SAINT MARY’S CARDINALS

Home | Roster | Stats | Schedule

2023: 3-3 MIAC, 9-11 Overall

ST. OLAF OLES

Home | Roster | Stats | Schedule

2023: 2-2 MIAC, 8-14 Overall

LIVE ON THE WEB:

Live Stats * Streaming Video * MIAC Standings

Social: Facebook * Twitter * Instagram * YouTube

SMU-STO * LAST MEETING:

April 10, 2023 * Northfield, MN

L, 9-1; L, 10-2 * Series History

SAINT MARY’S * LAST ACTION:

April 8, 2023 * Dundas, MN

Carleton * L, 9-7; W, 2-0

ST. OLAF * LAST ACTION:

April 8, 2023 * Dundas, MN

Concordia * W, 15-1 (5); W, 10-4

SAINT MARY’S * UP NEXT:

April 15, 2023 * Winona, MN

St. Scholastica * 1 p.m.

ST. OLAF * UP NEXT: 

April 15, 2023 * St. Paul, MN

Hamline * 1 p.m.

SAINT MARY’S CARDINALS SCOUTING REPORT:

• FOR THE RECORD: Saint Mary’s heads into its conference doubleheader against St. Olaf sitting at 9-11 overall, including 3-3 through its first six MIAC contests.

• LAST TIME OUT: Izzy Griffin (West St. Paul, Minn.) tossed a complete-game five-hit shutout in her first collegiate start to life SMU to a 2-0 in the nightcap of its MIAC doubleheader against Carleton last Saturday in Dundas, Minn. The Knights took the opener, rallying from a 7-4 deficit with five runs in the bottom of the fifth in a 9-7 win.

• SPLITSVILLE: Saint Mary’s has now split each of its first three conference doubleheaders, going 1-1 against Hamline (W, 4-3; L, 6-5), St. Catherine (L, 11-2; W, 7-2), and Carleton (L, 9-7; W, 2-0).

• NCAA FOES: The Cardinals have already faced four teams — Bethany Lutheran, Nebraska Wesleyan, Cabrini, and Alma — that played in the NCAA tournament a year ago.

• AT THE PLATE: As a team, Saint Mary’s is hitting .299 through 20 games, and boasts six regulars who are hitting above .300. … Heather Nordlund (Byron, Minn.) leads the way with a .434 batting average, followed by Peyton Berg (Chatfield, Minn. / .383), Savannah Swanson (Marengo, Ill. / .364), Naleya Bork (De Pere, Wis. / .345), Allison Ciero (Glen Ellyn, Ill. / .308), and Abbie Stigler (Menomonie, Wis. / .305). 

• RUNNING WILD: After scoring 183 runs in 33 games a year ago, Saint Mary’s has already plated 102 runs through 20 games this season. … Riley Hall (Dallas Center, Iowa) has scored a team-leading 21 times, while Ciero (13), Bork (13), and Stigler (11) have also reached double digits in runs scored. … SMU has had a player score three runs in a game three times this season.

• HIT PARADE: Nordlund has racked up a team-leading 23 hits, three more than both Bork and Ciero. Berg (18), Stigler (18), and Hall (16) have also delivered more than 10 hits through 18 games. … Nordlund has put together a team-leading seven multiple-hit games, while Bork and Ciero have posted six multiple-hit games. … Ali French (Winona, Minn.) owns the team’s only four-hit performance — going 4-for-4 in a season-opening 8-0 win over Crown on Feb. 18.

• EXTRA, EXTRA: Fifty-five of the Cardinals’ 166 hits through 20 games have been for extra bases — including 46 doubles, one triple and 11 home runs. … Bork (8) and Berg (6) lead the team in doubles, while Hall has hit SMU’s lone triple. … SMU belted six doubles among its eight Game 1 hits against Carleton last Saturday.

• GOING YARD: After delivering just five home runs a year ago, Saint Mary’s has already launched 11 round-trippers this season — including four in its last six games. Bork leads the team with three HRs, with Hall (2), Stigler (2), Nordlund, Cassie Sutor (Chicago, Ill.), French, and Jada Allen (Stevens Point, Wis.) owning the other seven. … The home runs by Bork, Nordlund, Stigler, Hall, Allen, and French were all collegiate firsts.

