The Saint Mary’s fastpitch softball team kicks off conference play on Friday, as the Cardinals welcome St. Catherine to the SMU Field for a 2 p.m. doubleheader.
SAINT MARY’S CARDINALS
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2024: 0-0 MIAC, 12-2 Overall
ST. CATHERINE WILDCATS
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2024: 0-0 MIAC, 6-10 Overall
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SMU-SCU * LAST MEETING:
April 7, 2023 * Winona, MN
L, 11-2; W, 7-2 * Series History
SAINT MARY’S * LAST ACTION:
March 8, 2024 * Clermont, FL
NE Wesleyan * L, 9-1 (5)
Elizabethtown * W, 11-4
ST. CATHERINE * LAST ACTION:
March 16, 2024 * Tucson, AZ
Eastern Conn. State * L, 6-5
UW-La Crosse * L, 19-7 (5)
SAINT MARY’S * UP NEXT:
April 2, 2024 * Winona, MN
UW-River Falls * 2:30/4:30
ST. CATHERINE * UP NEXT:
April 3, 2024 * St. Paul, MN
St. Scholastica * 3:30/5:30
SAINT MARY’S SCOUTING REPORT:
• FOR THE RECORD: The Cardinals head into their conference-opening doubleheader against St. Catherine sitting at 12-2 overall, with their lone losses coming to No. 4 Coe and Nebraska Wesleyan.
• LAST TIME OUT: Saint Mary’s closed out its six-game spring trip to Clermont, Fla., sporting a 5-1 record, posting wins over Thomas (10-1), Emmanuel (17-9), Heidelberg (3-2), Penn State Behrend (15-11), and Elizabethtown (11-4), while dropping a 9-1 decision to Nebraska Wesleyan.
• IN THE POLLS: Saint Mary’s made its first appearance in the NFCA Top 25 Coaches Poll since 2006, coming in ranked No. 25 in the March 12 rankings, but the Cardinals — despite not playing a game over the past week — fell to the “others receiving votes” in the latest poll, released on March 19.
• PROGRAM FIRSTS: The Cardinals’ spring trip games against Thomas, Emmanuel, Heidelberg, Penn State Behrend, and Elizabethtown were all the first in program history.
• FLORIDA PHENOMS: Makayla Steffes (Winona, Minn.) hit a team-leading .500 in SMU’s six spring trip games, going 9-for-18 with 11 runs scored and nine RBIs. Naleya Bork (De Pere, Wis.) and Abbie Stigler (Menomonee Falls, Wis.) each hit .467 with seven hits in 15 at-bats, while Bork banged out four doubles and Stigler scored six times. … Steffes also went 3-0 with a 2.39 ERA and 12 strikeouts in 14 2/3 innings of work in the circle.
• LEADING THE CHARGE: Fueled by her solid showing in Florida, Steffes leads the team with a .511 batting average. Steffes is one of seven SMU regulars who are hitting above .300 through 14 games, being joined by Ali French (Winona, Minn. / .444), Peyton Berg (Chatfield, Minn. / .378), Bork (.355), Heather Nordlund (Byron, Minn. / .343), Breonna Methner (Woodbury, Minn. / .342), Lizzie Pike (Rochester, Minn. / .324), and Emily Bonk (Hudson, Wis. / .320).
• ON THE RUN: Saint Mary’s has erupted for 133 runs in 14 games this season — including a season-high 22-run outburst in routing North Central 22-1 on Feb.18, an 18-run outburst in drubbing Martin Luther 18-2 on Feb. 24, and a 17-run showing against Emmanuel in a 17-9 win on March 4 … SMU’s 22 runs against North Central were the most in a game since plating 27 against Mount Marty College on March 20, 2009. … Steffes has scored a team-leading 18 runs, followed by French with 14, Pike with 12, Berg with 11, and Stigler with 10. … Steffes scored a career-high five times against Emmanuel on March 4. The five runs scored were the most since Alex Raske scored five times against Macalester on April 22, 2015.
• HIT PARADE: Saint Mary’s boasts seven players who have reached double figures in hits through 14 games — Steffes leads the way with 23, three more than French. Berg (14), Methner (13), Nordlund (12), P9ike (11), and Bork (11) have also recorded 10+ hits this season. … Steffes and Bork have each posted career-high four-hit games, while SMU has had nine different players post three hits in a game this season. … Steffes leads the team with seven multiple-hit games, followed by French with five.
• HAVE A DAY: SMU’s Winona natives enjoyed quite a game in the Cardinals’ 17-9 win over Emmanuel on March 4. Steffes finished 4-for-4 with five runs scored and four RBIs, while French finished 3-for-5 with four RBIs and a pair of runs scored.
