Just TheFacts
NCAA Division III
Head coach: Nikki Fennern
Assistants: Kristine Drake,
Jody Gabriel, Bob Lund
31-6 Overall, 20-2 MIAC
This site created and
maintained by
Donny Nadeau,
Sports Information
Director,
Saint Mary's University
The Cardinals captured a share of their fourth Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference title in the last five years, finishing tied with St. Thomas atop the conference heap at 20-2. The Cardinals and St. Thomas finished with identical 20-2 MIAC records, but SMU earned the conference’s automatic berth via the second tie-breaker criterion. Since the two teams split their head-to-head meetings (St. Thomas won 3-1, while SMU won 3-2), it came down to how the two teams fared vs. the third-place team in the conference, Gustavus. The Cardinals swept the Gusties (6-0 and 1-0), while the Tommies had to settle for a split (winning 8-0, then losing 1-0).
Pre-TournamentNotes
Jill Hocking (Apple Valley, Minn.) hit a remarkable .667 (8-for-12) with three doubles and a home run, while also driving in seven runs and scoring four in earning MIAC Player of the Week honors last week. … Hocking extended her hitting streak to six games by collecting at least one hit in each of SMU's five games — including 2-for-3 and 2-for-2 performances in the Cardinals' title-clinching sweep vs. Bethel on Saturday. Hocking helped herself on the mound, as well, boasting a 0.50 ERA in 14.0 innings. She did not walk a batter and struck out 10. … The Cardinals have played in five straight NCAA regional tournaments. … The Cardinals are 5-3 vs. regional-qualifying teams this year — spliting with St. Thomas (losing 3-1, winning 3-2) and Cabrini (losing 4-1, winning 1-0), while beating Pacific Lutheran (7-4), Muskingum (10-1) and Alma (8-0), and losing to Central-Iowa (2-1, 11 innings). … The last time SMU and UST faced in post-season play was 1997, when UST eliminated the Cardinals with a 2-0, nine-inning victory. … The Cardinals had their season-high 22-game winning streak snapped last week with a 1-0 setback at St. Benedict. … SMU is hitting .335 as a team, while the Cardinal pitching staff has held the opposition to a paltry .186 batting average. … Jennifer Gonerka (St. Paul, Minn.) enters regional play with a 14-1 record and a 0.92 ERA, while Hocking carries a 15-5 mark and a 0.63 ERA. … Hocking's 114 strikeouts are a career high. … Hocking and Jennifer Meyer (Oconomowoc, Wis.) lead the team in HRs with three, while Meyer is the teams leader in runs scored with 37 and stolen bases with 20. … Jackie Huegel (Alta Vista, Iowa) is a perfect 10-for-10 in stolen bases. … Catcher Jennifer Miller (Winona, Minn.) has thrown out 11 of 24 potential base stealers. … SMU has outscored its opponents in every inning — including a 41-7 count in the first inning. … The Cardinals are 18-0 in games decided by five or more runs, but just 4-4 in one-run games and 2-1 in two-run games. … St. Thomas is the only team in the regional field that the Cardinals have faced this season (the two teams split that doubleheader). … The Cardinals have won 16 of their 31 games via shutout and have posted 17 wins shortened by the mercy rule (an 8-run lead after five innings). … Hocking has posted 16 multi-hit games and 13 multi-RBI games. … This will be the fourth straight regional appearance for seniors Hocking, Meyer , Laura Miller (White Bear Lake, Minn.) and Becky Limberg (La Crosse, Wis.). … SMU's team fielding percentage of .978 is No. 1 in all of NCAA Division III. … Hocking's 0.63 ERA ranks her 10th in Division III, while Gonerka's 0.92 is 19th. … SMU's team ERA of 1.04 is seventh in the nation.
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