It’s a double-double for the Saint Mary’s fastpitch softball team, as the Cardinals play back-to-back doubleheaders over the next two day. SMU will host Gustavus in a 3:30 p.m. MIAC DH on Tuesday at the SMU Field, before heading to La Crosse, Wis., for a 2:30 p.m. nonconference twinbill against UW-La Crosse the following day.

SAINT MARY’S CARDINALS

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2024: 4-0 MIAC, 16-2 Overall

GUSTAVUS GUSTIES

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2024: 4-0 MIAC, 10-12 Overall

UW-LA CROSSE EAGLES

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2024: 10-12 Overall

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SMU-GAC * LAST MEETING:

April 23, 2023 * St. Peter, MN

L, 7-4; W, 9-4 * Series History

SMU-UWL * LAST MEETING:

Feb. 17, 2024 * Mankato, MN

W, 9-1 (5) * Series History

SAINT MARY’S * LAST ACTION:

April 6, 2024 * Winona, MN

St. Scholastica * W, 10-2 (5); W, 11-3 (6)

GUSTAVUS * LAST ACTION:

April 6, 2024 * St. Paul, MN

Hamline * W, 6-2; W, 10-3

UW-LA CROSSE * LAST ACTION:

March 30, 2024 * Milwaukee, WI

MSOE * W, 9-1 (5); W, 4-0

SAINT MARY’S * UP NEXT:

April 13, 2024 * Arden Hills, MN

Bethel * 1:00/3:00

April 14, 2024 * Winona, MN

St. Olaf * 1:00/3:00

GUSTAVUS * UP NEXT: 

April 13, 2024 * Minneapolis, MN

Augsburg * 1:00/3:00

April 14, 2024 * St. Peter, MN

Bethel * 1:00/3:00

UW-LA CROSSE * UP NEXT: 

April 13, 2024 * Oshkosh, WI

UW-Oshkosh * 2:00/4:00

SAINT MARY’S SCOUTING REPORT:

• FOR THE RECORD: The Cardinals head into their doubleheaders against Gustavus and UW-La Crosse sitting at 16-2 overall — with their only losses coming to No. 4 Coe and Nebraska Wesleyan — while owning a 4-0 mark in MIAC action.

• LAST TIME OUT: Saint Mary’s picked up its second conference sweep to open MIAC play last Saturday at the SMU Field, rolling to a 10-2, five-inning win over St. Scholastica in the opener and adding an 11-3, six-inning 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 doubleheaders against Gustavus, and UW-La Crosse riding a five-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.

• RARE COMPANY: SMU’s 16-2 start to the season is the Cardinals’ best since the 1997 season, when Saint Mary’s opened the year 37-1 — including a school-record 33-game winning streak. 

• LEADING THE CHARGE: Steffes enters the week boasting a team-leading .500 batting average. The freshman is one of four Cardinals who are hitting above .400, and one of eight with batting averages north of .300. … Peyton Berg (Chatfield, Minn.) and Emily Bonk (Hudson, Wis.) are tied for second on the team, hitting .417, while Ali French (Winona, Minn.) owns a .400 batting average.

• ON THE RUN: Saint Mary’s has erupted for 167 runs in 18 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 23 runs, followed by French with 17, Lizzie Pike (Rochester, Minn.) with 16, Berg with 14, and Bonk, Naleya Bork (De Pere, Wis.), Abbie Stigler (Menomonee Falls, Wis.), and Breonna Methner (Woodbury, Minn.) with 11. … 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 10 players who have reached double figures in hits through 18 games. Steffes leads the way with 28, six more than French. Berg (20), Heather Nordlund (Byron, Minn. / 16), Bonk (15), Bork (15), Methner (15), Pike (12), Stigler (12), and Michelle McGinnis (Appleton, Wis. / 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 eight multiple-hit games, followed by French, Berg, and Bonk with five each.

• EXTRA, EXTRA: The Cardinals have delivered 52 extra-base hits this season — 34 doubles, six triples, and 12 home runs. … Nordlund owns a team-best seven doubles, followed by Steffes and Bork with five, and Berg with four. … Pike and McGinnis have each belted of SMU’s six triples, with Steffes and Samya Brown (Chicago, Ill.) owning the other three.

• BOMBS AWAY: Berg leads the Cardinals’ home run parade with three, one up on Nordlund, Bork, French, and Bonk, with Steffes accounting for the team’s other round-tripper.. … 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, while Steffes’s lead-off HR against St. Scholastica in Game 2 last Saturday was her first as a Cardinal. … SMU slugged five home runs against St. Scholastica last Saturday — three in the first game and two more in the nightcap. … Saint Mary’s clubbed 16 HRs in 2023.

• DRIVING ‘EM HOME: Berg sits atop the team’s RBI race with 19. French (17), Nordlund (14), Steffes (13), Pike (12), Bork (12), 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 and Berg lead the team with five multiple-RBI games, one more than both French and Nordlund.

• 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. … Bonk and McGinnis both enter the week owning the team’s longest active hit streaks at six games.

