ARDEN HILLS, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota fastpitch softball team hits the road on Tuesday, as the Cardinals travel to Bethel's Ona Orth Athletic Complex for a 3:30 p.m. Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference doubleheader against the Royals.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (5-7 MIAC | 16-12 Overall) at Bethel Royals (7-5 MIAC | 12-14 Overall)
 
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Last Action:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals scored eight runs—more runs than they had plated in their last seven games combined—in posting an 8-5 win over Macalester in Game 1 of their MIAC doubleheader Sunday at the Saint Mary's Field, before riding the right arm of pitcher Ashley Betzold (Farmington, Minn.) to a 1-0 victory in the nightcap | Recap
• Bethel: The Royals are coming off an MIAC sweep of Saint Benedict on Sunday, scoring the game-tying run in the top of the seventh, and the game-winning run in the top of the eighth in a 5-4, Game 1 victory, before banging out 10 hits in a 3-0 win in the nightcap | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Bethel—Their Last Meeting:
• April 2, 2015 * Winona, Minn.: Saint Mary's U tried a couple different ways to knock off Bethel. The Cardinals tried jumping out to an early lead in the opening game of their Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference doubleheader, and they tried playing catch-up in Game 2. Unfortunately for Saint Mary's, neither strategy paid off, as the Royals dealt the Cardinals a pair of conference setbacks—8-7 and 3-1—at the Saint Mary's Field | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals are right back in action on Wednesday, hosting Carleton in a 3:30 p.m. conference doubleheader at the Saint Mary's Field.
• Bethel: The Royals hit the road on Wednesday, heading to Northfield, Minn., for a 3:30 p.m. MIAC twinbill against St. Olaf.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2016 Roster | 2016 Statistics | 2016 Schedule
• The Cardinals kick off a stretch of four doubleheaders in six games on Tuesday at Bethel. Saint Mary's faces Carleton at home on Wednesday, before going on the road to face Hamline and Augsburg on Saturday and Sunday. … Saint Mary's picked up its first doubleheader sweep of the season with its 8-5 and 1-0 wins over Macalester Sunday. … The Cardinals' 1-0 Game 2 win over the Scots Sunday was their fifth shutout of the season—and first since blanking the University of Dubuque 8-0 on March 4. … Allie Borawski (Stickney, Ill.) equaled her single-season career high, going 3-for-4 in the Cardinals' 8-5 Game 1 win over Macalester Sunday, while Stanzy Snyder (Johnston, Iowa) picked up two hits in both wins over the Scots. … Ashley Betzold (Farmington, Minn.) notched her 14^th and 15^th complete games in the Cardinals' sweep of Macalester Sunday. The junior right-hander has now thrown 49 career complete games—ranking her No. 2 all-time, just three shy of Jenny Schipp's career-record 52 complete games. … Betzold limited Macalester to just three hits in Sunday's 1-0 Game 2 win—it was her fifth three-hitter of the season and the eighth time this year she has limited the opposition to three hits or less. … Harper enters Tuesday's games at Bethel leading the team in batting average (.425), hits (31), doubles (7), triples (2), total bases (45), slugging percentage (.616), and on-base percentage (.494). … Harper is one of three Cardinals who are hitting above .300—Betzold (.337) and Snyder (.337) are the others. … Saint Mary's, which has scored 143 runs this season, has eight players who have scored 10 or more runs, led by Brittney Birkhauser (Wisconsin Rapids, Wis. / 19), Snyder (17), Harper (17), and Betzold (16). … Birkhauser also owns the team lead in home runs (2) and RBIs (18). … Harper hit her first collegiate home run vs. Luther on March 29, while Betzold and Katie Krull (Rochester, Minn.) own the Cardinals' other HRs. Krull's round-tripper was her first collegiate grand slam vs. John Carroll on Feb. 28. … Harper has been hit by a pitch a team-leading five times—including twice against Saint Benedict on April 6. … Betzold recorded