HEAD COACH: 

• John Tschida (8th season at Saint Mary’s, 1995-2000, 2021-2022)

A YEAR AGO: 

• 9-13 MIAC (7th) * 16-17 Overall

RETURNERS TO WATCH: 

• Riley Hall (Senior * Infield | 33 GP, .423 BA, 97 AB, 27 R, 41 H, 8 2B, 25 RBIs, .567 slugging %, .513 on-base %, 16 SB. … Led the team in virtually every offensive category in her first year as a Cardinal in 2022. … Recorded single-game career-highs for hits (3), doubles )(2), RBIs (3), and runs scored (3) in 2022).

• Allison Ciero (Sophomore * Outfield | 33 GP, .366 BA, 112 AB, 31 R, 41 H, 8 2B, 4 3B, 17 RBIs, .509 slugging %, .441 on-base %, 18 SB. … Started all 33 games in 2022 … Led team in runs (31), hits (41), doubles (8), triples (4), and stolen bases (18) during freshman campaign in 2022. … Set single-game career-highs in hits (3), RBIs (3), and runs scored (3) in 2022).

• Sarah Kraus (Sophomore * Pitcher | 8-12, 3.13 ERA, 25 APP, 10 CG, 125.1 IP, 42 BB, 89 Ks. … Led Cardinal staff in every pitching category during her freshman season in 2022. … Tossed 10 complete games, including first as a Cardinal in win over Cabrini on Feb. 27, 2022. … Struck out career-high nine batters against Concordia on April 3.

BY THE NUMBERS: 

• 3: Riley Hall (Dallas Center, Iowa), Sophie Cave (Maplewood, Minn.), and Allison Ciero (Glyn Ellyn, Ill.) were all named First-Team All-MIAC a year ago, while Hall also garnered NFCA All-Region IX Third-Team honors in 2022.

• 6: The Cardinals boasted six regulars who hit .300 or better in 2022 — led by Riley Hall (Dallas Center, Iowa / .423) and Heather Nordlund (Byron, Minn. / .370). Allison Ciero (Glen Ellyn, Ill. / .366), Sophie Cave (Maplewood, Minn. / .343), Mackenzie Carey (Prescott, Wis. / .325), and Cassie Sutor (Chicago, Ill. / .307) also hitting above .300 a year ago.

• 70: Saint Mary’s stole 70 bases in 2022, led by Allison Ciero (Glen Ellyn, Ill.) with 18 and Riley Hall (Dallas Center, Iowa) with 16. SMU — which swiped just 26 bases in 36 games in 2021 — got at least one stolen base from 14 different players. … SMU’s 70 stolen bases rank sixth in program history.

• 76: The Cardinals recorded 270 hits in 2022, including 76 for extra bases — 58 doubles, 13 triples and five home runs. 

• 125 1/3: Sarah Kraus (Onalaska, Wis.) logged a team-high 125 1/3 innings during her freshman campaign in 2022. She also led the Cardinal pitching staff in appearances (25), starts (18), complete games (10), and strikeouts (89).

DID YOU KNOW?

• Riley Hall (Dallas Center, Iowa) was hit by a pitch 12 times a year ago, tied for 11th-most in NCAA Division III. She was hit by three pitches against Rosemont on March 3, tied for the highest single-game total in NCAA Division in 2022.

DID YOU KNOW, PART II?

• The Cardinals’ 14-10 loss to St. Scholastica in Game 1 on April 21 marked the first time since the 2012 season — when SMU fell to Cornell 13-10 — that SMU had scored 10 or more runs in a loss. The 24 combined runs between the Saints and Cardinals were also the most since Saint Mary’s and Macalester combined for 33 runs in an 18-15 SMU win on April 22, 2015. 

DID YOU KNOW PART III?

• Saint Mary’s scored four or more runs in an inning 13 times last season — including a six times in the second inning of its 14-6 loss to Saint Benedict on May 1 and a season-high seven-run sixth inning in its 12-3 win over Rosemont on March 3.

THIS AND THAT

• FOR THE RECORD: Saint Mary’s closed out its first year under head coach John Tschida with a 16-15 overall record a year ago, including a 9-11 showing in conference play.

