LA CROSSE, Wis. — The Saint Mary's University baseball team gets one final nonconference tune-up before opening MIAC play, as the Cardinals head to UW-La Crosse for a 3 p.m., nine-inning contest against the Eagles.




The Matchup:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (4-9 Overall) vs.
UW-La Crosse Eagles (7-3 Overall)

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Last Action:
The Cardinals are coming off a nonconference split against Viterbo on Tuesday. SMU opened with an 8-3 win in the opener, then dropped a 14-5 decision in the nightcap at Max Molock Field. …. UW-La Crosse, meanwhile, moved to 7-3 overall with a 12-1, 2-1 sweep of Macalester on Wednesday.

Last Meeting — April 9, 2010:
UW-La Crosse came into its nonconference game against Saint Mary's having banged out a school-record 25 hits en route to a 20-9 victory over UW-Stout two days earlier. And the Eagles picked up right where they left off against the Cardinals, scoring three times in the first inning and never looking back in rolling to a 16-6 victory over SMU at Max Molock Field.

Up Next:
The Cardinals open conference play on Saturday, as SMU hosts St. Olaf in a 1 p.m. MIAC doubleheader at Max Molock Field. … UW-La Crosse, meanwhile, also opens conference play on Saturday, hosting UW-Stout in the first of two WIAC dobuleheaders in La Crosse, Wis.

Saint Mary's Cardinals Around The Horn:
2011 Schedule | 2011 Roster | 2011 Overall Statistics
The Cardinals enter today's nine-inning contest against UW-La Crosse having won three of their last five games and four of their last six. … Andrew Ruf (Chippewa Falls, Wis.) tossed a complete-game eight-hitter in the opener against Viterbo Tuesday. It was Ruf's fifth collegiate complete game. … Chris Bogie (St. Paul, Minn.) and Vince Lulic (Mendota Heights, Minn.) each collected three hits in the doubleheader against Viterbo, with Bogie going 3-for-5 with three runs scored, while Lulic was 3-for-7. … Lulic delivered a one-out single in the bottom of the seventh in Game 1 vs. Viterbo to extend his hitting streak to 10 straight, then didn't wait nearly as long to make it an 11-game hitting streak, lacing a one-out single in his first at-bat in Game 2. … Curt Swanson (Woodbury, Minn.), meanwhile, also extended his hitting streak vs. the V-Hawks, collecting a hit in each game to push his streak to a career-best nine straight. … Fueled by his 11-game hitting streak, Lulic pushed his team-leading batting average to .463. He also shares the team lead in hits (19) with Swanson (19) and slugging percentage (.561) with Jon Schlemmer (De Pere, Wis.). … Schlemmer enters today's game with a team-leading 17 RBIs, while Andrew Warren (Stillwater, Minn.) has driven in 13 — including two in Tuesday's DH vs. Viterbo. … Swanson and Schlemmer have accounted for SMU's two home runs this season. … Swanson also leads the team with seven multiple-hit games, with Schlemmer boasting a team-best five multiple-RBI games — including a 6 RBI performance during a 4-for-4 showing against Concordia-Wisconsin on March 11. … Bogie, who tossed his first collegiate nine-inning complete game in SMU's 4-2 win over Marian on March 12, leads the team with a 4.15 ERA, while Ruf is the team-leader in wins (2) and innings pitched (20.0). … Gary Seifert (Prescott, Wis.) allowed three earned runs in six innings to beat Cornell on March 19 and record his first collegiate pitching win. … Sam Levisen (Rochester, Minn.) struck out two in the seventh inning vs. Cornell on March 19, giving the senior his first collegiate save. … SMU's 4-3, 10-inning loss in the opener vs. Cornell on March 19 was the second extra-inning game of the season for the Cardinals, who dropped an 8-7, eight-inning decision to Presentation on March 10. … The Cardinals scored in the first inning in both games vs. Viterbo Tuesday and have scored in the game's opening frame in seven of their 13 contests. … The Cardinals' 18 runs in their 18-5 win over Concordia-Wisconsin on March 11 were the most since SMU plated 18 in an 18-3 win over Viterbo on May 3, 2005. … SMU's 23 hits vs. Concordia-Wisconsin were the most in a single game in the last decade.

UW-La Crosse Eagles Around The Horn:
2011 Schedule | 2011 Roster | 2011 Overall Statistics
Thursday's game against Saint Mary's is the second of four straight home dates for the Eagles, who host UW-Stout in a pair of conference doubleheaders Saturday and Sunday. … Saint Mary's is the fifth MIAC opponent for the Eagles, who split with Saint John's (W, 13-3; L, 4-3) and Augsburg (W, 7-3; L, 5-4) during their spring trip to Phoenix, Ariz., while sweeping Macalester on Wednesday. … Matt Trocke tied a single-game school record with three doubles in the opener against Macalester Wednesday. Trocke finished Game 1 3-for-4 with two runs and three RBIs. … The Eagles boasted eight extra-base hits vs. the Scots Wednesday. … The Eagles hit .360 during their eight spring-trip contests in Phoenix, Ariz., in mid-March, while  averaging 7.5 runs per game. … Travis Martin hit .500 (6-for-12) for the Eagles, while Corey Geary hit .464 (13-for-28) with a team-leading 11 RBIs. Cole Cefalu (8-for-18, .444), Jay Fanta (13-for-32, .406) and Brooks Braga (12-for-30, .400) also hit above .400 during UW-L's spring trip. … With his performance against Macalester, Fanta has now hit safely in every game he's played this season and is riding a 22-game hitting streak dating back to last season. … Braga boasts a team-best six multi-hit games, while Fanta has recorded five. … Geary, Zach Harazin and Adam Cordova have each had three multi-RBI contests. … UW-L had a 3.66 ERA and four complete games in its eight Arizona contests. … Zach Lauersdorf appeared in two games with a 0.96 ERA. Opponents are hitting .182 against him. … Kevin Johnson boasts a 1.50 ERA in 6.0 innings, while Tim Verthein pitched in two games, compiling a 2.25 ERA in eight innings.