• EXTRA, EXTRA: The Cardinals have delivered 35 extra-base hits this season — 25 doubles, five triples, and five home runs. … Nordlund owns a team-best six doubles, followed by Bork with four, and Steffes and Berg with three each. Pike has belted two of SMU’s five triples, with Steffes, Megan McGinnis (Appleton Wis.), and Samya Brown (Chicago, Ill.) owning the other three.
• BOMBS AWAY: French leads the team with two home runs. Berg launched Saint Mary’s first home run of the season, a two-run shot against Northwestern on Feb. 17, while Nordlund and Bork own SMU’s other two round-trippers. … Saint Mary’s clubbed 16 HRs in 2023.
• DRIVING ‘EM HOME: French sits atop the team’s RBI lead with 15. Berg (13), Nordlund (12), and Pike (11) have also reached double figures in RBIs this season. … French, Berg, and Steffes have all posted four RBI games this season — French and Steffes each delivering four RBIs against Emmanuel on March 4. … Nordlund and Bork lead the team with four multiple-RBI games, one more than Pike, French, and Berg.
• STREAKING ALONG: French, who closed out the 2023 season hitting safely in each of the Cardinals’ last 12 games, had her 22-game hitting streak snapped against Heidelberg on March 7. … Steffes hit safely in her first 12 collegiate games, before going 0-for-2 on March 7. …
• CATCH ME IF YOU CAN: Saint Mary’s has swiped 44 bases on 52 attempts this season, led by Steffes, who is 10-for-14 in the stolen base department. … SMU has gotten at least one stolen base from 15 different players. … Saint Mary’s posted 92 stolen bases in 112 attempts last season — and got at least one stolen base from 17 different players.
• IN THE CIRCLE: Steffes has logged a team-leading 38 2/3 innings in SMU’s first 14 games, compiling a 6-1 record and a 2.53 ERA, while throwing three complete games. … Bork has put together a 3-1 record and 3.35 ERA in 23 innings, while Izzy Griffin (West St. Paul, Minn.) has gone 2-0 with a 3.41 ERA in 12 1/3 IP. Kenzie Gatz (Oswego, Ill. / 1-0, 3.28 ERA, 10 2/3 IP) and Rhiannon Carroll (Rudolph, Wis. / 0-0, 8.08 ERA, 4 1/3 IP) have also seen time in the circle for the Cardinals. … As a staff, Saint Mary’s pitchers own a 3.22 ERA and opposing batters are hitting just .264.
• PITCHING FIRSTS: Steffes recorded her first collegiate pitching win with a six-inning, six-hitter against Northwestern on Feb. 17. … Gatz earned her first win as a Cardinal with a complete-game effort in SMU’s 11-4 win over Elizabethtown on March 8. … Griffin picked up her first collegiate win, and her first collegiate shutout — in her first collegiate start — in a 2-0 victory over Carleton last season, while Bork recorded her first pitching win as a Cardinal against Bethany Lutheran on Feb. 18, 2023, allowing one run on four hits in four innings of a 5-1 Saint Mary’s win.
• FANNING THE FLAMES: Saint Mary’s pitchers have struck out 54 batters in 14 games, led by Steffes with 28 strikeouts, and Bork and Griffin with nine. … Steffes struck out a single-game career-high nine batters against Heidelberg on March 7. … Bork, who finished with 48 strikeouts a year ago, fanned a career-high 10 batters in the Cardinals’ 8-3 win over Houghton on Feb. 27, 2023. The 10 strikeouts were the most by a Cardinal pitcher since Amber Chow fanned 10 against Gustavus on April 17, 2021.
• 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, 2023 was its 20th win of the season a year ago, giving the Cardinals their first 20-win season since going 22-16 during the 2016 campaign.
• WORKING OVERTIME: Saint Mary’s has played two extra-inning games, beating both Heidelberg (3-2) and Penn State Behrend (15-11) in eight innings. SMU scored nine runs in the top of the seventh, and then erupted for five runs in the top of the eighth in their 15-11 win over Penn State Behrend on March 7.
• CRUNCHING THE NUMBERS: As a team, Saint Mary’s is hitting .363 (148-for-408), with 25 doubles, five triples, and five home runs, while scoring 133 runs and owning 109 RBIs. … SMU has outscored its first 14 opponents 133-56 — including 47-10 through the game’s first two innings. … SMU has scored five or more runs in an inning eight times — including an 11-run fourth inning in the Cardinals’ 22-1, five-inning victory over North Central on Feb. 24. SMU has posted an eight-run first inning against Emmanuel on March 4 and a nine-run seventh inning against Penn State Behrend on March 7. … Saint Mary’s has held its opponents to two runs or less in seven of its 12 wins. … The Cardinals are 9-2 when scoring first and 5-0 when scoring in the first inning. … SMU owns four wins cut short by the eight-run rule.
