The Saint Mary’s fastpitch softball team hits the road on Thursday, as the Cardinals travel to Augsburg’s Edor Nelson Field in Minneapolis, Minn., for a 1 p.m. conference doubleheader against the Auggies.

SAINT MARY’S CARDINALS

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2023: 10-8 MIAC, 18-16 Overall

AUGSBURG AUGGIES

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2023: 6-14 MIAC, 20-18 Overall

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SMU-AUG * LAST MEETING:

April 23, 2023 * Winona, MN

W, 6-1; W, 4-3 * Series History

SAINT MARY’S * LAST ACTION:

May 3, 2023 * Arden Hills, MN

#9 Bethel * L, 6-5; L, 3-1

AUGSBURG * LAST ACTION:

May 2, 2023 * Minneapolis, MN

St. Scholastica * L, 4-2; W, 10-2 (6)

SAINT MARY’S * UP NEXT:

May 6, 2023 * Winona, MN

Saint Benedict * 1 p.m./3 p.m.

AUGSBURG * UP NEXT: 

End Regular Season

SAINT MARY’S SCOUTING REPORT:

• FOR THE RECORD: Saint Mary’s heads into its conference doubleheader against Augsburg sitting at 18-16 overall, including 10-8 through its first 18 MIAC contests.

• LAST TIME OUT: The Cardinals gave ninth-ranked Bethel all it could handle Wednesday afternoon in Arden Hills, Minn., only to come up empty in both games of the teams’ twinbill. BU got a one-out, walk-off single by Izzy Wilhelm in the bottom of the seventh to lift BU to a 6-5 win in Game 1, before scoring three unanswered runs in completing the sweep with a 3-1 victory in the nightcap.

• HOW SWEEP IT IS: Saint Mary’s has picked up sweeps in four of its last six doubleheaders. SMU swept past UW-River Falls 5-4 and 5-3 on April 13 and dispatched of St. Scholastica by identical 8-0 counts the following afternoon, before cruising past Macalester 9-6 and 5-2 on April 16. After settling for a split against Gustavus on April 23, Saint Mary’s recorded sweep No. 4 with its 7-4 and 6-2 wins over Concordia on Tuesday.

• BUSY WEEK: Thursday’s doubleheader against Augsburg is the third DH in the last three days for the Cardinals, who swept Concordia on Tuesday, before being swept by No. 9 Bethel the following afternoon. SMU will complete its busy week with its fourth doubleheader in a five-day span on Saturday against No. 19 Saint Benedict.

• AT THE PLATE: As a team, Saint Mary’s enters its DH against Bethel hitting .315 through 32 games, and boasts five regulars who are hitting above .300. … Ali French (Winona, Minn.) leads the way with a .423 batting average, followed by Peyton Berg (Chatfield, Minn. / .388), Heather Nordlund (Byron, Minn. / .375), Riley Hall (Dallas Center, Iowa / .337), and Abbie Stigler (Menomonie, Wis. / .302).

• RUNNING WILD: Saint Mary’s has plated 180 runs through 34 games this season. … Hall has scored a team-leading 37 runs, while Stigler (22), Allison Ciero (Glen Ellyn, Ill. / 19), Naleya Bork (Fond du Lac, Wis. / 17), French (13), and Cassie Sutor (Chicago, Ill. / 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: The Cardinals have seven players who have reached 20 hits this season — Nordlund (36), Hall (33), Berg (33), Ciero (30), French (30), Stigler (29), and Bork (28). … Nordlund leads the team with 10 multiple-hit games, one more than Ciero and Berg. … SMU has gotten a multiple-hit game from 13 different players. … French owns both of the team’s four-hit performances — going 4-for-4 against both Crown on Feb. 18 and vs. Gustavus last Sunday.

• EXTRA, EXTRA: Eighty-three of the Cardinals’ 289 hits through 34 games have been for extra bases — including 65 doubles, two triples and 14 home runs. … Bork (10), French (9), Berg (8), Hall (7), Stigler (7), and Ciero (6) lead the team in doubles, while Hall and Stigler own SMU’s two triples. … 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 14 round-trippers this season. Bork and Hall lead the team with three HRs, Stigler (2), Berg (2), Nordlund, Cassie Sutor (Chicago, Ill.), French, and Jada Allen (Stevens Point, Wis.) owning the other eight. … The home runs by Berg, Bork, Nordlund, Stigler, Hall, Allen, and French were all collegiate firsts.

• DRIVING ‘EM IN: Saint Mary’s boasts eight players who have reached double figures in RBIs through 34 games. Nordlund leads the way with 22 RBIs, one more than Bork, with Berg (20), Ciero (15), Stigler (14), and French (13), Hall (11), and Sutor (10) also owning 10+ RBIs. … Nordlund has amassed a team-leading six multiple-RBI games, with Bork and Berg owning five, and Ciero sitting with four.

• STREAKING: Nordlund heads into SMU’s DH against Augsburg owning the team’s longest active hitting streak at 10. … Hall has reached base safely in 21 straight games.

• CAN’T CATCH ME: Saint Mary’s has posted 80 stolen bases in 100 attempts this season – led by Hall (20-for-20), Stigler (14-17, and Ciero (13-for-16). … SMU has gotten at least one stolen base from 16 different players.