• RUNNING WILD: The Cardinals scored 183 runs in 33 games, led by Ciero, who scored 31 times. Hall was second with 28 runs scored, five more than Cave. … Hall, Ciero, Kulaga, and Cave all scored three times in a game in 2022 — Hall against St. Catherine on April 2, Ciero vs. Concordia the following afternoon, Kulaga against St. Scholastica on April 21, and Cave against Gustavus on April 24.

• HIT PARADE: Saint Mary’s boasted nine players who collected 10 or more hits through 33 games, including five — Hall (41), Ciero (41), Cave (36), Carey (27), Sutor (22), and Erin Sullivan (Wisconsin Rapids, Wis. / 23) — who owned at least 20 hits. … Saint Mary’s amassed 68 multiple-hit games, led by Hall with 14, Ciero with 12, and Cave with 11. … Sutor owned the team’s top single-game performance, collecting a career-high four hits against Rosemount on March 5. … Ciero led the team with four, three-hit games, one more than Hall and two up on Cave and Carey.

• GOING DEEP: Cave, Sullivan, Sarah Kraus (Onalaska, Wis.), and Ally Wagner (Altoona, Wis.) accounted for Saint Mary’s five home runs this season — with Cave hitting her team-leading second of the season against St. Scholastica on April 21. Wagner belted her first collegiate HR in the second game of SMU’s doubleheader against St. Catherine on April 2, while Cave and Kraus launched their first home runs in a Cardinal uniform during SMU’s 11-game spring trip. Kraus cracked a two-run shot against Rosemont on March 3, and Cave launched a three-run bomb against Finlandia on March 4.

• DRIVING ‘EM IN: Hall delivered a team-best 25 RBIs, followed by Cave with 22 and Ciero with 17. … Saint Mary’s posted 34 multiple-RBI performances this season, led by Cave with six, and Hall and Sullivan with five. … Carey drove in a game- and career-high four runs in SMU’s season-opening win over Neumann on Feb. 26, while Cave matched that with her first collegiate four-RBI game against St. Scholastica on Thursday.

• TOUGH TO STOP: Ciero closed out the season having hit safely in each of the Cardinals’ last nine games, while Carey ended the year on an eight-game hit streak. … Hall had her career-high nine-game hitting streak snapped in SMU’s 9-1 Game 2 loss to St. Catherine on April 2. 

• IN THE CIRCLE: Sarah Kraus (Onalaska, Wis.) boasted a 3.13 ERA and 8-12 record in 25 appearances. She tossed 10 complete games — including a career-high nine innings in a 3-2 loss to Carleton on April 9 — and teamed with Amelia Spilde (Brooklyn, Wis.) for the team’s lone shutout. … Spilde finished the year 4-2 with a 4.42 ERA in 15 appearances, including six starts, while Wagner went 3-0 with a 6.22 ERA in 12 outings.

• PITCHING FIRSTS: Spilde, Kraus, and Hall all picked up their first collegiate pitching wins during SMU’s spring trip. Spilde tossed three innings of two-hit, shutout ball in SMU’s 14-0 win over Neumann on Feb. 26, while Kraus allowed four runs (two earned) on seven hits in a complete-game 10-4 win over Cabrini the following day. Hall allowed two runs on three hits in 3 2/3 innings of relief against Finlandia on March 4. … Wagner, meanwhile, collected her first collegiate save in SMU’s 10-7, Game 1 win over St. Catherine on April 2, tossing a scoreless seventh. Kraus, meanwhile, struck out three of the five batters she faced in collecting her first collegiate save in SMU’s 9-5 Game 2 win over Concordia on April 3.

• FANNING THE FLAMES: Cardinal pitchers combined to strike out 140 batters in 33 games, led by Kraus with 89, Spilde with 22, and Wagner with 16. … Kraus struck out a single-game career-high nine batters in SMU’s 6-2 win over Concordia in Game 1 on April 3. 

• THIS AND THAT: The Cardinals scored six or more runs in 15 of their 16 wins — including eight wins when scoring 10 or more times. On the flip side, SMU was held to five runs or less in 14 of its 17 losses. …  SMU owned a 15-2 record when scoring at least six runs. … Saint Mary’s scored first 13 times — going 9-4 — while sporting a 7-13 mark when its opponent plates the game’s first run. … SMU was a perfect 13-0 when leading after six innings, while going 1-10 when trailing heading into the seventh inning.