage (.393). … Schultz has belted a team-high six doubles, and Schmeling and Amy Kulaga (Riverside, Ill.) have hit the Cardinals' two triples. … One of Schmeling's two hits in Game 2 against Hamline on April 6 was a home run — the first round-tripper of her career. … 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 on March 28, while Signey Stoesz (Mountain Lake, Minn.) and Sullivan recorded theirs against Luther on March 15, and Kulaga, DeJaye Baab (Wabasha, Minn.), and Averbeck collected their first collegiate hits during the Cardinals' 10-game spring trip. … The Cardinals are 10-for-12 in stolen base attempts — led by Schultz, who is a perfect 6-for-6. … The Cardinals boast 34 multiple-hit games — including the first three-hit contests by Chow, Kulaga and Sullivan. … Baab and Stevens recorded their first 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. … Saint Mary's collected a season-high nine walks in their 3-2 Game 1 loss to St. Olaf on March 31. It the most walks in a game since inducing nine walks from Macalester pitchers during the 2015 season. … Chow — who picked up her first shutout of the season, and second of her career with a three-hitter against Macalester in Game 1 on April 8 — has made a team-leading 16 starts in the pitcher's circle, four more than Amber Trendle (Chicago, Ill.). Chow has logged a team-high 99.0 innings, compiling a 3-10 record and 4.24 ERA, while Trendle boasts a 3-11 record and 3.94 ERA in 71.0 innings. … Stoesz has made eight pitching appearances, going 1-0 with a 5.07 ERA in 9.2 innings. … Chow and Trendle have both struck out a team-high 29 batters. … 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. … Saint Mary's has outscored its opponents 18-13 in the fifth inning, but have been outscored 26-12 in the first, 30-8 in the third, and 25-13 in the fourth. … The Cardinals have played eight one-run games, going 3-5. … The Cardinals are 4-5 when scoring first, but just 3-16 when their opponent plates the game's first run. … Saint Mary's has held its opponents to two runs or less in four of its seven wins. On the flip side, the Cardinals have been held to two runs of fewer in 15 of their 21 losses.
 
Scouting the St. Catherine Wildcats:
2019 Roster | 2019 Schedule | 2019 Statistics
• St. Catherine is playing at home for the third straight day when the Wildcats host the Cardinals Saturday completed a suspended game against Hamline on Thursday, before entertain Bethel for a pair of games on Friday. … With Friday's sweep of Bethel, St. Catherine has now won five of their last seven — with both losses coming by 6-5 decisions. … The Wildcats enter Saturday's doubleheader against Saint Mary's hitting .327 as a team, and boast eight players — Alex Ehde (.378), Anna Hinderaker (.376), Jenna George (.360), Amber Montero (.356), Alyssa Wicks (.333), Angela Huepfel (.325), and Mikayla Grant (.314) — who are hitting .300 or better. … Along with her team-leading .378 batting average, Ehde also leads SCU in at-bats (111), hits (42), doubles (11), RBIs (21), total bases (58), and on-bat percentage (.405). … Hinderaker has scored a team-high 24 runs, while also adding a team-best five triples. … George has accounted for four of St. Catherine's nine home runs, followed by Trish Sherman with two. … SCU boasts three players with 20 or more RBIs — Ehde (21), George (20), and Montero (20). … The Wildcats are 44-for-53 in stolen bases, led by Ehde and Hinderaker with eight each. … Kathryn Proper and Annabelle Schutte have done the majority of the pitching for the Wildcats, with Proper logging a team-high 110.0 IP, followed by Schutte with 86.0 IP. … Proper (12-6, 2.04) has made a team-high 22 appearances — including 15 starts — while Schutte (9-3, 2.77 ERA) has started 14 of her 19 appearances. … Schutte has tossed a team-best eight complete games, two more than Proper, with both pitchers tossing one shutout. … Proper has struck out a staff-best 97 batters, with Schutte adding 50 strikeouts. … St. Catherine has scored 10 or more runs three times, including a season-high 12 runs in a 12-4 win over the University of Dubuque on March 3.