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 Sunday, as the Cardinals play host to Bethel in a conference doubleheader. Opening pitch is set for 1 p.m.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (5-15 MIAC, 9-25 Overall) vs. Bethel Royals (9-9 MIAC, 24-10 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats | Senior Salute: PDF * Web
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—April 27, 2019 * Jake Christianson Field * Moorhead, Minn.: The Cardinals picked up a conference split against Concordia, managing just three hits — and a pair of fifth-inning runs in falling to the Cobbers 4-2 in the opener, before erupting for 14 runs on 19 hits in routing CC 14-0 in five innings in the nightcap | Recap
• Bethel—April 27, 2019 * Macalester Field * St. Paul, Minn.: The Royals recorded an MIAC split on the road against Macalester, falling in the opener 2-0, before bouncing back with a shutout of their own, 7-0, in the nightcap | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Bethel — Their Last Meeting:
• April 29, 2018 * Ona Orth Athletic Complex * Arden Hills, Minn.: The Cardinals erupted for nine runs on 17 hits, their highest offensive output in 24 games — and they needed every one of those nine runs in beating the Royals 9-8 in the first game of the teams' conference doubleheader. The hits — and the runs — continued to pile up in the nightcap. Unfortunately for the Cardinals, it was Bethel doing the brunt of the scoring, as the Royals erupted for four runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to rally for a 9-6 victory and a split in the teams' conference twinbill | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals matchup against Bethel is their final regular-season doubleheader of the 2019 season.
• Bethel: The Royals are back on the road on Monday, closing out their regular-season schedule with a 3:30 p.m. MIAC doubleheader at Hamline.
 
Scouting the Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2019 Roster | 2019 Schedule | 2019 Statistics
• The Cardinals' two games against Bethel are the final collegiate games for Cardinal seniors Maria Averbeck (Lewiston, Minn.), Amber Trendle (Chicago, Ill.), and McKayla Ahlrich (Sleepy Eye, Minn.). … With their 4-2 loss and 14-0 win against Concordia Saturday, the Cardinals have now split their last two doubleheaders — Saint Mary's posted a 4-1 win and 7-5 loss to Augsburg last Wednesday. … Saint Mary's 4-1, Game 1 win over Augsburg last Wednesday, snapped its six-game losing streak. … The Cardinals picked up their first sweep of the season Monday with their 4-0, 4-2 win over Macalester on April 8. … Saint Mary's 4-0 win over the Scots on April 8 snapped their season-high seven-game losing streak. … The Cardinals' 14 runs in their 14-0, five-inning win over Concordia Saturday were a season-high — and the most since plating 17 in a 17-1 win over Lyndon State on Feb. 24, 2016. Saint Mary's 19 hits against the Cobbers, meanwhile, were the most since banging out 20 against Ohio Northern on March 4, 2014. … Saint Mary's 14-0 win vs. CC was its third shutout win of the season — the Cardinals also blanked Macalester 4-0 on April 8 and Rose-Hulman 1-0 on Feb. 25. … Paige Gudmundson (Plainview, Minn.) went 3-for-3 with a double, two runs scored and two RBIs in Game 2 vs. Concordia Saturday, while Tara Nikolich (Chicago, Ill.), Trendle, Erin Sullivan (Wisconsin Rapids, Wis.), and Hallie Schmeling (Onalaska, Wis.) all had two hits. … Gudmundson has now recorded three hits in a game four times in her collegiate career. … Every Cardinal starter had at least one hit in Saint Mary's 14-0 win over Concordia Saturday, while eight of the nine starters scored at least one run. … Trendle, who went 2-for-3 in the nightcap vs. Concordia Saturday, posted a career-high four RBIs. … With her two-run, first-inning single against St. Catherine on April 20, 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. … Averbeck, Schultz, and Schmeling lead the team with .313, .309, and .287 batting averages, respectively. … Schultz also leads the team with 30 hits, one more than Schmeling. … Schmeling is the team-leader in runs scored with 17, while also leading the Cardinals in RBIs (13), walks (16), total bases (41), and slugging percentage (.406). … Schultz and Schmeling have each belted a team-high seven doubles, while Schmeling, Nikolich, and Amy Kulaga (Riverside, Ill.) have hit the Cardinals' three triples this season. … 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. Ahlrich 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 12-for-14 in stolen base attempts — led by Schultz, who is a perfect 7-for-7. … The Cardinals boast 41 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 19 starts in the pitcher's circle, four more than Trendle. … Chow has logged a team-high 118.0 innings, compiling a 4-12 record and 4.15 ERA, while Trendle boasts a 4-13 record and 4.25 ERA in 84.0 innings. … Stoesz has made 10 pitching appearances, going 1-0 with a 3.59 ERA in 13.2 innings. … Chow has struck out a team-high 41 batters, 10 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 27-15 in the fifth inning, but have been outscored 31-19 in the first, 36-9 in the third, and 36-17 in the fourth. … The Cardinals have played eight one-run games, going 3-5. … The Cardinals are 5-7 when scoring first, but just 4-18 when their opponent plates the game's first run. … Saint Mary's has held its opponents to two runs or less in six of its nine wins. On the flip side, the Cardinals have been held to two runs of fewer in 16 of their 25 losses.
 
Scouting the Bethel Royals:
2019 Roster | 2019 Schedule | 2019 Statistics
• Bethel's doubleheader at Saint Mary's is the third of four straight road twinbills to close out the regular season for the Royals — who are 18-4 away from Ona Orth Athletic Complex this season, including 15-1 in neutral-site contests. … After opening the season 13-1 — including a program-best 12-game winning streak — the Royals are 11-9 in their last 20 contests. … Bethel enters its doubleheader at Saint Mary's hitting .379 as a team and boasting eight players who are hitting above .300 — including four starters with batting averages above .400. … Allie Fauth leads the Royals' offense with a .446 batting average, followed by Amanda Gemuenden (.443),  Alexa Hanowski (.418), and Mariah Uphoff (.410). … Along with her .446 batting average, Fauth also leads the team in at-bats (121), runs (42), and hits (54). … Fauth is one of five Royals who have scored 20 or more runs, being joined by Uphoff (33), Gemuenden (29), Hanowski (28), and Jamie Axelberg (28). … Hanowski has belted a team-leading 11 doubles, while Gemuenden leads the way with four triples. … Axelberg (.391) has launched a team-high eight home runs, while also leading BU in RBIs (46), total bases (75), and slugging percentage (.682). … BU is 47-for-59 in stolen bases, led by Fauth with 12 and Uphoff with nine. … The Royals have used four different pitchers this season, led by Calli Maki (98.0 IP) and Hannah Schmidt (88.2 IP). … Maki (11-4, 2.86 ERA) and Schmidt (9-5, 3.32 ERA) have each made 17 starts, while Maki has appeared in a team-high 21 games, three more than Maki. … Schmidt has tossed a team-high nine complete games with two shutouts, followed by Maki with seven complete games and one shutout. … Maki has struck out 76 batters, followed by Schmidt (45), and Megan Thurow (2-0, 1.19 ERA, 20 Ks). … Bethel has scored 10 or more runs in a game 10 times this season — including a season-high 23-run outburst in routing UM-Morris 23-1 in five innings on March 22. The Royals' 23 runs were two shy of the program record.