The Saint Mary’s fastpitch softball team closes out the regular-season portion of its schedule on Sunday, as the Cardinals welcome nationally ranked Saint Benedict to the Saint Mary’s Field for a 1 p.m. conference doubleheader.
SAINT MARY’S CARDINALS
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2023: 12-8 MIAC, 20-16 Overall
SAINT BENEDICT BENNIES
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2023: 15-5 MIAC, 24-6 Overall
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SMU-CSB * LAST MEETING:
May 5, 2022 * St. Joseph, MN
L, 9-1; L, 14-6 * Series History
SAINT MARY’S * LAST ACTION:
May 4, 2023 * Minneapolis, MN
Augsburg * W, 11-3 (5); W, 12-11 (8)
SAINT BENEDICT * LAST ACTION:
May 4, 2023 * St. Joseph, MN
St. Catherine * W, 4-2; L, 5-3
SAINT MARY’S * UP NEXT:
End of Regular Season
SAINT BENEDICT * UP NEXT:
May 7, 2023 * Eau Claire, WI
UW-Eau Claire * 1 p.m./3 p.m.
SAINT MARY’S CARDINALS SCOUTING REPORT:
• FOR THE RECORD: Saint Mary’s heads into its conference doubleheader against Saint Benedict sitting at 20-16 overall, including 12-8 through its first 20 MIAC contests.
• LAST TIME OUT: The Cardinals picked up a pair of conference wins against Augsburg on Thursday — and locked up a berth in the MIAC Tournament in the process — posting an 11-3, five-inning victory in the opener, before getting a two-run home run from Riley Hall (Dallas Center, Iowa) in the top of the eighth inning in completing the sweep with a 12-11 victory in Game 2.
• BACK IN THE PLAYOFFS: With their sweep of Augsburg on Thursday, Saint Mary’s locked up one of the six MIAC Tournament berths, marking the Cardinals’ first MIAC appearance since 2013, and first under coach John Tschida — who guided SMU to its lone NCAA national championship in 2000.
• COLLECTING NO. 20: Saint Mary’s 12-11, Game 2 win over Augsburg on Thursday was its 20th win of the season, giving the Cardinals their first 20-win season since going 22-16 during the 2016 campaign.
• HOW SWEEP IT IS: Saint Mary’s has picked up sweeps in five of its last seven 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. After dropping a pair of games to No. 9 Bethel on Wednesday, SMU notched sweep No. 5 with 11-3 and 12-11 wins over Augsburg on Thursday.
• BUSY WEEK: Saturday’s doubleheader against Saint Benedict is the fourth DH in the last five days for the Cardinals, who swept Concordia on Tuesday, before being swept by No. 9 Bethel and sweeping Augsburg the following two days.
• AT THE PLATE: As a team, Saint Mary’s enters its DH against Saint Benedict hitting .317 through 34 games, and boasts five regulars who are hitting above .300. … Ali French (Winona, Minn.) leads the way with a .421 batting average, followed by Peyton Berg (Chatfield, Minn. / .393), Heather Nordlund (Byron, Minn. / .374), Riley Hall (Dallas Center, Iowa / .352), and Allison Ciero (Glen Ellyn, Ill. / .303).
• RUNNING WILD: Saint Mary’s has plated 203 runs through 36 games this season. … Hall has scored a team-leading 41 runs, while Abbie Stigler (Menomonie, Wis. / 26), Ciero (Glen Ellyn, Ill. / 20), Naleya Bork (Fond du Lac, Wis. / 17), French (16), and Cassie Sutor (Chicago, Ill. / 13) 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 (37), Hall (37), Berg (35), Ciero (33), French (32), Stigler (30), and Bork (29). … Nordlund and Ciero lead the team with 10 multiple-hit games, one more than Hall 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-nine of the Cardinals’ 312 hits through 36 games have been for extra bases — including 68 doubles, five triples and 16 home runs. … Bork (11), French (9), Berg (9), Hall (7), Stigler (7), and Ciero (7) lead the team in doubles, while SMU’s five triples have come from four different players — Hall (2), Ciero, Sutor, Bork, and Mackenzie Carey (Prescott, Wis.). … 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 16 round-trippers this season. Hall and Bork lead the team with four and three HRs, respectively, with Stigler (2), Berg (2), Nordlund (2), Sutor, French, and Jada Allen (Stevens Point, Wis.) owning the other nine. … 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 36 games. Berg leads the way with 24 RBIs, one more than Norland, with Bork (23), Ciero (18), French (15), Hall (14), Stigler (14), and Sutor (10) also owning 10+ RBIs. … Nordlund and Berg hav amassed a team-leading six multiple-RBI games, with Ciero and Berg each owning five.
