SAINT MARY’S CARDINALS
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2023 Final: 21-18 Overall
NORTHWESTERN EAGLES
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2023 Final: 23-12 Overall
UW-LA CROSSE EAGLES
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2023 Final: 28-15 Overall
NORTH CENTRAL RAMS
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2023 Final: 2-27 Overall
NE WELSEYAN PRAIRIE WOLVES
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2023 Final: 21-18 Overall
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SAINT MARY’S SCHEDULE:
All Games Played at Mankato Dome * Mankato, MN
Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024
Northwestern (Minn.) * 1 p.m.
UW-La Crosse * 6 p.m.
Sunday, Feb. 18, 2024
North Central * 10:30 a.m.
NE Wesleyan * 3:30 p.m.
SMU-UNW * LAST MEETING:
March 11, 2021
L, 7-0; W, 10-7 * Series History
SMU-UWL * LAST MEETING:
March 26, 2023
L, 7-0; L, 9-6 * Series History
SMU-NC * LAST MEETING:
Feb. 19, 2023
W, 13-1 (6) * Series History
SMU-NWU * LAST MEETING:
Feb. 18, 2023
L, 7-6 * Series History
LOOKING BACK & AHEAD
Saint Mary’s Last Action:
May 11, 2023 * Northfield, MN
MIAC Playoffs: St. Olaf * L, 3-2
Saint Mary’s Up Next:
Feb. 24-25, 2024 * Mankato, MN
Martin Luther * 10:30 | Coe * 3:30
Bethany Luth. * 8:00 | Luther *1:00
LOOKING BACK & AHEAD
Northwestern Last Action:
May 13, 2023 * St. Joseph, MN
UMAC Playoffs: Crown * W, 11-0
UMAC Playoffs: UW-Superior * L, 7-1
Northwestern Up Next:
March 8-14, 2024
Spring Trip * Clermont, FL
LOOKING BACK & AHEAD
UW-La Crosse Last Action:
May 18-19, 2023 * Pella, IA
NCAA: Bethel * L, 2-0
NCAA: Grinnell * L, 6-4
UW-La Crosse Up Next:
March 9-15, 2024
Spring Trip * Tucson, AZ
LOOKING BACK & AHEAD
North Central Last Action:
May 6, 2023 * St. Paul, MN
Crown * L, 10-1; L, 8-0
North Central Up Next:
Feb. 23, 2024 * Northfield, MN
Carleton * 6:00/8:00
LOOKING BACK & AHEAD
NE Wesleyan Last Action:
May 12, 2023 * Cedar Rapids, IA
ARC Playoffs: Central * L, 1-0
NE Wesleyan Up Next:
March 3-9, 2024
Spring Trip * Clermont, FL
SAINT MARY’S SCOUTING REPORT:
• FOR THE RECORD: Saint Mary’s closed out its 2023 season at 21-18 overall record, including a 13-9 showing in conference play.
• IN THE POST-SEASON: The Cardinals made their sixth MIAC Tournament appearance in 2023 — and their first since 2013 — falling to St. Olaf 3-2. SMU, which previously appeared in the conference post-season tournament in 2005, 2006, 2007, 2011, and 2013, has gone 5-13 in its 18 conference tournament contests.
• COLLECTING NO. 20: Saint Mary’s 12-11, Game 2 win over Augsburg on May 4 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 picked up sweeps in five of its final eight doubleheaders. SMU swept past UW-River Falls (5-4, 5-3), St. Scholastica (8-0, 8-0), Macalester (9-6, 5-2), Concordia (7-4, 6-2), and Augsburg (11-3, 12-11).
• AT THE PLATE: As a team, Saint Mary’s closed out the season hitting .310 through 39 games, and boasted four regulars who are hitting above .300. … Ali French (Winona, Minn.) led the way with a .424 batting average, followed by Peyton Berg (Chatfield, Minn. / .371), Heather Nordlund (Byron, Minn. / .356), and Riley Hall (Dallas Center, Iowa / .351). Abbie Stigler (Menomonie, Wis.) and Allison Ciero (Glen Ellyn, Ill.) were just percentage points away from joining the over-.300 club, sitting at .295 and .289, respectively.
