By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota fastpitch softball team returns home to the Saint Mary's Field on Wednesday, as the Cardinals entertain Augsburg in a 3:30 p.m. conference doubleheader.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (3-13 MIAC, 7-23 Overall) vs. Augsburg Auggies (6-12 MIAC, 14-20 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—April 20, 2019 * SCU Softball Field * St. Paul, Minn.: The Cardinals grabbed an early, 2-0 lead after their first at-bat in both games against St. Catherine, but they could not maintain the advantage, falling to the Wildcats 8-3 and 9-7 | Recap
• Augsburg—April 23, 2019 * Edor Nelson Field * Minneapolis, Minn.: The Auggies split their conference doubleheader against St. Catherine, taking the first game 2-1, but dropping the nightcap 5-0 | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Augsburg — Their Last Meeting:
• April 21, 2018 * Edor Nelson Field * Minneapolis, Minn.: Augsburg's Katie Parker laced a one-out, walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth inning to break a 3-3 deadlock and lift the Auggies to a 4-3 victory in the opening game of their MIAC doubleheader. There would be no "walking" to a Game 2 victory for Saint Mary'. Instead, the Cardinals would take advantage of five Augsburg errors to post a 4-1 victory and earn the conference split | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals are right back on their home field on Thursday, as they entertain UW-Eau Claire in a pair of nonconference games. Opening pitch is set for 3 p.m.
• Augsburg: The Auggies hit the road on Thursday, traveling to St. Bonifacius, Minn., for a nonconference twinbill against Crown. First pitch in Game 1 is set for 3:30 p.m.
 
Scouting the Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2019 Roster | 2019 Schedule | 2019 Statistics
• The Cardinals picked up their first sweep of the season Monday with their 4-0, 4-2 win over Macalester. … Saint Mary's 4-0 win over the Scots Monday snapped their season-high seven-game losing streak. … The Cardinals' Game 1 victory over Macalester on April 15 was their second shutout win of the season — Saint Mary's also blanked Rose-Hulman 1-0 on Feb. 25. … Paige Gudmundson (Plainview, Minn.) went 2-for-4 with a run score in Game 1 against St. Catherine last Saturday, while adding a 2-for-4, three-run effort in the nightcap. … Justine Schultz (Winona, Minn.) went 3-for-3 with a pair of RBIs in Game 2 vs. St. Catherine, while Maria Averbeck (Lewiston, Minn.) and Hallie Schmeling (Onalaska, Wis.) also had two hits in the nightcap. … Schultz has now gone a combined 8-for-11 in the second game of the Cardinals' last three doubleheaders — having gone 2-for-3 against Saint Benedict last Thursday and recording a 3-for-4 Game 2 effort against St. Thomas on April 14. … Schultz's 3-for-3 showing against St. Catherine Saturday was her second three-hit game of the season — and her team-leading ninth multiple-hit game. … With her two-run, first-inning single against St. Catherine Saturday, Averbeck has now had two RBIs in a game three times this season — the first three two-RBI games of her career. … Averbeck delivered her first collegiate double as part of her first career two-hit game in the nightcap against St. Thomas on April 14. … Schultz and Amber Chow (West St. Paul, Minn.) lead the team with .326 and .291 batting averages, respectively, followed Hallie Schmeling (Onalaska, Wis. / .278). … Schultz also leads the team with 28 hits, three more than both Chow and Schmeling. … Schmeling is the team-leader in runs scored with 13, while also leading the Cardinals in RBIs (11), walks (14), total bases (35). … Schultz has belted a team-high six doubles and boasts a team-best .395 slugging percentage. … 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 39 multiple-hit games — including the first career three-hit contests by Chow, Kulaga and Sullivan. … Baab and Stevens recorded their first collegiate 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 17 starts in the pitcher's circle, four more than Amber Trendle (Chicago, Ill.). Chow has logged a team-high 105.0 innings, compiling a 3-11 record and 4.40 ERA, while Trendle boasts a 3-12 record and 4.51 ERA in 76.0 innings. … Stoesz has made nine pitching appearances, going 1-0 with a 4.59 ERA in 10.2 innings. … Chow has struck out a team-high 31 batters, two more than Trendle. … 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 28-16 in the first, 34-9 in the third, and 33-14 in the fourth. … The Cardinals have played eight one-run games, going 3-5. … The Cardinals are 4-7 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 16 of their 23 losses.
 
Scouting the Augsburg Auggies:
2019 Roster | 2019 Schedule | 2019 Statistics
• After four straight home games, the Auggies play their final six games of the regular season on the road — beginning with their doubleheader at Saint Mary's. … The Auggies' 2-1 win over St. Catherine Tuesday snapped their four-game losing streak. … The Auggies head into Wednesday's showdown against Saint Mary's having gone 2-8 in their last 10 contests. … Augsburg enters its showdown against Saint Mary's boasting two players — Sam Anderson (.464) and Anesia King (.409) — hitting above .400. … Along with her team-leading .464 batting average, Anderson also leads or shares the team lead in at-bats (97), hits (45), doubles (7), RBIs (30), and on-base percentage (.558). … King has scored a team-high 28 runs, while also leading the Auggies in total bases (63) and slugging percentage (.677). … Augsburg has recorded 230 hits this season, including 62 for extra bases — 39 doubles, nine triples, and 14 home runs. … Jacquline Nichols (.260) has launched a team-leading three home runs, one more than Anderson, King, and Hollywood Hermanson (.250). … Augsburg is 28-for-33 in stolen bases, led by Nichols with six steals on seven attempts. … Augsburg has used three different pitchers this season, with Anderson (129.2 IP) and Elly Strunk (73.2 IP) seeing the majority of the work. … Anderson (9-12, 2.65 ERA) has made team-highs in appearances (23) and starts (19), with Strunk (5-7, 4.56 ERA) close behind with 14 starts in 16 appearances. … Anderson has tossed 16 complete games, while Strunk owns eight. … Anderson has struck out a whopping 144 batters. … Augsburg has outscored its opponents in the first (32-20) and third (41-18) innings, but have been outscored 27-22 in the second, 40-19 in the fourth, 27-20 in the fifth, 23-12 in the sixth, and 14-7 in the seventh. … Augsburg's 2-1 Game 1 win over St. Catherine Tuesday was its fifth one-run games this season — the Auggies are 2-3 in those five contests. … Augsburg is 9-0 when scoring six runs or more, but are just 1-13 when its opponents plate more than five runs. … Augsburg is winless (0-14) when its opponent scored the game's first run.