• CATCH ME IF YOU CAN: Saint Mary’s has swiped 51 bases on 61 attempts this season, led by Steffes, who is 12-for-16 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 50.0 innings in SMU’s first 18 games, compiling an 8-1 record and a 2.24 ERA, while throwing five complete games. … Bork has put together a 5-1 record and 2.50 ERA in 33 2/3 innings, while Izzy Griffin (West St. Paul, Minn.) has gone 2-0 with a 4.73 ERA in 13 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 2.94 ERA and opposing batters are hitting just .269.

• 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 on April 29. … 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 65 batters in 18 games, led by Steffes with 35 strikeouts, followed by Bork with 13 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.

• MIAC HONORS: Makayla Steffes (Winona, Minn.) collected her third MIAC weekly honor on April 1, 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.

• 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 .375 (190-for-507), with 34 doubles, six triples, and 12 home runs, while scoring 167 runs and owning 138 RBIs. … SMU has outscored its first 18 opponents 167-65 — including 59-15 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 nine of its 16 wins. … The Cardinals are 11-2 when scoring first and 8-0 when scoring in the first inning. … SMU owns seven wins cut short by the eight-run rule.

GUSTAVUS SCOUTING REPORT:

• FOR THE RECORD: The Gusties head into their conference showdown at Saint Mary’s sitting at 10-12 overall through 22 games, while owning an unblemished 4-0 mark after the season’s first two MIAC doubleheaders.

• LAST TIME OUT: Gustavus improved to 4-0 in conference play with a pair of convincing wins over Hamline last Saturday in St. Paul, Minn. GAC opened the afternoon with a 6-2 win over the Pipers, before completing the sweep with a 10-3 drubbing in the nightcap.

• ON A ROLL: With their sweep of Hamline last Saturday, Gustavus extended its winning streak to four straight. … GAC has outscored its opponents 30-10 during its current four-game run. … The Gusties’ four-game win streak comes on the heels of a four-game losing streak to close out its eight-game spring trip to Clermont, Fla.

• LEADING THE CHARGE: Gustavus boasts four players who are hitting above .300 through 22 games, led by Olivia Guggenberger, who is sitting at .393 (22-for-56). Madi Mueller (.365), Carly Olson (.353), and Caitlin Olafsson (.333) are also owners of batting averages north of .300.

• ON THE RUN: GAC has scored 110 runs in 22 games and has had four players cross home plate 10 or more times. Mueller leads the Gusties with 19 runs scored, one more than both Olafsson and Guggenberger, with Kayla Herda chipping in 10 runs scored. … Mueller scored a season-high four times against Union on March 26.

• HIT PARADE: Olafsson and Olson share the team lead in hits with 24 each, one more than Mueller and two up on Guggenberger. Herda (16), Macy McNally (16), and Lauren Lambert (10) have also reached double figures in hits through 22 games. … GAC has had a player record three hits in a game four times — including twice by Mueller. … Mueller and Guggenberger share the team lead with seven multiple-hit games, one more than both Olafsson and Olson.

• EXTRA, EXTRA: Thirty-three of Gustavus’s 169 hits this season have gone for extra bases, including 24 doubles, seven triples, and two home runs. … Olson holds the team lead in doubles with five, followed by Olafsson (4), Mueller (3), Lambert (3), and Carly Nelson (3). … Olafsson and Mueller share the top spot with two triples, while McNally, Peyton Stevemer, and Greta Dahlen have accounted for the other three three-baggers. … Nelson and Guggenberger have launched Gustavus’s two home runs this season — Nelson vs. UW-La Crosse on Feb. 17 and Guggenberger against Martin Luther on Feb. 24.

• DRIVING ‘EM HOME: GAC has four players with 10+ RBIs, led by Olson with 15. Guggenberger (12), Olafsson (12), and Nelson (10) have also reached double figures in runs batted in through 22 games. … Lambert and Olafsson have each collected a team-leading four multiple-RBI games, while Nelson owns the team’s single-game season-high with four RBIs against UW-La Crosse on Feb. 17.

• STREAKING ALONG: Olafsson enters GAC’s DH against Saint Mary’s riding a six-game hitting streak. It’s the second time this season the Gusties have had a player hit safely in six consecutive games.

• IN THE CIRCLE: Gustavus has three pitchers who have all logged at least 20 innings this season, led by Maize Anderson (5-6, 3.65 ERA, 63 1/3 IP) and Ava Hamsund (4-4, 3.16 ERA, 57 2/3 IP). Megan Sherwood (1-2, 3.05 ERA, 20 2/3 IP) has also seen extensive time in the circle this season. … Anderson has made a team-leading 13 appearances — including a team-high 11 starts — and shares the team lead in complete games (6) with Hamsund. … As a staff, GAC owns a 3.56 ERA and teams are hitting .271 off them.

• FANNING THE FLAMES: Gustavus pitchers have combined for 87 strikeouts, led by Anderson with 44 and Hamsund with 35. … Hamsund and Anderson have both struck out seven batters in a game this season — Hamsund against North Central on Feb. 18 and Anderson vs. UW-Stout on Feb. 25.

