SAINT PETER, Minn. – The Gustavus softball team opens MIAC play this weekend, traveling to Saint Mary’s Saturday for a pair of contests starting at 1 p.m. before hosting Concordia at 1 p.m. on Sunday for a twin bill. The Gusties enter the contests 9-5.
Saturday: Live Stats
Sunday: Live Stats | Watch Live
The Series
Saturday’s contests mark the 87th and 88th all-time meeting between the Gusties and Cardinals with Gustavus holding a 49-37 advantage. The teams last met on April 26, 2018 with the Gusties winning 2-1.
Sunday’s contests will be the 65th and 66th all-time meeting between Concordia and Gustavus with the Gusties bolstering a 55-9 edge. The two teams last met on April 17, 2018 with Gustavus winning 5-3.
Scouting the Cardinals
After starting the season 4-4, Saint Mary’s has dropped six straight contests, most recently falling to falling to UW-La Crosse 6-0 on Thursday. The Cardinals have been led this season by Hallie Schmeling who is leading the team in a handful of statistical categories. Her average (.341), RBI’s (9), OB% (.404), and SB’s (5-5) are all team bests. Justine Schultz trails shortly behind her boasting a .289 average to go along with a team leading three doubles. On the mound, Amber Chow has started a team leading eight games for the Cardinals, pitching 46.2 innings while maintaining a 3.75 ERA.
Scouting the Cobbers
After an 8-32 season last year, the Cobbers have started their 2019 campaign 7-7, most recently falling to Bemidji State 12-5 on March 21. Through 14 games Concordia is hitting .310 as a team while slugging a top-five in the MIAC mark of .453. A large part of that power is the trio of Maria Pake, Elizabeth Asp, and Nicole Johannes, who are all hitting at least .448 and slugging .724. Pake is leading the team hitting .489, has a team best eight doubles, and is 10-for-10 on stolen bases. Megan Gavin has done the bulk of the work on the mound for the Cobbers making eight starts, going 7-2 with a 1.72 ERA while striking out 76 batters in 61.0 innings.
Scouting the Gusties
Gustavus is most recently coming off a 1-0 win over Edgewood on March 18. Through 14 games this season the Gusties are hitting .308 as a team while holding opponents to a .245 average. Ashley Neuenfeldt has been a large part of both numbers as she leads the team with a .426 average and has started six games on the mound and appeared in 11, amassing a 3-3 record with an ERA of 2.15 while allowing an opposing batting average of .222. Caitlin Kammerer and Aly Freeman are right behind Neuenfeldt at the plate hitting .390 and .364 respectively. Freeman has also started eight games on the mound, posting a 4-2 record, a 3.28 ERA, and striking out 31 batters in 35.2 innings.