It’s a busy weekend for the Saint Mary’s fastpitch softball team, as the Cardinals welcome St. Scholastica to the SMU Field for a 1 p.m. MIAC doubleheader on Saturday, before heading to Northfield, Minn., for a 1 p.m. twinbill against Carleton the following afternoon.
SAINT MARY’S CARDINALS
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2024: 2-0 MIAC, 14-2 Overall
ST. SCHOLASTICA SAINTS
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2024: 0-0 MIAC, 3-11 Overall
CARLETON KNIGHTS
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2024: 0-0 MIAC, 9-5 Overall
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SMU-CSS * LAST MEETING:
April 14, 2023 * Winona, MN
W, 8-0 (5); W, 8-0 (5) * Series History
SMU-CAR * LAST MEETING:
April 8, 2023 * Winona, MN
L, 9-7; W, 2-0 * Series History
SAINT MARY’S * LAST ACTION:
March 30, 2024 * Winona, MN
St. Catherine * W, 8-0 (5); W, 5-4
ST. SCHOLASTICA * LAST ACTION:
March 29, 2024 * Rhinelander, WI
#23 UW-Stevens Point * L, 3-0; L, 4-0
CARLETON * LAST ACTION:
March 23, 2024 * Clermont, FL
Kalamazoo * W, 9-6
Westminster * W, 7-0
SAINT MARY’S * UP NEXT:
April 9, 2024 * Winona, MN
Gustavus * 3:30/5:30
ST. SCHOLASTICA * UP NEXT:
April 9, 2024 * Duluth, MN
Augsburg * 3:30/5:30
CARLETON * UP NEXT:
April 9, 2024 * St. Paul, MN
St. Catherine * 3:30/5:30
SAINT MARY’S SCOUTING REPORT:
• FOR THE RECORD: The Cardinals head into their MIAC doubleheaders against St. Scholastica and Carleton sitting at 14-2 overall — with their only losses coming to No. 4 Coe and Nebraska Wesleyan — while owning a 2-0 mark in MIAC action.
• LAST TIME OUT: Saint Mary’s kicked off conference play on a high note on March 29, belting a pair of two-run home runs in an 8-0, five-inning Game 1 win over St. Catherine, before completing the sweep with a 5-0 victory in the nightcap.
• IN THE POLLS: Saint Mary’s made its first appearance in the NFCA Top 25 Coaches Poll since 2006, earning a No. 25 ranking on March 12, before slipping into the “Others Receiving Votes” category in each of the last four polls.
• ON A ROLL: The Cardinals enter their doubleheader against Carleton riding a three-game winning streak. It’s the third lengthy win streak of the season for SMU, which opened the season with five straight wins, and has also put together a six-game win streak.
• MIAC HONORS: Makayla Steffes (Winona, Minn.) collected her third MIAC weekly honor on Monday, being named MIAC Pitcher of the Week. The freshman has also been named MIAC Offensive Player of the Week twice, on Feb. 19 and March 11.
• LEADING THE CHARGE: Makayla Steffes (Winona, Minn.) enters the weekend boasting a team-leading .490 batting average. The freshman is one of four Cardinals who are hitting above .400, and one of eight with batting averages north of .300. … Ali French (Winona, Minn.) is second on the team, hitting .412, followed by Peyton Berg (Chatfield, Minn.) at .405, and Emily Bonk (Hudson, Wis.) at .400.
• ON THE RUN: Saint Mary’s has erupted for 146 runs in 16 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 19 runs, followed by French with 15, Lizzie Pike (Rochester, Minn.) with 14, Berg with 12, Abbie Stigler (Menomonee Falls, Wis.) with 11, and Breonna Methner (Woodbury, Minn.) 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 eight players who have reached double figures in hits through 16 games — Steffes leads the way with 25, four more than French. Berg (17), Methner (15), Heather Nordlund (Byron, Minn. / 13), Pike (12), Bonk (12), and Naleya Bork (De Pere, Wis.) / 12) 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, and Bonk and Berg with four.
• 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 42 extra-base hits this season — 30 doubles, five triples, and seven home runs. … Nordlund owns a team-best seven doubles, followed by Bork with five, and Steffes, Berg, and Bonk 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 and Berg lead the team with two home runs, with Nordlund, Bork, and Bonk owning the other three. … Berg launched Saint Mary’s first home run of the season, a two-run shot against Northwestern on Feb. 17. … Bonk’s two-run home run against St. Catherine last Friday was the first of her collegiate career. … Saint Mary’s clubbed 16 HRs in 2023.
• DRIVING ‘EM HOME: Berg sits atop the team’s RBI lead with 16. French (15), Nordlund (13), Steffes (12), Pike (11), and Methner (10) 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, Bork, and Berg lead the team with four multiple-RBI games, one more than Pike and French.
• 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 against Nebraska Wesleyan on March 8.
