SAINT MARY’S CARDINALS

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2023: 7-5 MIAC, 15-13 Overall

GUSTAVUS GUSTIES

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2023: 5-5 MIAC, 12-14 Overall

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SMU-GAC * LAST MEETING:

April 24, 2022 * Winona, MN

L, 9-2; W, 11-9 * Series History

SAINT MARY’S * LAST ACTION:

April 16, 2023 * Minneapolis, MN

Macalester * W, 9-6; W, 5-2

GUSTAVUS * LAST ACTION:

April 19, 2023 * St. Peter, MN

Concordia * W, 6-0; W, 7-2

SAINT MARY’S * UP NEXT:

April 30, 2023 * Winona, MN

Saint Benedict * 1 p.m.

GUSTAVUS * UP NEXT: 

April 27, 2023 * St. Paul, MN

St. Catherine * 1 p.m.

SAINT MARY’S CARDINALS SCOUTING REPORT:

• FOR THE RECORD: Saint Mary’s heads into its conference road doubleheader against Gustavus sitting at 15-13 overall, including 7-5 through its first 12 MIAC contests.

• LAST TIME OUT: The Cardinals ran their winning streak to a season-high six straight last Sunday, posting 9-6 and 5-2 victories over Macalester at the Augsburg Dome in Minneapolis, Minn.

• HOW SWEEP IT IS: Saint Mary’s has picked up sweeps in each of its last three doubleheaders. SMU swept past UW-River Falls 5-4 and 5-3 last Thursday and dispatched of St. Scholastica by identical 8-0 counts the following afternoon, before cruising past Macalester 9-6 and 5-2 last Sunday. 

• AT THE PLATE: As a team, Saint Mary’s enters the weekend hitting .308 through 28 games, and boasts five regulars who are hitting above .300. … Peyton Berg (Chatfield, Minn.) leads the way with a .412 batting average, followed by Heather Nordlund (Byron, Minn. / .364), Naleya Bork (De Pere, Wis. / .333), Riley Hall (Dallas Center, Iowa / .321), and Abbie Stigler (Menomonie, Wis. / .320).

• RUNNING WILD: Saint Mary’s has plated 148 runs through 28 games this season. … Hall has scored a team-leading 31 runs, while Stigler (18), Bork (16), and Allison Ciero (Glen Ellyn, Ill. / 16) 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: The Cardinals have six players who have reached 20 hits this season — Nordlund (28), Berg (28), Bork (26), Hall (25), Ciero (25), and Stigler (23). … Nordlund, Berg, and Ciero all share the team lead with eight multiple-hit games, two more than Bork. … SMU has gotten a multiple-hit game from 13 different players. … 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: Seventy-one of the Cardinals’ 231 hits through 28 games have been for extra bases — including 56 doubles, two triples and 13 home runs. … Bork (10), Berg (8), Hall (6), and French (6) lead the team in doubles, while Hall and Stigler own SMU’s two triple. … SMU belted six doubles among its eight Game 1 hits against Carleton on April 7.

• GOING YARD: After delivering just five home runs a year ago, Saint Mary’s has already launched 13 round-trippers this season — including six in its last eight games. Bork and Hall lead the team with three HRs, Stigler (2), Berg, Nordlund, Cassie Sutor (Chicago, Ill.), French, and Jada Allen (Stevens Point, Wis.) owning the other seven. … The home runs by Berg, Bork, Nordlund, Stigler, Hall, Allen, and French were all collegiate firsts.

• DRIVING ‘EM IN: Nordlund, Bork, Berg, Stigler, and Ciero have all reached double figures in RBIs through 28 games. Nordlund leads the way with 21 RBIs, two more than Bork, with Berg (17), Stigler (12), and Ciero (11) also owning 10+ RBIs. … Nordlund has amassed a team-leading six multiple-RBI games, with Bork owning five, and Ciero and Berg with four each.

• STREAKING: Berg heads into SMU’s DH against Gustavus riding a seven-game hitting streak. She is one of four players who have recorded five-game hit streaks this season. … Hall has reached base safely in 15 straight games, while Berg has been on base in 13 consecutive games.

• CAN’T CATCH ME: Saint Mary’s has posted 68 stolen bases in 82 attempts this season – led by Hall (17-for-17), Stigler (12-14), and Ciero (11-12). … SMU has gotten at least one stolen base from 12 different players.

• OUCH: Hall, who was hit by a pitch 12 times last season, has already been hit 14 times this season — putting her 10th among NCAA Division III players. … 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, led by Sarah Kraus (Onalaska, Wis. / 6-6, 3.60 ERA) and Bork (5-6, 3.25 ERA), who have logged 85 2/3 and 71.0 innings, respectively. … Izzy Griffin (West St. Paul, Minn. / 1-1, 4.08 ERA, 12.0 IP), Sutor (1-0, 1.05 ERA, 6 2/3 IP), and Amy Gappa (Trempealeau, Wis. / 1-0, 2.25 ERA, 9 1/3 IP) have also seen time in the circle. … Kraus has tossed a team-high eight complete games, two more than Bork, while also leading the team with 17 pitching appearances.

• REPEAT PERFORMANCES: Kraus recorded back-to-back, complete-game shutouts in SMU’s sweep of St. Scholastica on April 14, allowing four hits in the opener and three hits in the nightcap.

•  PITCHING FIRSTS: ?Griffin picked up her first collegiate win, and her first collegiate shutout — in her first collegiate start — in a 2-0 victory over Carleton on April 8. ... Bork recorded her first pitching win as a Cardinal against Bethany Lutheran on 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 105 batters through 28 games, led by Kraus (49) and Bork (39). … 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.

