By Donny Nadeau
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
EAU CLAIRE, Wis. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota fastpitch softball team steps out of Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Tuesday, traveling to UW-Eau Claire for a 4 p.m. doubleheader against the Blugolds.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (11-19 Overall) at UW-Eau Claire Blugolds (16-10 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats: Game 1 * Game 2
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—April 22, 2018 * Winona, Minn.: The Cardinals could not slow down red-hot St. Catherine, as the Wildcats dealt Saint Mary's 6-1 and 6-4 MIAC setbacks at Saint Mary's Field | Recap
• UW-Eau Claire—April 23, 2018 * La Crosse, Wis.: The Blugolds were not match for UW-La Crosse, as the Eagles handed UW-Eau Claire a pair of WIAC setbacks, winning 8-0 and 2-1 | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. UW-Eau Claire—Their Last Meeting:
• April 27, 2015 * Winona, Minn.: Alex Raske drew a one-out walk in the bottom of the fourth inning to put an end to Zana Lorbetske's perfect game, and then broke up the senior right-hander's no-hit bid with a one-out single in the sixth. Unfortunately for the Cardinals, Raske role as spoiler was not enough, as UW-Eau Claire scored the game's only runs in the third inning, handing Saint Mary's a 2-0 Game 1 setback. The Cardinals' offense remained in an April hibernation in the nightcap, as UW-Eau Claire erupted for six first-inning runs and never looked back, completing the nonconference sweep with an 8-1 victory | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals return to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Thursday, traveling to St. Peter, Minn., for a 3:30 p.m. doubleheader against Gustavus.
• UW-Eau Claire: The Blugolds are right back on their home diamond in Eau Claire, Wis., on Wednesday, entertaining UW-Stout in a pair of WIAC games. First pitch is slated for 4 p.m.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2018 Roster | 2018 Schedule | 2018 Statistics
• The Cardinals head into Tuesday's showdown against UW-Eau Claire looking to snap its two-game losing streak. … With their 4-1 victory in the nightcap against Augsburg last Saturday, the Cardinals have now scored four runs in each of their last four wins. … The Cardinals' four Game 1 hits against St. Catherine on Sunday came from four different players—Justine Schultz (Winona, Minn.), Brittney Birkhauser (Wisconsin Rapids, Wis.), Shayley Vesel (Austin, Minn.), and Jordyn Keprios (Farmington, Minn.)—while Kali Aldrich (Rochester, Minn.) collected three hits and Schultz added two to account for five of Saint Mary's eight hits in Game 2. … Birkhauser enters the Cardinals DH against UW-Eau Claire leading the team with a .371 batting average. Birkhauser is one of three Cardinal regulars boasting batting averages above .300—Vesel (.349) and Paige Gudmundson (Plainview, Minn. / .320) are the other two. … Along with her team-leading batting average, Birkhauser also owns team-highs in runs (21), hits (36), doubles (8), triples (1), home runs (3), RBIs (20), total bases (55), slugging percentage (.567), and on-base percentage (.425). … Birkhauser launched her third home run of the season—a two-run shot in the Cardinals' Game 2 win over St. Olaf on April 4. … All three of Birkhauser's home runs this season have been two-run efforts. Along with her two-run bomb against St. Olaf, the senior also launched two-run round-trippers against Johnson & Wales on March 3 and against UW-River Falls on March 29. … Allie Borawski (Stickney, Ill.) became the only player besides Birkhauser to hit a home run this season with her round-tripper against Hamline on April 8. Borawski's second-inning bomb was not only her first of the season, but also the first of her collegiate career. … Borawski is second to Birkhauser in RBIs with 18. … Gudmundson owns a team-high 103 at-bats, and is second to Birkhauser in runs (18), hits (33), and total bases (33). … The Cardinals boast five players—Gudmundson, Schultz, Vesel, Tara Nikolich (Chicago, Ill.), 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 on March 27, snapping the freshman's season-opening 10-game hitting streak. … Gudmundson, who equaled her single-game career-high with three hits in the opener vs. UW-River Falls on March 29, leads the team with 10 multiple-hit games—one more than Birkhauser—while Birkhauser boasts a