• CRUNCHING THE NUMBERS: As a team, Gustavus is hitting .287 (169-for-589), with 24 doubles, seven triples, and two home runs. GAC has scored 110 runs and owns 91 RBIs. … The Gusties have scored 10 or more runs in a game five times — all wins — including a season-high 16-run effort in routing Union 16-6 on March 26. On the flip side, GAC has allowed 10+ runs just once, losing to UW-Oshkosh 13-1 on March 28. … Along with their 16 runs, the Gusties also posted season-highs in hits (20) in their 16-6 win over Union on March 26.

UW-LA CROSSE SCOUTING REPORT:

• FOR THE RECORD: The Eagles enter their nonconference doubleheader against Saint Mary’s sitting at 10-12 overall through the season’s first 22 games

• LAST TIME OUT: UW-La Crosse has been off since March 30, when they swept a pair of nonconference road games against Milwaukee School of Engineering, beating the Raiders 9-1 in five innings in the opener, before completing the sweep with a 4-0 shutout in Game 2.

• ON A ROLL: The Eagles come into their nonconference twinbill riding a three-game winning streak, having beaten Wartburg (13-5) and MSOE (9-1, 4-0). It’s the second time this season the Eagles have won three consecutive games.

• LEADING THE CHARGE: UW-La Crosse boasts four players with more than 30 at-bats who have hitting above .300, led by Cristin Casey and Kyra Lard, who own batting averages of .452 and .439, respectively. Brooke Howard (.405) and Abbey Bosch (.338) are also owners of batting averages north of .300.

• ON THE RUN: The Eagles have scored 130 runs through 22 games and have five players with 10 or more runs scored. Casey leads the Eagles’ run brigade with 24, one more than Howard, while Bosch (17), Lard (15), and Lindsay Steien (14) have also crossed home plate at least 10 times. … Casey has scored a team-leading four runs in a game twice, while Bosch has achieved the feat once.

• HIT PARADE: Howard has amassed a team-leading 32 hits. She is one of four Eagles with 20+ hits through 22 games, being joined by Lard (29), Casey (28), and Bosch (22). … Marissa Pease (15), Jordyn McCormack (13), Steien (12), and Maddy Bornbach (11) have also reached double figures in hits this season. … Lard leads the team with 10 multiple-hit games, while Casey and Bosch have accounted for UW-L’s two season-high four-hit games. 

• EXTRA, EXTRA: Fifty-six of UW-L’s 190 hits have been for extra bases, including 42 doubles, seven triples, and seven home runs. … Lard has delivered a team-best 11 doubles, four up on Howard. … Howard has accounted for five of the team’s seven triples, with Lard and Bosch owning the other two. 

• BOMBS AWAY: Lard has launched a team-high four home runs, while Pease has hit two round-trippers and Morgan McCormack has also delivered a home run.

• DRIVING ‘EM HOME: Lard has delivered a team-high 39 RBIs. She is one of five Eagles with 10+ runs batted in through 22 games. Bosch is a distant second to Lard with 13 RBIs, followed by Pease with 12, Howard with 11, and Steien with 10. … Lard has collected 11 multiple-RBI games, including five-RBI games against both Salve Regina on March 14 and vs. Wartburg on March 28.

• STREAKING ALONG: Howard heads into the Eagles’ showdown with Saint Mary’s riding a 14-game hitting streak. Lard, Bosch, and Casey have all hit safely in each of UW-L’s last six games. … Howard has reached base safely in 20 consecutive games.

• IN THE CIRCLE: UW-L has used eight different pitchers this season, including five that have logged at least 10 innings. Elise Weinzierl (3-4, 4.97 ERA) leads the staff with 43 2/3 IP, followed by Remington Stark (4-1, 2.84 ERA, 32.0 IP) and Carmen Follette (0-2, 2.41 ERA, 20 1/3 IP). … Weinzierl has made a team-high 11 appearances, while Stark owns a team-high seven starts. … Stark has tossed the team’s only two complete games.

• FANNING THE FLAMES: As a staff, UW-L pitchers have combined to strike out 123 batters. Stark and Weinzierl have each struck out 36 opponents, with Follette adding 20 Ks and Eden 10. … Weinzierl fanned a season-high eight batters against St. John Fisher on March 9.

• CRUNCHING THE NUMBERS: As a team, UW-La Crosse is hitting .317 (190-for-600), with 42 doubles, seven triples, and seven home runs. UW-L has scored 130 runs and owns 115 RBIs. … The Eagles have scored 10 or more runs three times this season, including a season-high 19 in a 19-7 win over St. Catherine on March 15. On the flip side, UW-L has allowed a team to score in double figures just once — falling to Concordia (Wis.) 13-6 on Feb. 24. … The Eagles have outscored their opponents 130-103, including 34-8 in the first inning. … UW-L is 7-0 when holding its opponents to two runs or less, but are 0-7 when scoring less than three runs.