• MIAC WEEKLY HONORS: Nordlund 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 opponents 148-116 — including each of the game’s first five innings … 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 8-3 in games decided by five or more runs, but are 4-6 in one- or two-run games. … The Cardinals have held their opponent to two runs or less in 10 of their 15 wins. On the flip side, SMU is 1-6 when failing to plate more than two runs. … SMU is 11-4 when leading or tied after five innings, but are winless (0-9) when trailing heading into the sixth frame. … Saint Mary’s used a season-high 21 players in Game 2 against St. Olaf on April 11, while 19 different Cardinals saw action in the opener against the Oles. … Saint Mary’s has scored four or more runs in an inning eight times this season, including a season-high eight runs in the first inning of its 13-1 win over North Central on Feb. 19.

GUSTAVUS GUSTIES SCOUTING REPORT:

• FOR THE RECORD: The Gusties headed into their weekend games against Hamline and Saint Mary’s sitting at 12-14 overall, including a 5-5 mark through the first 10 games of the MIAC schedule.

• LAST TIME OUT: Marah Hulke and Maizie Anderson both tossed complete-games, allowing just three CC hits between the two of them, as Gustavus cruised to a 6-0, 7-2 sweep of Concordia at the MSU-Mankato Dome in Mankato, Minn.

• SWEEPING UP: With their 6-0, 7-2 wins over Concordia, Gustavus enters the weekend having swept its last two conference doubleheaders, having rolled over Macalester (7-6, 5-3) prior to their sweep of the Cobbers. … On the flip side, GAC has also been swept twice in conference play — falling to Bethel (1-0, 4-2), and St. Olaf (8-0, 5-4).

• HOME SWEET HOME: Five of the Gusties’ 12 wins heading into the weekend have been on their home field. GAC is 5-2 at home, while going 7-12 away from the Gustie Softball Field — including 5-8 in neutral-site contests.

• AT THE PLATE: As a team, Gustavus is hitting .261 and boasts a pair of regulars — Caitlin Olafsson and Kayla Herda — who are hitting above .300. Olafsson leads the Gustie charge with a .418 batting average, going 33-for-79, while Herda sports a .365 batting average.

• ON THE RUN: The Gusties have four players who have scored 10 or more runs through the first 26 games this season. Herda owns a team-high 24 runs scored, followed by Olafsson with 18 and Madi Mueller and Greta Dahlen with 10. … Olafsson and Herda have both scored a single-game, season-high three runs this season — Olafsson against Bethany Lutheran on March 18 and Herda vs. Westminster on March 25.

• HIT PARADE: Olafsson has delivered a team-leading 33 hits, two more than Herda, while Lauren Lamberg (19), Kate Murray (14), Olivia Guggenberger (11), Mueller (11), Dahlen (11), and Kayla Ruud (10) have also reached double figures in hits this season. … Olafsson and Herda share the team lead with 10 multiple-hit games each. … GAC has not had a player record more than three hits in a game through the season’s first 26 contests.

• EXTRA, EXTRA: Thirty-nine of GAC’s 178 hits have been for extra bases, including 31 doubles, five triples and three home runs. … Seven of Mueller’s 11 hits this season have gone for doubles, while Olafsson owns five two-baggers, and Herda and Lambert both own four. … Herda has belted two of GAC’s five triples, with Olafsson, Ashlyn Pickens, and Murray owning the other three.

• BOMBS AWAY: Gustavus’ three home runs this season have come from three different players — Olafsson, Pickens, and Carly Nelson.

• DRIVING ‘EM IN: Olafsson has been an RBI machine for the Gusties, compiling a team-leading 23 RBIs. Dahlen (10) is the only other Gustie with 10 or more RBIs this season. … Olafsson has accounted for eight of the team’s 22 multiple-RBI games and owns one of GAC’s three three-RBI contests, with Dahlen and Mueller owning the other two.

• IN THE CIRCLE: Gustavus has used four different pitchers in the circle this season, including three who have logged more than 40 innings. Piper Otto (4-5, 2.91 ERA) leads the way with 67 1/3 innings pitched, followed by Marah Hulke (3-3, 2.10 ERA, 40.0 IP) and Maizie Anderson (4-6, 3.78 ERA, 57 1/3 IP). … Otto leads the staff in starts (12) and complete games (6). Anderson has made 10 starts and is second in complete games with five.

• FANNING THE FLAMES: The Gusties’ pitching staff has combined to strike out 132 batters, led by Anderson with 59, Otto with 41, and Hulke with 27. … Otto struck out a season-high 12 batters against North Central on March 4.

• CRUNCHING THE NUMBERS: Gustavus heads into the weekend having outscored its opponents 120-108. … GAC has scored 10 or more runs four times this season — all wins. GAC plated 11 runs in wins over both UW-Eau Claire (11-5) and Bethany Lutheran (11-1), while scoring a season-high 12 runs in victories over North Central (12-0) and Westminster (12-4). … The Gusties are 10-0 when scoring at least six runs, but are winless (0-10) when being held under three runs. … GAC has held its opponents to five runs or less in 18 of its 26 games this season. … GAC is 10-1 when leading after five innings, but still searching for its first win (0-12) when trailing or tied heading to the sixth. … GAC has played two extra-inning games, falling to Bethany Lutheran 13-4 in 10 innings and losing to Bethel 1-0 in nine.