• STREAKING: Hall has reached base safely in 23 straight games, while Nordlund ‚— who had her season-high 11-game hitting streak snapped in Game 2 against Augsburg Thursday — has been on base in each of the team’s last 12 games.
• CAN’T CATCH ME: Saint Mary’s has posted 88 stolen bases in 108 attempts this season – led by Hall (21-for-21), Stigler (15-18), and Ciero (14-for-17). … SMU has gotten at least one stolen base from 17 different players.
• OUCH: Hall has been hit by a pitch 18 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, led by Sarah Kraus (Onalaska, Wis. / 9-8, 3.80 ERA) and Bork (6-7, 3.51 ERA), who have logged 114 1/3 and 83 2/3 innings, respectively. … Sutor (2-0, 3.23 ERA, 17 1/3 IP), Izzy Griffin (West St. Paul, Minn. / 1-1, 5.11 ERA, 12 1/3 IP), and Amy Gappa (Trempealeau, Wis. / 0-0, 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 23 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 127 batters through 36 games, led by Kraus (57) and Bork (48). … 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 203-156. … SMU has scored 10 or more runs in a game four times — including in both games against Augsburg on Thursday, beating the Auggies 11-3 and 12-11. … SMU posted a season-high 13-run effort in its 13-1, five-inning victory over North Central on Feb.18. … Saint Mary’s is 10-3 in games decided by five or more runs, but are 5-8 in one- or two-run games. … The Cardinals have held their opponent to two runs or less in 11 of their 20 wins. On the flip side, SMU is 1-7 when failing to plate more than two runs. … SMU is 13-4 when leading or tied after five innings, while going 2-12 when trailing heading into the sixth frame. … Saint Mary’s has used a season-high 21 players in game twice – in Game 2 vs. St. Olaf on April 11 and Game 1 against Augsburg on Thursday. … Saint Mary’s has scored four or more runs in an inning 11 times this season, including a seven-run second inning against Augsburg on Thursday and a season-high eight-run first inning against North Central on Feb. 19.
SAINT BENEDICT BENNIES SCOUTING REPORT:
• FOR THE RECORD: The Bennies head into their conference doubleheader against Saint Mary’s sporting a 24-6 overall record, including a 15-5 mark in 20 MIAC contests.
• LAST TIME OUT: Saint Benedict heads into its showdown with the Cardinals coming off a split of their MIAC twinbill against St. Catherine on Thursday. CSB opened with a 4-2 victory, but the Wildcats turned the tables with a two-run win of their own, 5-3, in Game two in St. Joseph, Minn.
• FIRING BLANKS: With their 9-0 and 7-0 wins over Concordia on April 28, Saint Benedict has now recorded a league-leading 12 shutout victories this season — including three in MIAC play.
• ROAD DOMINANCE: Saint Benedict, on the road for the third time in its last four doubleheaders, boasts an 18-2 record in road games this season, while sitting at 6-4 on their home diamond.
• STREAK-SNAPPER: The Bennies had their six-game winning streak snapped with their 5-3 Game 2 loss to St. Catherine on Thursday. CSB had outscored its opponents 42-4 over that six-game stretch. … Saint Benedict has also put together a season-high 11-game winning streak this season.