ST. CATHERINE SCOUTING REPORT:
• FOR THE RECORD: The Wildcats head into their conference-opening doubleheader against Saint Mary’s sporting a 6-10 overall record through the season’s first 16 contests.
• LAST TIME OUT: St. Catherine closed out its spring trip with a pair of losses, falling to Eastern Connecticut State 6-5, before dropping a 19-7, five-inning decision to UW-La Crosse last Saturday. … SCU closed out its 10-game spring trip to Tucson, Ariz., with a 3-7 record, the Wildcat’s wins coming against Franklin and Marshall (10-2), Sewanee (10-5), and Salve Regina (11-8).
• STREAKING: It’s been a rollercoaster ride through the first 16 games for St. Catherine. SCU opened the season with two losses, followed by two wins, before splitting one-run contests against Bethany Lutheran (L, 3-2) and Luther (W, 6-5). The Wildcats then opened spring trip action with three straight losses, followed by back-to-back-to-back wins, only to drop their last four contests heading into Saturday’s matchup against Saint Mary’s.
• NOT-SO-AVERAGE: Taylor Brunn enters SCU’s matchup with Saint Mary’s boasting a team-leading .442 batting average. She is one of two Wildcats hitting above .400, being joined by Serena Lee (.406), while Kaitlin Boyles (.377) and Helen McKinnon (.354) own batting average’s north of .300.
• ON THE RUN: Brunn and McKinnon have accounted for 31 of the team’s 80 runs scored this season. Brunn has crossed the plate a team-leading 19 times, while McKinnon owns 12 runs scored. … Brunn has scored three runs in a game twice, while Tori Vennemann has achieved the feat once. … SCU scored a season-high 11 runs in beating Salve Regina 11-8 on March 12
• HIT PARADE: St. Catherine boasts five players who have amassed 10 or more hits through 16 games. Brunn leads the Wildcat hit parade with 23, followed by Boyles with 20, McKinnon with 17, Lee with 13, and Annabelle Cook with 11. … Brunn and Boyles lead the team with seven multiple-hit games. … St. Catherine has had a player record three hits in a game five times, including twice by Brun. … SCU’s 16 hits against Sewanee on March 12 were a season high.
• EXTRA, EXTRA: Thirty-one of SCU’s 133 hits this season have been for extra bases, including 25 doubles, five triples, and one home run. … Boyles, McKinnon, Cook, Kylee Kohout, Sam Aronson, and Tori Vennemann have all recorded three doubles, while Lee owns two of SCU’s five triples. … Kohout clubbed the Wildcats’ lone home run, a two-run shot against Franklin and Marshall on March 13.
• DRIVING ‘EM HOME: Boyles leads the Wildcats with 13 RBIs, two more than McKinnon, with Kohout just one RBI shy of becoming the third SCU player to reach double figures. … Boyles owns a team-best four multiple-RBI games, one more than Kohout. … Boyles and Mayci Larson have each recorded three-RBI games this season.
• STREAKING ALONG: Brunn heads into SCU’s matchup against Saint Mary’s riding a six-game hitting streak. Brunn, who also had a seven-game hit streak earlier this season, has reached base safely in each of the Wildcats’ last 14 games.
• IN THE CIRCLE: St. Catherine has used five different pitchers this season, with four logging more than 15 innings. Sarah Christy (3-3, 5.08 ERA) leads the team with 31 2/3 IP, followed by Taylor Graf (0-2, 6.33 ERA), who has logged 27 2/3 IP. Erica Pronschinske (2-1, 5.94 ERA, 17 2/3 IP) and Riley Leonhardt (0-3, 11.41 ERA, 15 1/3 IP) has also thrown more than 15 innings this seasons. … Graf has made a team-high 10 pitching appearances, one more than Christy, who owns a team-high seven starts. … Christy, Graf, Pronschinske, and Leonhardt have all tossed one complete game this season.
• FANNING THE FLAMES: SCU pitchers have combined to strike out 53 batters through 16 games, led by Christy with 25 strikeouts and Graf with 15.
• CRUNCHING THE NUMBERS: As a team, St. Catherine is hitting .311, going 133-for-428, while scoring 80 runs and boasting 71 RBIs. … SCU has scored nine or more runs five times — winning all nine. The Wildcats combined to score 31 runs in wins over Franklin and Marshall (10-2), Sewanee (10-5), and Salve Regina (11-8). On the flip side, the Wildcats have allowed 10+ run three times, including a season-high 19 in last Saturday’s 19-7 loss to UW-La Crosse.