team-leading six multiple-RBI games, two more than Vesel, Borawski and Aldrich. … Birkhauser has put together two, 4-for-4 performances this season—collecting four hits in four at-bats against both UW-River Falls on March 29 and vs. St. Olaf on April 4. …  Vesel recorded two hits in both of the Cardinals' games against Macalester on April 12, while also driving in five of Saint Mary's eight runs—including her first collegiate three-RBI game in the 4-2 win in Game 2. … Chow and Amber Trendle (Chicago, Ill.) each notched their first collegiate shutouts in the Cardinals' sweep of St. Olaf on April 4—Chow tossed a five-hit shutout in Game 1, while Trendle limited the Oles to just two hits in the Game 2 shutout. … 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 (6-10, 3.44 ERA) leads the team with 103.2 innings pitched, with Trendle (5-7, 4.97 ERA) close behind with 81.2 IP. … Signey Stoesz (Mountain Lake, Minn. / 0-2, 3.00 ERA) has chipped in 16.1 innings in the pitcher's circle. … Chow has recorded nine of the staff's 14 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 nine runs in its 10-9 Game 1 loss to UW-River Falls on March 29 were the most runs scored in a loss since falling to Hamline 10-9 on April 23, 2016. … Saint Mary's is 10-1 when leading after six innings, but are just 1-13 when tied or trailing heading into the seventh inning. … The Cardinals are 8-5 when scoring first, while going 3-14 when their opponent scores first. … Saint Mary's is 6-6 in games decided by two runs or less—including 4-4 in one-run games. … With last Saturday's 4-3 Game 1 loss to Augsburg, the Cardinals have now played four extra-inning games this season—beating Adrian 13-12 in eight innings, while falling to Augustana 8-7, also in eight innings, and losing to No. 5 Luther (3-2) and Augsburg (4-3) in nine innings. … The Cardinals' 1-0, 4-0 sweep of the St. Olaf on April 4 marked the first time since 2016 that SMU has posted back-to-back shutouts—Saint Mary's blanked Wartburg (9-0) and John Carroll (8-0) on Feb. 28, 2016. It was also the first time the Cardinals have blanked an MIAC opponent in both games of a doubleheader since shutting out Concordia (4-0, 1-0) on April 26, 2014.
 
Scouting The UW-Eau Claire Blugolds:
2018 Roster | 2018 Schedule | 2018 Statistics
• Tuesday's nonconference doubleheader against Saint Mary's is the third of four doubleheaders in as many days for the Blugolds. … UW-Eau Claire enters Tuesday's DH vs. Saint Mary's boasting six regulars who are hitting above .300, led by Katie Rongstad (.370), Katelyn Yute (.368), and Abbey Place (.345). … Along with her team-leading .370 batting average, Rongstad also leads the team in at-bats (81), runs (25), hits (30), stolen bases (10), and on-base percentage (.480). … Gretchen Arneson (.303) is the team leader with six doubles—one more than Rongstad, Brooke Varian (.298), and Carlie Christensen (.275), while Yute and Christensen share the team lead in triples with two each. … UW-Eau Claire has hit eight home runs this season—three off the bat of Christensen, two each by Yute and Arneson, and one from Rongstad. … Rongstad owns a team-high nine multiple-hit games, two more than Yute, while Yute is the team-leader with six multiple-RBI games. … The Blugolds have had six different pitchers see action in the pitcher's circle this season, led by Sarah Peka (8-6, 3.35 ERA), who has logged a team-high 77.1 innings. … Stephanie Wilczynski is second among the Blugold pitchers with 43.0 IP, followed by Cheyenne Johnson (3-4, 3.00 ERA) with 35.0 IP and Morgan Sivak (1-0, 1.75 ERA with 12.0 IP. … Peka has made a team-high 14 appearances, one more than Wilczynski, had also leads the team with 12 pitching starts. …The Blugolds have posted nine complete game pitching performances, six from Peka, two from Johnson, and one from Wilczynski. … Three Blugold pitchers—Peka (34), Wilczynski (21), and Johnson (21)—have notched more than 20 strikeouts this season. … UW-Eau Claire, which is 11-4 when scoring first, has outscored its opponents 21-2 in the second inning. … The Blugolds have held their opponents to two runs or less in 11 of their 16 wins. … UW-Eau Claire is 6-2 in one run games this season. … The Blugolds are 12-1 when leading after the sixth inning, but are just 1-7 when they are tied or trailing heading into the seventh inning. … UW-Eau Claire has scored 10 or more runs twice this season—both wins—including a season-high 16 in a 16-0 win over D'Youville on March 23.