LA CROSSE, Wis. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota fastpitch softball team is back in action on Sunday, heading to UW-La Crosse for a 2 p.m. nonconference doubleheader against the Eagles.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (5-7 Overall) at UW-La Crosse Eagles (15-3 Overall), 2 p.m.
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—March 25, 2017 * Winona, Minn.: The Cardinals were forced to settle for a split in their nonconference doubleheader against UW-River Falls, winning the opener 7-5, before falling in the nightcap 6-2 in eight innings | Recap
• UW-La Crosse—March 19, 2017 * Tucson, Ariz.: The Eagles closed out their spring trip with a pair of one run wins, beating Central (Iowa) 3-2 in eight innings and Hamline 2-1 | Central Recap * Hamline Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. UW-La Crosse—Their Last Meeting:
• April 11, 2010 * Winona, Minn.: The Eagles banged out four home runs—bringing their season total to 26—in handing Saint Mary's a pair of losses at the Saint Mary's Field. UW-L scored hammered three home runs three runs en route to a five-inning, 8-0 win in the opener, and then added another round-tripper in completing the sweep with a 5-1 victory in the nightcap | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals are back in action on Tuesday, traveling to Decorah, Iowa, for a 3 p.m. nonconference doubleheader against nationally ranked Luther.
• UW-La Crosse: The Eagles hit the road on Thursday, traveling to St. Paul, Minn., for a 3:30 p.m. nonconference doubleheader against St. Thomas.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2017 Roster | 2017 Statistics | 2017 Schedule
• The Cardinals' 6-2 Game 2 loss to UW-River Falls Saturday snapped their three-game winning streak. … The Cardinals posted a 4-6 showing during their 10-game spring trip to Clermont, Fla., including back-to-back wins over Penn-State Brandywine (10-3) and Mitchell (8-0) in their final two games. … The Cardinals' 10 runs against PSU-Brandywine were a season-high, while the shutout win over Mitchell was their second shutout of the season—Saint Mary's also blanked Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology on March 1. … Ashley Betzold (Farmington, Minn.) provided the offensive punch for the Cardinals against UW-River Falls Saturday, going 6-for-7 with two runs scored and an RBI. … Kathi Opsahl (Elk River, Minn.) finished with three hits against the Falcons and drove in a team-high three runs. … With her six hits against UW-River Falls Saturday, Betzold moved into the team lead with a .415 batting average. … Brittney Birkhauser (Wisconsin Rapids, Wis.) and Opsahl are also hitting above .300 for the Cardinals, boasting batting averages of .390 and .318, respectively. … Betzold also leads the team in hits with 17—one more than Birkhauser—while Birkhauser is the team-leader in runs (11), doubles (4), triples (1), home runs (1), total bases (25), slugging percentage (.610), walks (7), and on-base percentage (.479). … Saint Mary's owns 18 extra-base hits this season—14 doubles, three triples, and one home run. … Betzold has put together five multiple-hit games—including three, three-hit contests—while Birkhauser owns four. … Haley Vanourney (Marion, Iowa) is the team-leader with four multiple-RBI games. … Birkhauser and Betzold both extended their lengthy hitting streaks against UW-River Falls Saturday—Birkhauser has hit safely in nine straight games, while Betzold has had a hig in each of the last eight. … With her two complete games against UW-River Falls, Betzold pushed her career complete-game record to 65. … Betzold has thrown nine complete games in 10 starts this season, and owns a 5-5 record and 2.46 ERA in 68.1 IP. … Betzold has tossed a pair of shutouts this season—a six-hitter against Rose-Hulman on March 1, and a three-hitter against Mitchell on March 4. … Betzold leads the team with 43 strikeouts—including a season-high eight against Mitchell. … Betzold's three-hit shutout against Mitchell on March 4 marked the ninth time in the last two season she has held the opposition to three hits or less. … Saint Mary's has scored 49 runs this season and have plated at least one run in all 12 games. … Three of Saint Mary's seven losses have been by one run. … Saint Mary's is 3-0 when limiting its opponents to three runs or less. On the flip side, the Cardinals are 0-5 when their opponent scores six or more runs. … The Cardinals are 4-1 when scoring the game's first run, and 3-1 when scoring in the first inning. Saint Mary's is just 1-6 its opponent scores first. … The Cardinals are 4-0 when leading after five innings, but 0-6 when trailing heading into the sixth. … Saint Mary's has played three extra-inning games this season—beating Augustana 2-1, while falling to Neumann (7-6) and UW-River Falls (6-2). All three extra-inning games were decided in the eighth inning.
 
Scouting The UW-La Crosse Eagles:
2017 Roster | 2017 Statistics | 2017 Schedule
• The Eagles head into their showdown with Saint Mary's riding a five-game winning streak. … Eight of the Eagles' 18 games have been decided by one run—including three of their five losses. … Saint Mary's will be the Eagles' sixth opponent from the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. UW-L has already faced St. Thomas (L, 4-3), Saint Benedict (W, 9-5), St. Olaf (L, 4-3), Augsburg (W, 8-0), and Hamline (W, 6-5; W, 2-1). … UW-La Crosse enters its nonconference doubleheader against Saint Mary's hitting .335 as a team—and boasts eight players hitting above .300. … Brittany Baldwin has been the Eagles' offensive leader, hitting .552, while also leading the team in runs (19), hits (32), total bases (33), walks (8), and on-base percentage (.623). … Stephanie Cole (.393) has delivered a team-leading six doubles, while sharing the lead in triples (1). … Ashley Lindstrom (.388) has driven in a team-high 19 runs, five more than Cole. … As a team, the Eagles has stolen 53 bases on 61 attempts, led by Baldwin, who is 20-for-21. … Baldwin owns 10 multiple-hit games this season, three more than Cole, while Cole and Lindstrom share the team lead with three multiple-RBI games. … Baldwin heads into Sunday's game against Saint Mary's having recorded at least one hit in all 18 games this season. … The Eagles boast three pitchers who have logged 35 or more innings this season—Katie Klein (42.2 IP), Caitlyn Hughes (40.0 IP),and Jessie Carignan (35.2 IP). … Carignan (5-0, 0.98 ERA) and Hughes (5-1, 2.28 ERA) have both made 10 appearances—including nine starts—while Klein has made 15 appearances, all in relief. … Klein, who owns five saves on the season, has struck out a team-high 36 batters, four more than Hughes. … UW-La Crosse has outscored its opponents in every inning but the seventh, including 22-2 in the second and 20-5 in the third. … The Eagles have limited their opponents to two runs or less in 10 of their 15 wins this season—and the UW-L pitching staff has not allowing an opponent to score more than five runs. … UW-L has scored more than five runs in nine of its 15 wins—including four games of 10 or more runs. … The Eagles scored a season-high 14 runs in a 14-4 win over Greenville (Ill.) on March 14. … UW-L is 11-0 when leading after the fourth inning. … UW-La Crosse has not lost (10-0) when scoring the game's first run.