her first collegiate four-hit game in Game 2 against Saint Benedict on April 6, going a perfect 4-for-4. … Birkhauser's four RBIs vs. St. Catherine in the opener on April 3 tied her single-game career high. … Harper owns a team-leading 11 multiple-hit games—with all 11 being two-hit performances—while Birkhauser is the team-leader with six multiple-RBI games. … The Cardinals have used four different pitchers this season, led by Betzold, who has logged a team-high 129.2 innings, compiling a 12-9 record and 2.16 ERA. … Betzold has made a team-high 21 starts, has tossed a team-leading 15 complete games, and has struck out 72 batters… Abbey Killian (Fountain City, Wis. / 3-2, 3.14 ERA) has thrown three complete games in her five starts, including her second collegiate three-hitter against Wartburg on Feb. 28. … Saint Mary's has outscored its opponents 22-8 in the first inning, while holding a 39-12 scoring edge in the fourth. … The Cardinals have held their opponents to two runs or less in 12 of their 28 games. … The Cardinals have been held to two runs or less in 10 of their 12 losses. On the flip side, Saint Mary's is 12-0 when scoring six or more runs. … Saint Mary's is 6-0 when scoring in the first inning, and 11-3 when scoring the game's first run. … Saint Mary's Game 2 loss to Saint Benedict on April 6 marked the first time this season the Cardinals have lost when leading after the fifth inning (9-1). … Six of the Cardinals 16 wins have been shortened to six innings or less by the eight-run rule. … All nine Cardinals had at least one hit in Saint Mary's 9-5 Game 1 win over Saint Benedict on April 6—led by Snyder and Hunsinger with two each. … The Cardinals have put together winning streaks of five and three (twice) game this season. … The Cardinals have played three nationally ranked teams this season—No. 7 Luther, No. 18 St. Catherine, and No. 20 St. Thomas. … The Cardinals' 18 wins a year ago marked the third time in the last four years that they have reached the 18-win mark. It's the most victories since Saint Mary's went 23-18 during the 2011 season.
 
Scouting The Bethel Royals:
2016 Roster | 2016 Statistics | 2016 Schedule
• The Royals play three of their next four doubleheaders on their home field. … With their sweep of Saint Benedict on Sunday, the Blazers have now swept three of their last four conference doubleheaders. … Bethel has scored thee runs in four of its last five wins—including three by 3-0 scores. … Caroline Kivisto led the Bethel offense against Saint Benedict Sunday, finishing the day 4-for-8—including a game-tying solo home run in the top of the seventh inning in the opener.  … The Royals head into their doubleheader against Saint Mary's boasting three players who are hitting above .300—Wendy Roberts (.333), Abbie Bircher (.319), and Kivisto (.311). … Bircher also leads or shares the team lead in at-bats (94), hits (30), doubles (4), total bases (42), and stolen bases (8). … Kivisto has scored a team-high 16 runs, while also owning the team lead in home runs (6), walks (10), slugging percentage (.568), and on-base percentage (.395). … Micayla Moore, who is second to Kivisto with five home runs, has driven in a team-best 17 runs. … Bircher owns a team-high nine multiple-hit games, one more than Roberts, and Moore is the team-leader with six multiple-RBI games. … Bethel has five different players record three hits in a game this season. … Bircher owns the team's longest hitting streak at 10, but Kivisto's five-gamer is the Royals' longest active hitting streak. … As a team, the Royals have belted 20 home runs this season. … The Royals are 25-for-32 in the stolen base department, with Kivisto leading the way at 8-for-8. … Lindsay Edeen (77.1 IP) and Karli Persson (92.0 IP) have been the workhorses of the Bethel pitching staff, accounting for 169.1 of the team's 181.0 innings pitched. … Edeen has compiled a 6-4 record and 2.63 ERA in 11 starts, while Persson is 6-7 with a 4.34 ERA in 13 starts. … Persson has recorded a team-high 11 complete games, one more than Edeen, and is the team-leader with 71 strikeouts. … Bethel has scored 10 or more runs in a game just once this season, beating Macalester 10-1 on April 13. …