• DRIVING ‘EM IN: Nordlund, Bork, and Stigler have all reached double figures in RBIs through 20 games, with Nordlund leading the way with 16, two more than Bork, with Stigler sitting third with 10 RBIs. … Nordlund and Bork have amassed a team-leading five multiple-RBI games, with Stigler, Ciero, Berg, and Sutor each owning two.

• TOUGH TO STOP: Ciero closed out the 2022 season having hit safely in each of the Cardinals’ last nine games, and extended that streak to 12 with hits in SMU’s first three games in 2023, before being held hitless against Bethany Lutheran on Feb. 19. … Berg owns the team’s longest active hit streak at five. … Nordlund has reached base safely in a season-high 10 straight games.

• CAN’T CATCH ME: Saint Mary’s, which stole 70 bases in 2022, has already stolen 47 bases this season – led by Hall (13-for-13), Ciero (7-8), and Stigler (6-8). … SMU has gotten at least one stolen base from 11 different players.

• OUCH: Hall, who was hit by a pitch 12 times last season — tied for 11th-most in NCAA Division III — has already been hit nine times this season. … Hall was hit by three pitches against Rosemont on March 3, tied for the highest single-game total in NCAA Division in 2022.

• IN THE CIRCLE: Saint Mary’s has used five different pitchers this season, with Bork leading the way, tossing 55.0 innings, compiling a 3-6 record and a 3.56 ERA. Sarah Kraus (Onalaska, Wis. / 2-5, 4.06 ERA) is second on the staff with 50.0 IP, while Griffin (1-0, 0.70 ERA, 10.0 IP), Sutor (1-0, 1.05 ERA, 6 2/3 IP), and Amy Gappa (Trempealeau, Wis. / 1-0, 2.47 ERA, 5 2/3 IP) have also seen time in the circle. … Kraus and Bork have each tossed four complete games, and both share the team lead with 11 appearances.

• A START TO REMEMBER: There were plenty of firsts for Griffin in her first collegiate pitching start against Carleton last Saturday. The sophomore collected her first collegiate win, tossing her first career complete game shutout in a 2-0 SMU victory.

• OTHER PITCHING FIRSTS: Bork picked up her first pitching win of the season against Bethany Lutheran n Feb. 18, allowing one run on four hits in four innings of a 5-1 Saint Mary’s win.

• FANNING THE FLAMES: Cardinal pitchers have combined to strike out 82 batters through 20 games, led by Kraus (41) and Bork (38). … Bork struck out a career-high 10 batters in the Cardinals’ 8-3 win over Houghton on Feb. 27. The 10 strikeouts were the most by a Cardinal pitcher since Amber Chow fanned 10 against Gustavus on April 17, 2021.

• WEEKLY HONORS: Heather Nordlund (Byron, Minn.) was named MIAC Player of the Week on March 6, after hitting .500 (10-for-20), with a double and a home run, in SMU’s eight spring trip games. It was the first weekly honor for the Cardinal sophomore.

• CRUNCHING THE NUMBERS: The Cardinals have outscored their first 18 opponents 102-87 — including 20-11 in the second inning, 14-7 in the fourth, and 13-8 in the fifth. … SMU has scored 10 or more runs in a game twice, highlighted by a season-high 13-run effort in its 13-1, five-inning victory over North Central on Feb.18. … Saint Mary’s is 6-2 in games decided by five or more runs, but 2-5 in one- or two-run games. … The Cardinals have held their opponent to two runs or less in seven of their 10 wins. On the flip side, SMU is 0-6 when failing to plate more than two runs. … Saint Mary’s, which scored four or more runs in an inning 13 times last season — including a season-high seven-run sixth inning in its 12-3 win over Rosemont on March 3, 2022 — has scored four or more runs in an inning seven times this season. SMU scored a season-high eight runs in the first inning of its 13-1 win over North Central on Feb. 19.

ST. OLAF OLES SCOUTING REPORT:

• FOR THE RECORD: The Oles head into their MIAC showdown against Saint Mary’s sitting at 8-14 overall, including a 2-2 mark in their first four conference contests.

