EAU CLAIRE, Wis. — The Saint Mary's University fastpitch softball team, coming off a pair of nonconference losses to NCAA Division II Winona State on March 25, hit the road for their final two nonconference games before opening MIAC play, traveling to Eau Claire, Wis., for a doubleheader against UW-Eau Claire.
The Records:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (3-7 Overall)
UW-Eau Claire Blugolds (5-11 Overall)
Last Action:
The Cardinals have been off since March 25, when they dropped back-to-back games to nationally ranked Winona State, falling to the Warriors
6-0 and
6-1. UW-Eau Claire, meanwhile, is coming off a pair of nonconference wins —
5-4 and
5-1 — over Dominican on Friday.
Last Meeting:
The Cardinals and Blugolds met a year ago in Winona, Minn., with UW-Eau Claire coming away with
12-1 and
9-1 victories.
Saint Mary's Cardinals Around The Horn:
SMU gave up six runs in each of its two games against Winona State on March 25. The Cardinals have now allowed six runs in three straight contests. … The Cardinals snapped a streak of 29 straight scoreless innings when
Erin Stenseth (Eau Claire, Wis.) scored
Julianne Bartosz (Mokena, Ill.) from second with a single in the fifth inning of Game 2 vs. WSU. …
Katy Gannon (Roselle, Ill.) and
Mallory Betzold (Farmington, Minn.) each had two hits in Game 1 vs. the Warriors, while Stenseth, Bartosz and
Kellie Simons (Richfield, Minn.) each delivered singles in Game 2. … Stenseth leads the team with a .393 batting average. She is one of three SMU players hitting above .300. Simons (.387) and Bartosz (.357) are the other two. … Simons also leads the team with 12 hits, 17 total bases and a .548 slugging percentage, while Stenseth and Gannon share the team lead in runs (6). …
Paige Carter (Rosemount, Minn.) boasts a team-leading five RBIs and is one of three SMU players with a home run. Simons and Gannon are the other two. … Bartosz leads the team with three multiple-hit games, while Carter and
Hanna Schmitt (Rosemount, Minn.) share the team lead with two multiple-RBI games. … Stenseth enters today's games vs. UW-Eau Claire with a three-game hitting streak. … The Cardinals have been outscored 9-1 in the first inning and 13-2 in the first two combined. … SMU has scored three of more runs in all three of their wins, while scoring two runs or less in all seven of their losses. …
UW-Eau Claire Blugolds Around The Horn:
After going 2-4 at the NFCA Lead-Off Classic in Panama City, Fla., then dropping its next six contests, the Blugolds have won three of their last four. … Katie Stalker is the Blugolds' offensive leader, boasting team highs in batting average (.382), at-bats (55), runs (11), hits (21), triples (2), total bases (27) and stolen bases (12). … Jess Freagon and Tamara Zeman share the team lead in RBIs (7), while Zeman also leads the team with eight walks. … Ashley Meinen has tossed a team-best 41.2 innings, compiling a 2-2 record and a 2.35 ERA. … Blugold pitchers have only tossed one complete game through 16 games this season. … UW-Eau Claire has recorded 10 or more WIAC wins six straight seasons and has made four consecutive NCAA Division III championship showings. The Blugolds, ranked No. 21 in the NFCA preseason poll, return 211 of 266 runs scored, 299 of 399 hits, 162 of 233 RBIs, 10 of 15 home runs and 45 of 48 stolen bases from a year ago. … UW-Eau Claire will host the finals of the 2010 NCAA Division III Championship at Gelein Field, marking the fifth time they have hosted the event.
