By Donny Nadeau
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director

WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota fastpitch softball team is back in action on Thursday, as the Cardinals entertain UW-River Falls in a 2 p.m. nonconference doubleheader at the Saint Mary's Field.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (5-7 Overall) vs. UW-River Falls Falcons (13-3 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * GameDay Program
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—March 27, 2018 * Winona, Minn.: The Cardinals drop both ends of their nonconference doubleheader against UW-La Crosse, falling to the Eagles 3-0 and 11-3 at the Saint Mary's Field | Recap
• UW-River Falls—March 17, 2018 * Clermont, Fla.: The Falcons closed out their 12-game spring trip on a winning note, routing St. Lawrence 11-1, before dropping Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts 5-2 | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. UW-River Falls—Their Last Meeting:
• March 25, 2017 * Winona, Minn.: The Cardinals scored two runs in the third inning—and five more in the fourth—in dealing UW-River Falls a 7-5 setback in Game 1 at the Saint Mary's Field. Unfortunately, the Cardinal bats were fooled by the frigid temperatures and went into hibernation in the nightcap, managing just two runs­ on five hits in falling to the Falcons 6-2 in eight innings | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals are now off until next Wednesday, when they travel to Northfield, Minn., for a 3:30 p.m. MIAC doubleheader against St. Olaf.
• UW-River Falls: The Falcons are off until Tuesday, when they travel to St. Paul, Minn., for a nonconference doubleheader against Northwestern.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2018 Roster | 2018 Schedule | 2018 Statistics
• Thursday's games against UW-River Falls are the third and fourth straight home contests for the Cardinals, who opened the home portion of their schedule Tuesday with a pair of losses to UW-La Crosse. … All seven of the Cardinals' hits against UW-La Crosse Tuesday were singles—and came from six different players. Saint Mary's three hits in Game 1 vs. UW-L came from Brittney Birkhauser (Wisconsin Rapids, Wis.), Justine Schultz (Winona, Minn.), and Allie Borawski (Stickney, Ill.), while Borawski, Haley Vanourney (Marion, Iowa), Tara Nikolich (Chicago, Ill.), and Kali Aldrich (Rochester, Minn.) delivered SMU's four hits in Game 2. … Paige Gudmundson (Plainview, Minn.) is the team's offensive leader through 12 games, hitting a team-best .405, while also leading the Cardinals in run (11), hits (17), walks (4), and on-base percentage (.457). … Birkhauser, who is second to Gudmundson in batting average (.341), runs (9), and hits (14), leads the Cardinals in RBIs (9), total bases (20), and slugging percentage (.488). … Birkhauser, who shares the team lead in doubles (3) with Haley Vanourney (Marion, Iowa / .308), owns the Cardinals' lone home run—a two-run shot against Johnson & Wales on March 3. … The Cardinals boast four players—Gudmundson, Nikolich, Schultz, and Amber Chow (West St. Paul, Minn.)—who have collected their first collegiate hits this season. … Gudmundson was held hitless in Game 1 against UW-La Crosse Tuesday, snapping the freshman's season-opening 10-game hitting streak. … Gudmundson leads the team with six multiple-hit games, while Kali Aldrich (Rochester, Minn.) is the team-leader in multiple-RBI contests with three. … Gudmundson went 3-for-5 and Nikolich collected three hits and drove in three runs—all career-high performances—in the Cardinals' 13-12 win over Adrian on March 1. … Chow collected her first collegiate pitching win and her first collegiate save on Saint Mary's spring trip. The freshman tossed a complete-game, eight-hitter with three strikeouts in the Cardinals' 4-2 win over Johnson & Wales on Feb. 28. Chow also limited Rose-Hulman to just one hit in 2.1 innings of relief to preserve Saint Mary's 3-2 win. … Chow (2-6, 4.46 ERA) leads the team with 48.2 innings pitched, with Amber Trendle (Chicago, Ill. / 3-1, 4.34 ERA) close behind with 30.2 IP. … Chow has recorded three of the staff's four complete games and also owns both Cardinal saves. … Saint Mary's 13 runs in beating Adrian 13-12 on March 1 was the highest offensive performance by the Cardinals since the 2015 season, when SMU scored 13 runs twice and a season-high 14 runs in a 14-5 win over Carleton. … Saint Mary's is a perfect 5-0 when leading after six innings, but are 0-7 when tied or trailing heading into the seventh inning. … The Cardinals are 3-1 when scoring first, while going 2-6 when their opponent scores first. … Saint Mary's is 5-1 in games decided by two runs or less. … The Cardinals have played two extra inning games this season—beating Adrian 13-12 in eight innings, while falling to Augustana 8-7, also in eight innings.
 
Scouting The UW-River Falls Falcons:
2018 Roster | 2018 Schedule | 2018 Statistics
• The Falcons closed out their 12-game spring trip with a 10-2 record—including wins in each of their last three games. … UW-River Falls had its season-high six-game winning streak snapped with a 7-6 loss to Gordon College on March 15. … As a team, the Falcons head into their games against Saint Mary's hitting .391—led by Kaia Dorn (.500), Alyana Ledwein (.474), Noelle Senour (.453), and Amber Galloway (.438). … Ledwein also leads or shares the team lead in hits (27), triples (2), and on-base percentage (.508). … Galloway has scored a team-best 21 runs—leading six Falcons with 10 or more runs scored—while Shannan Borchardt (.352) owns a team-high seven doubles. … Senour has belted six of UW-River Falls' 17 home runs and shares the Falcons' RBI lead (17) with Maddie Studnicka (.333). … Senour also leads the team in total bases (47) and slugging percentage (.887). … UW-River Falls is 28-for-30 in stolen base attempts, led by Ledwein with six, and Dorn and Galloway with five. … UW-River Falls has used four different pitchers, led by Studnicka (1-1, 2.64 ERA, 30.2 IP), Hannah Stegeman (6-1, 3.42 ERA, 26.1 IP), and Payton Speckel (6-1, 5.52 ERA, 44.0 IP). … Studnicka and Speckle have each made a team-high 12 appearances—11 of Speckel's are starts, while all 12 of Studnicka's are in relief. … Speckel owns both of the Falcons' complete-game pitching performances and Studnicka has recorded all four UW-River Falls saves. … The Falcon pitching staff has struck out 84 batters, led by Speckel with 42. … The Falcons have outscored their opponents in every inning but the fifth—including 21-6 in the second, 20-4 in the third, 16-2 in the sixth, and 12-1 in the seventh. … UW-River Falls has scored six or more runs in 11 of its 13 games, while holding its opponents to two runs or less eight times. … The Falcons are 6-1 when scoring first and 7-2 when their opponent plates the game's first run.