• CATCH ME IF YOU CAN: Saint Mary’s has swiped 47 bases on 55 attempts this season, led by Steffes, who is 11-for-15 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 44.0 innings in SMU’s first 16 games, compiling a 7-1 record and a 2.23 ERA, while throwing four complete games. … Bork has put together a 4-1 record and 2.83 ERA in 29 2/3 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 2.91 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, and collected her first career save in last Friday’s 5-4, Game 2 win over St. Catherine. … 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 58 batters in 16 games, led by Steffes with 29 strikeouts, followed by Bork with 10 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.
• PROGRAM FIRSTS: The Cardinals’ spring trip games against Thomas, Emmanuel, Heidelberg, Penn State Behrend, and Elizabethtown were all the first in program history.
• 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 .365 (166-for-455), with 30 doubles, five triples, and seven home runs, while scoring 146 runs and owning 121 RBIs. … SMU has outscored its first 16 opponents 146-60 — including 51-10 through the game’s first two innings. … SMU has scored five or more runs in an inning nine 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 eight of its 14 wins. … The Cardinals are 11-2 when scoring first and 6-0 when scoring in the first inning. … SMU owns five wins cut short by the eight-run rule.
ST. SCHOLASTICA SCOUTING REPORT:
• FOR THE RECORD: The Saints head into their weekend doubleheaders against St. Catherine and Saint Mary’s sitting at 3-11 overall, with this weekend’s games the first in conference play.
• LAST TIME OUT: St. Scholastica failed to plate a run in its nonconference doubleheader against No. 23 UW-Stevens Point on March 29, falling to the Pointers 3-0 and 4-0 at the Hodag Dome in Rhinelander, Wis.
• LIMPING IN: The Saints head into the weekend having won just once in their last seven games, that victory an 8-1 triumph over Monmouth on March 15. … CSS has played three games against nationally ranked teams this season, failing to score in all three. Along with their 3-0, 4-0 losses to No. 23 UW-Stevens Point, the Saints also dropped a 10-0, five-inning decision to No. 11 Rowan on March 12. … CSS opened the season with five straight losses, before beating Geneva (6-1) and St. Norbert (5-4) on March 11-12.
• LEADING THE CHARGE: Emma Bolin has been the offensive sparkplug for the Saints’ offense this season, boasting a .425 batting average (17-for-40) and a .914 OPS through CSS’s first 14 games. … Bolin is the only Saint hitting above .300, with Aislind Dail (.290), Grace Hadlich (.282), and Haley Rosenthal (.276) next in line.
• ON THE RUN: St. Scholastica has plated 32 runs in 14 games, with Bolin leading the way with eight runs scored, followed by Dail with six, and Adie Potratz with four. … Bolin has scored a single-game season-high two runs twice, while Dail has achieved the feat once.
• HIT PARADE: Bolin and Hadlich have both reached double figures in hits through 14 games, with Bolin collecting a team-high 17 hits, while Hadlich is second with 11. Dail is one hit shy of joining the multiple-hit club. … Bolin and Hadlich have each recorded four multiple-hit games, two more than Laviano and Dail. … Bolin recorded a season-high four hits against Monmouth on March 15.
• EXTRA, EXTRA: Eighteen of the Saints’ 72 hits this season have gone for extra bases, including 14 doubles, two triples, and a pair of home runs. … Dail and Lauren Laviano share the team lead with five doubles each, with Payton Lang chipping in two, and Hadlich and Jadyn Lind accounting for the other two. … Hadlich has belted both of CSS’s triples this season.
• BOMBS AWAY: Dail and Samantha Paniagua have each launched a home run this season — Dail’s coming against UW-Stout on Feb. 24 and Paniagua’s vs. St. Norbert on March 12.
• DRIVING ‘EM HOME: Dail and Laviano sit atop the team’s RBI list with six runs batted in apiece, with Paniagua and Hadlich each chipping in three. … St. Scholastica has had a player deliver two or more RBIs in a game three times — twice by Laviano and once by Paniagua. … Paniagua posted a season-best three RBIs against St. Norbert on March 12.
• STREAKING ALONG: Bolin owns the team’s longest hitting streak this season at seven games, but no Saint has an active hitting streak longer than one. … Bolin has reached base safely in each of the Saints’ last four games.
• IN THE CIRCLE: St. Scholastica has used four different pitchers this season, with three of them logging at least 10 innings. Haley Rosenthal (1-5, 3.17 ERA) has tossed a team-leading 35 2/3 innings, followed closely by Ashley Matejka (1-5, 3.91 ERA) with 34.0 IP. Aryn Blumenthal (0-0, 7.64 ERA, 11.0 IP) and Lilli Young (0-1, 4.20 ERA, 8 1/3 IP) have also seen time in the circle. … Rosenthal has made a team-leading eight appearances, one more than Matejka – who owns a team-high six starts. … Rosenthal has recorded four of CSS’s six complete games, with Matejka tossing the other two.