• IN THE POLLS: Saint Benedict comes into its doubleheader against Saint Mary’s ranked No. 19 in the latest NFCA Top 25. … The Bennies, who were unranked in the first poll of the season, have been ranked as high as No. 14 and have now appeared in the NFCA poll at least once every season since 2016.
• LEADING THE CHARGE: The Bennies boast three players who are hitting above .300 this season, led by Gabby Spencer with a .455 average, going 40-for-88. Tori Harren (.364) and Jordyn Swoboda (.359) also boast batting averages north of .300. … As a team, Saint Benedict is hitting .332 (273-for-823).
• ON THE RUN: Spencer leads the team in runs scored with 29, with Swoboda (28), Harren (20), Tiffany Thompson (15), Kallie Finkbeiner (14), and Hannah Sundem (10) also reaching double figures in runs scored this season. … Spencer and Sundem have each scored a season-high three runs in a game — Spencer against St. Olaf on April 4 and Sundem vs. Macalester on April 19.
• HIT PARADE: Saint Benedict boasts five players who have racked up at least 20 hits through 30 games, led by Spencer with 40. Swoboda (33) and Harren (32) have also eclipsed the 30-hit mark, while Finkbeiner (27) and Bryn Carlstrom (25) are part of the 20-hit club. … Spencer has collected a team-high 11 multiple-hit games, two more than Harren. … Spencer and Olivia Taufges both own four-hit games — Spencer against St. Oaf on April 7 and Taufges vs. Misericordia on March 6.
• EXTRA, EXTRA: Eighty of Saint Benedict’s 273 hits this season have been for extra bases — including 50 doubles, six triples and 23 home runs. … Spencer (10) and Thompson (6) lead the team in doubles, with six players — Harren (2), Spencer, Swoboda, Cat Smetana, Megan Rasmussen, and Lexi Hanson accounting for the Bennies’ six triples.
• BOMBS AWAY: Swoboda and Harren have clubbed 14 of the Bennies’ 20 home runs this season, with Swoboda leading the way with eight, two more than Harren. Spencer has chipped in three round-trippers, while Smetana, Finkbeiner and Cat Smetana all own two.
• DRIVING ‘EM IN: Three players have already amassed 20 or more RBIs — Swoboda (29), Harren (23), and Spencer (22), while Finkbeiner (12) and Thompson (10) have also hit double figures in RBIs this season. … Swoboda (8) and Spencer (6) lead the Bennies in multiple-RBI games. … Spencer has posted four RBIs in a game twice this season, while Swoboda and Harren have each achieved the feat once.
• STREAKING ALONG: Spencer (13) and Finkbeiner (12) have both put together hitting streaks of more than 10 games this season, but Finkbeiner’s five-game hit streak is CSB’s longest active streak.
• IN THE CIRCLE: CSB has used six different pitchers this season, with Elly Novak (12-4, 1.96 ERA) and Ellie Peterson (12-2, 2.11 ERA) seeing the brunt of the work. Novak leads the squad with 96 2/3 innings pitched, followed closely by Peterson with 83.0 IP. … Novak has made a team-leading 17 appearances — including 15 starts — while Peterson has started 14 games. … Both Novak and Peterson have posted 10 complete games, while Novak boasts five complete-game shutouts, two more than Peterson.
• FANNING THE FLAMES: Saint Benedict pitchers have combined to strikeout 195 batters, with Novak accounting for 110 of those 195 strikeouts. Peterson is second on the squad with 77 Ks.
• CRUNCHING THE NUMBERS: Saint Benedict has outscored its opponents 182-68 this season, and has plated 10 or more runs seven times through 28 games. … The Bennies scored a season-high 13 runs in beating Hamline 13-0 on April 23. … CSB recorded a season-high 15 hits against both Misericordia on March 6 and vs. York (Pa.) on March 9, while delivering a season-best 11 RBIs vs. Hamline (April 23) and York (March 9). … CSB has lost back-to-back games just once this season, falling to league-leading Bethel 13-1 and 2-1 on April 14.