• RUNNING WILD: Saint Mary’s plated 210 runs through 39 games last season. … Hall scored a team-leading 42 runs, while Stigler (28), Ciero (20), Naleya Bork (Fond du Lac, Wis. / 17), French (16), Cassie Sutor (Chicago, Ill. / 13), and Grace Olmstead (Beloit, Wis. / 10) 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 had seven players who reached 30 hits in 2023 — Hall (39), Nordlund (37), Berg (36), French (36), Ciero (33), Stigler (33), and Bork (31). … Nordlund and Ciero led the team with 10 multiple-hit games, one more than Hall, French, and Berg. … SMU got a multiple-hit game from 13 different players. … French owned both of the team’s four-hit performances in 2023 — going 4-for-4 against both Crown on Feb. 18 and vs. Gustavus on April 23.
• EXTRA, EXTRA: Ninety-five of the Cardinals’ 325 hits a year ago were for extra bases — including 74 doubles, five triples and 16 home runs. … Bork (12), French (11), Berg (9), and Stigler (8) led the team in doubles, while SMU’s five triples came 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 in 2022, Saint Mary’s launched 16 round-trippers in 2023. Hall and Bork led 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 boasted eight players who reached double figures in RBIs a year ago. Berg led the way with 24 RBIs, one more than Nordlund, with Bork (22), Ciero (18), French (18), Stigler (16), Hall (14), and Sutor (12) also owning 10+ RBIs. … Nordlund and Berg amassed a team-leading six multiple-RBI games, with Ciero and Berg each owning five.
• STREAKING: French closed out 2023 hitting safely in each of the Cardinals’ last 12 games. … Hall reached base safely in her last 24 consecutive games, while Nordlund — who had her season- and career-high 11-game hitting streak snapped in Game 2 against Augsburg on May 4 — was on base in each of the team’s last 13 games.
• CAN’T CATCH ME: Saint Mary’s posted 92 stolen bases in 112 attempts last season – led by Hall (23-for-22), Stigler (16-19), and Ciero (14-for-17). … SMU got at least one stolen base from 17 different players.
• OUCH: Hall was hit by a pitch an NCAA Division III-leading 21 times last season — and was hit by a pitch in each of the team’s last five games. … 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 used five different pitchers this season, led by Sarah Kraus (Onalaska, Wis. / 9-10, 3.97 ERA) and Bork (6-7, 3.51 ERA), who logged 125 1/3 and 83 2/3 innings, respectively. … Izzy Griffin (West St. Paul, Minn. / 2-1, 3.62 ERA, 19 1/3 IP), Sutor (2-0, 3.62 ERA, 17 2/3 IP), and Amy Gappa (Trempealeau, Wis. / 0-0, 3.50 ERA, 10.0 IP) also saw time in the circle. … Kraus tossed a team-high 12 complete games, five more than Bork, while also leading the team with 25 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 combined to strike out 133 batters in 2023, led by Kraus (61) 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: The Cardinals had two players named MIAC Player of the Week this season. Nordlund was named MIAC POW on March 6, after hitting .500 (10-for-20), with a double and a home run, in SMU’s eight spring trip games, while French landed her first MIAC POW honor on May 8 after going 13-for-25 (.520) with three doubles and 16 RBIs in eight games.
• CRUNCHING THE NUMBERS: The Cardinals outscored their opponents 210-171 in 2023. … SMU scored 10 or more runs in a game four times — including in both games against Augsburg on May 4, 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 finished the year 10-4 in games decided by five or more runs, and were 5-9 in one- or two-run games. … The Cardinals held their opponent to two runs or less in 11 of their 21 wins in 2023. On the flip side, SMU was 1-9 when failing to plate more than two runs. … SMU was 14-5 when leading or tied after five innings, while going 2-13 when trailing heading into the sixth frame. … Saint Mary’s used a season-high 21 players in game twice – in Game 2 vs. St. Olaf on April 11 and Game 1 against Augsburg last Thursday. … Saint Mary’s 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.