• LAST TIME OUT: The Oles pounded out 28 hits in picking up their first two MIAC wins in convincing fashion last Saturday, routing Concordia 15-1 in five innings and 10-4 at Dundas Dome in Dundas, Minn.

• SWEEPING IT UP: St. Olaf’s last four doubleheaders have all been decided by a sweep. St. Olaf swept both Emory (6-4, 8-7) and Concordia (15-1, 10-4), while being swept by Piedmont (3-2, 7-3) and Saint Benedict (7-3, 3-2).

• LEADING THE CHARGE: St. Olaf enters its twinbill against Saint Mary’s hitting .316 as a team, while boasting seven players who have hitting above .300. Annie Landon leads the Oles’ offensive charge, going 13-for-32 for a .406 team-leading batting average. Hannah Peschel (.377), Medora Rylee (.358), Tarah DeCroock (.357), Amelia Christenson (.338), Andrea Conway (.316), and Maya Patty (.315) are also owners of batting averages north of .300.

• ON THE RUN: Peschel has scored a team-best 14 runs, one more than both DeCroock and Patty, with Rylee and Peschel one run away from reaching the 10-run plateau.

• HIT PARADE: St. Olaf has 10 players who have collected at least 10 hits through 22 games this season, led by Peschel with 29. DeCroock (25), Conway (24), Patty (23), Christenson (22), and Shreya Ashok (20) have all recorded 20+ hits, with Rylee (19), Landon (13), Anne Fossum (10), and Emma Simons (10) owning at least 10 hits. … Peschel has recorded 10 multiple-hit games this season, two more than DeCroock. … St. Olaf has had six players post four hits in a game this season.

• EXTRA, EXTRA: Fifty-five of St. Olaf’s 211 hits this season have been for extra bases — including 46 doubles, four triples, and five home runs. … Peschel leads the Oles with eight doubles, one more than Christenson and three up on both Conway and Rylee, while St. Olaf’s five triples have come from five different players — Conway, Rylee, Ashok, DeCroock, and Peschel.

• BOMBS AWAY: Christenson and Emma Simmons have accounted for four of the team’s five home runs, each belting a pair of round-trippers, with DeCroock owning the other HR.

• DRIVING ‘EM IN: Christenson boasts a team-best 18 RBIs, and is one of six players with 10+ RBIs through 22 games. Conway is second on the team with 15 RBIs, followed by Patty (13), Peschel (12), DeCroock (11), and Simons (10). … Christenson had driven in two or more runs in a game seven times. … Conway and Patty own a single-game season-high four RBIs.

• STREAKING ALONG: Conway and Peschel put together hitting streaks of 11 and 10 games earlier this season, while Christenson boasts the team’s longest active streak at seven straight games. … Christenson has also reached base safely in nine consecutive contests.

• IN THE CIRCLE: St. Olaf has used four different pitchers, with all four logging more than 25 innings. Peschel (2-5, 2.79 ERA) leads the Ole staff in innings pitched with 47 2/3, followed by Jaelyn Orth (2-5, 5.03 ERA, 40 1/3 IP), Madyn Singleton (1-3, 2.65 ERA, 39 2/3 IP), and Roxanne Ring (3-1, 3.75 ERA, 28.0 IP). … Peschel leads the staff in both starts (7) and appearances (11), while Orth has tossed a team-high four complete games, one more than Peschel.

• FANNING THE FLAMES: St. Olaf pitchers have combined for 89 strikeouts this season, led by Orth with 38 Ks. Peschel is second with 27 strikeouts, followed by Singleton with 16 and Ring with nine.

• CRUNCHING THE NUMBERS: The Oles have scored 10 or more runs four times, including a 17-13 win over UW-Eau Claire on March 4. … The Oles recorded season-highs in runs (17), hits (18), RBIs (16), doubles (6), walks (6), and hit batters (3) against UW-Eau Claire on March 4. … St. Olaf has played six extra-inning games this season, going 2-4. … Ten of St. Olaf’s 22 games have been decided by two runs or less — the Oles are 4-6 in those 10 contests. …