By Donny Nadeau
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director

ROCHESTER, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota fastpitch softball team steps out of Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Thursday, as the Cardinals entertain fifth-ranked Luther in a 1:30 p.m. nonconference doubleheader at the RCTC Dome.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (8-8 Overall) vs. #5 Luther Norse (19-1 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats | GameDay Program
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—April 4, 2018 * Dundas, Minn.: Amber Chow (West St. Paul, Minn.) and Amber Trendle (Chicago, Ill.) each tossed in complete-game shutouts in leading the Cardinals to 1-0 and 4-0 wins over St. Olaf in the teams' MIAC opener at the Dundas Dome | Recap
• Luther—March 30, 2018 * Clermont, Fla.: The Norse closed out a perfect 11-0 showing during their spring trip, beating Colby 17-1 and 3-0 | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Luther—Their Last Meeting:
• March 28, 2017 * Decorah, Iowa: The Cardinals scored a combined five first-inning runs in their nonconference doubleheader against the Norse. Over the remaining innings, however, Saint Mary's managed just one run, as the Norse cruised to a pair of victories—beating the Cardinals 10-2 in five innings in the opener, before completing the sweep with a 10-4 victory in Game 2 | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals return to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play this weekend, traveling back to the RCTC Dome in Rochester, Minn., for doubleheaders against Carleton (1 p.m.) and Hamline (7:30 a.m.) Saturday and Sunday, respectively.
• Luther: The Norse return home to Decorah, Iowa, on Saturday, hosting Coe in a 1 p.m. Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference doubleheader.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2018 Roster | 2018 Schedule | 2018 Statistics
• With their sweep of St. Olaf Wednesday, the Cardinals head into their nonconference doubleheader against fifth-ranked Luther riding a three-game winning streak. … The Cardinals' sweep of the Oles Wednesday 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. … Saint Mary's nine runs in last Thursday's 10-9 Game 1 loss to UW-River Falls were the most runs scored in a loss since falling to Hamline 10-9 on April 23, 2016. … Brittney Birkhauser (Wisconsin Rapids, Wis.)—who went 7-for-8 against UW-River Falls last Thursday—added her second 4-for-4 performance of the season in Saint Mary's 4-0 Game 2 win over St. Olaf Wednesday. … Allie Borawski (Stickney, Ill.) drove in three of the Cardinals' five runs in their sweep of St. Olaf Wednesday. … With her four Game 2 hits against St. Olaf Wednesday, Birkhauser pushed her team-leading batting average to .455. … Birkhauser is one of two Cardinals boasting batting averages above .300—Paige Gudmundson (Plainview, Minn. / .362) is the other. … Along with her team-leading batting average, Birkhauser also boasts team-highs in hits (25), doubles (6), home runs (3), RBIs (14), total bases (40), slugging percentage (.727), and on-base percentage (.492). … Birkhauser launched her third home run of the season—a two-run shot in the Cardinals' Game 2 win over St. Olaf Wednesday. … 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 last Thursday. … Gudmundson owns a team-high 58 at-bats, and is second to Birkhauser in runs (13), hits (21), total bases (21), slugging percentage (.362), and on-base percentage (.413). … 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 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 last Thursday, shares the team lead with Birkhauser with seven multiple-hit games, while Birkhauser, Borawski, and Kali Aldrich (Rochester, Minn.) are the team-leaders in multiple-RBI games with four. … Amber Chow (West St. Paul, Minn.) and Amber Trendle (Chicago, Ill.) each notched their first collegiate shutouts in the Cardinals' sweep of St. Olaf Wednesday—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 (4-6, 3.46 ERA) leads the team with 62.2 innings pitched, with Trendle (4-2, 4.44 ERA) close behind with 41.0 IP. … Chow has recorded five of the staff's seven 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 7-0 when leading after six innings, and are 0-7 when trailing heading into the seventh inning. … The Cardinals are 6-2 when scoring first, while going 2-6 when their opponent scores first. … Saint Mary's is 6-2 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 Luther Norse:
2018 Roster | 2018 Schedule | 2018 Statistics
• The Norse, currently ranked No. 5 in the latest NFCA Top 25, enter their games against Saint Mary's riding a 15-game winning streak. … Luther outscored its 11 spring trip opponents 86-18. … Luther heads into its Saint Mary's doubleheader hitting .372 as a team—and has eight of its nine regulars hitting .333 or better. … Anna Strien leads Luther with a .492 batting average and is one of three Norse hitting above .400—Ashley Burrows (.463) and Natalie Stockman (.429) are the other two. … Along with her team-leading .492 batting average, Strien also leads or shares the team lead in hits (31), doubles (9), triples (2), total bases (44), slugging percentage (.698), and on-base percentage (.568). … Burrows is the team-leader in at-bats (67) and runs scored (28) and shares the team lead in hits with 31. … Stockman has delivered a team-best 23 RBIs, one more than Strien. … Luther's three home runs this season have come off the bats of Stockman, Bailey Victoria (.348), and Blake Banowetz (.333). … Burrows and Banowetz have induced a team-high 10 walks, while Strien has been hit by pitch seven times. … Luther has amassed 58 multiple-hit games, led by Strien with 10 and Burrows with nine, while Strien also owns a team-leading eight multiple-RBI performances. … Stockman and Strien has both put together 11-game hitting streaks this season, but Burrows owns the team's longest active hit streak at 10. Banowetz, meanwhile, has reached base safely in each of Luther's last 14 contests. … Luther's three-person pitching staff has combined to post a 1.62 ERA and 14 complete games. … Samantha Bratland (10-1, 1.81 ERA) has thrown a team-high 65.2 innings, while Courtney Cooper (7-0, 1.75 ERA) has tossed 48.0 innings and Stockman (2-0, 0.00) has thrown 11.1. … Bratland has completed eight of her 10 starts, while Cooper owns five complete games and Stockman has one. … Cooper has tossed a team-high four shutouts, while Bratland is the team's strikeout leader with 71. … Luther has scored 10 or more runs four times this season, including a season-high 17-run effort in routing Colby 17-1 on March 30. …