• OUCH: Hall has been hit by a pitch 16 times this season — putting her tied for third 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. / 7-8, 3.78 ERA) and Bork (6-7, 3.26 ERA), who have logged 105 2/3 and 81 2/3 innings, respectively. … Sutor (2-0, 2.28 ERA, 15 1/3 IP), Izzy Griffin (West St. Paul, Minn. / 1-1, 4.08 ERA, 12.0 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 11 complete games, four more than Bork, while also leading the team with 21 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 116 batters through 34 games, led by Kraus (50) and Bork (46). … 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 180-142 — including each of the game’s first six 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 9-3 in games decided by five or more runs, but are 4-8 in one- or two-run games. … The Cardinals have held their opponent to two runs or less in 11 of their 18 wins. On the flip side, SMU is 1-7 when failing to plate more than two runs. … SMU is 14-4 when leading or tied after five innings, while going 1-12 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 10 times this season, including a season-high eight runs in the first inning of its 13-1 win over North Central on Feb. 19.

AUGSBURG SCOUTING REPORT:

• FOR THE RECORD: The Auggies head into their regular-season finale against Saint Mary’s sitting at 20-18 overall, including 6-14 in MIAC action. 

• LAST TIME OUT: The Auggies battled back to earn a split in their conference twinbill against St. Scholastica on Tuesday, dropping a 4-2 decision in the opener, before erupting for 10 runs in a 10-2, six-inning win in the nightcap in Minneapolis, Minn.

• HOME SWEET HOME: Augsburg enters its second straight home conference doubleheader having picked up 14 of its 18 wins on its home turf. The Auggies are 14-4 at Edor Nelson Field, while sitting at 6-14 on the road.

• LEADING THE CHARGE: The Auggies enter their DH vs. Saint Mary’s hitting .269 as a team, and boast four players who are hitting above .300. … Zoie Johnson has gone 39-for-111 in 36 games en route to a team-best .351 batting average, while Jaime Olson (.318), Katie Manecke (.314), and Olivia Hennager (.306) are also sporting averages north of .300.

• ON THE RUN: Augsburg has seven players who have scored 10 or more runs this season, led by Torrie Rehder, who has crossed home plate 23 times. Johnson (22), Jayden Evenson (22), Manecke (14), Hennager (14), Kayla Hanson (13), and Kayla Dynneson (10)  have also eclipsed 10 runs scored. … Manecke scored a season-high three runs against North Central (Minn.) on March 30.

• HIT PARADE: Johnson has banged out a team-leading 39 hits, five more than Olson and seven up on Manecke. Hennager (30), Rehder (29), and Evenson (28) have also posted 20+ hits through 36 games. … Evenson and Johnson share the team lead with nine multiple-hit games each, two more than Olson and Manecke. … Evenson and Johnson have each recorded a season-high four-hit game.

• EXTRA, EXTRA: Fifty-two of Augsburg’s 258 hits this season have gone for extra bases, including 41 doubles, three triples, and eight home runs. … Rehder leads the Auggies with 10 doubles, followed by Hennager and Johnson with six, while Rehder, Manecke, and Grace Syson own Augsburg’s three triples.

• BOMBS AWAY: Augsburg’s eight home runs this year have come from four players. Johnson has belted four round-trippers, two more than Hennager, with Rehder and Olivia Dynneson accounting for the other two.

• DRIVING ‘EM IN: Augsburg boasts six players who have reached double figures in RBIs, led by Rehder and Hennager with 21, and Johnson with 20. Olson is fourth on the squad with 17 RBIs, followed by Evenson and Manecke with 10. … Rehder and Hennager lead the Auggies with six multiple-RBI games, followed by Olson and Johnson with four. … Rehder posted a season-high five RBIs against Macalester on April 5.

• IN THE CIRCLE: Augsburg has used four different pitchers this season, with all four logging at least 20 innings. Olivia O’Connor (8-9, 3.64 ERA) has tossed a team-high 102.0 innings, followed closely by Brynn Hostettler (8-6, 3.82 ERA) with 69 2/3 IP. Libby Moore (2-2, 2.11 ERA, 38.0 IP) and Saryn Sherrell (2-1, 5.19 ERA, 27.0 IP) have also seen extended time in the circle. … O’Connor leads the Auggie staff in appearances (18), starts (18), and complete games (13).

• FANNING THE FLAMES: Augsburg pitchers have combined to strike out 201 batters this season, led by Hostettler with 106 and O’Connor with 73. Sherrell owns 16 Ks, while Moore has fanned 13. … Hostettler struck out a season-high 13 batters in tossing a one-hitter against Concordia on April 15.

• CRUNCHING THE NUMBERS: Augsburg has scored 153 runs through 38 games, and has scored 10 or more runs five times. … Augsburg is 14-2 when holding its opponents to two runs or less, but the Auggies are just 1-15 when being held under three runs. … The Auggies are 9-0 when scoring 6+ runs. … Augsburg has scored first in 20 of its 38 games this season, going 18-2 when plating the game’s first run. … Augsburg posted season-highs in runs (12), RBIs (11), doubles (5), and stolen bases (4) against Northland on March 22.