• FANNING THE FLAMES: St. Scholastica pitchers have combined to record 40 strikeouts in 14 games, led by Rosenthal with 21 and Matejka with 18. … Matejka struck out a season-high six against Monmouth on March 15.
• CRUNCHING THE NUMBERS: As a team, St. Scholastica is hitting just .206 (72-for-350), with 14 doubles, two triples, two home runs, and 25 RBIs. The Saints’ pitching staff, meanwhile, boasts a 4.11 ERA. … St. Scholastica has scored five or more runs in all three of its victories this season — including a season-high eight runs in an 8-1 win over Monmouth on March 15. On the flip side, CSS has surrendered five or more runs in seven of its 11 losses. The Saints allowed a season-high 13 runs in falling to Occidental 13-2 on March 13.
CARLETON SCOUTING REPORT:
• FOR THE RECORD: The Knights head into their conference doubleheaders against Bethel and Saint Mary’s sporting a 9-5 overall record.
• LAST TIME OUT: Carleton closed out its spring trip to Clermont, Fla., with a pair of wins over Kalamazoo (9-6) and Westminster (7-0) on March 23. The wins capped a 5-5 10-game stay in Florida for the Knights, who also beat Trinity (2-0), Lasell (7-4), and Elmhurst (3-1), while falling to College of Saint Mary (2-1), Middlebury (6-3), Wesleyan (2-0), Luther (7-4), and Bowdoin (11-5).
• LEADING THE CHARGE: Bryanna Schaffer enters Carleton’s weekend games owning a team-leading .457 batting average. She is one of four players sporting averages above the .300 mark, being joined by Grace Colburn (.381), Megan Smith (.372), and Helen Moses (.333).
• ON THE RUN: Carleton has scored 86 runs in 14 games, led by Smith, who has scored 17 ties. Esme Song (13), Schaffer (12), and Adriana Wiggins (10) have also reached double figures in runs scored this season. … Smith and Esme Song have both scored a season-high three runs in a game this season.
• HIT PARADE: Schaffer has banged out a team-leading 21 hits in 14 contests, five more than both Smith and Colburn. Wiggins is fourth on the team with 11 hits, followed by Reagan Wills and Alissa Maquar with nine hits apiece. … Schaffer leads the team with seven multiple-hit games, three more than both Smith and Colburn. … Block, Maquar, Schaffer, Smith, and Natasha Paez all own season-high three-hit games this season.
• EXTRA, EXTRA: Twenty-three of Carleton’s 122 hits have been for extra bases, including 18 doubles and five triples. … Schaffer has clubbed a team-best five doubles, followed by Smith with three, and Wills, Maquar, and Amy Chen with two each. … Smith has accounted for three of the Knights’ five triples, with Schaffer and Wiggins collecting the other two. … The Knights have yet to hit a home run this season.
• DRIVING ‘EM HOME: Schaffer leads the team with 17 RBIs, with Colburn also reaching double figures with 10 runs batted in. … Schaffer boasts five multiple-RBI games, followed by Helen Moses with three, and Smith, Block, Colburn, and Maquar with two each. … Schaffer and Block both boast four-RBI games — Schaffer against Crown on Feb. 17 and Smith vs. North Ce3ntral on Feb. 23.
• STREAKING ALONG: Schaffer heads into Carleton’s doubleheaders against Bethel and Saint Mary’s riding a season-high 10-game hitting streak, while Smith has hit safely in each of the Knights’ last five games.
• CATCH ME IF YOU CAN: Carleton is a near-perfect 35-for-36 in the stolen base department, led by Smith, who is 12-for-13. … The Knights have gotten at least one stolen base from nine different players.
• IN THE CIRCLE: Rachel Block and Sydney Trentman have been the workhorses in the pitcher’s circle for the Knights, with Block (5-2, 1.43 ERA) logging a team-leading 44.0 innings, while Trentman (4-3, 3.37 ERA) throwing 35 1/3 IP. … Trentman has made a team-leading eight appearances — including six starts — with Block appearing in seven games, all starts. … Block has tossed a team-best six complete games and owns one shutout, while Trentman has delivered four start and leads the staff with three shutouts.
• FANNING THE FLAMES: Carleton pitchers have combined to record 67 strikeouts, led by Trentman with 38 and Block with 26.
• CRUNCHING THE NUMBERS: As a team, Carleton is hitting .326, going 122-for-374 with 18 doubles and five triples. The Knights have scored 86 runs and own 77 RBIs. … Carleton opened the season with six straight wins, before dropping their next four in a row. … The Knights have scored nine or more runs four times — including season-high 14-run efforts in beating both Crown (14-3) and North Central (14-2). … Along with their season-high 14 runs, Carleton also set season-bests in hits (15), RBIs (12), and doubles (3) against North Central on Feb. 23.
