ROCHESTER, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota fastpitch softball team returns to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Saturday, as the Cardinals entertain Carleton in a 1 p.m. doubleheader that will be played at the Rochester Dome.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (2-0 MIAC, 8-10 Overall) vs. Carleton Knights (0-2 MIAC, 5-7 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
•  GameDay Program
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—April 5, 2018 * Rochester, Minn.: The Cardinals suffered a pair of losses to fifth-ranked Luther at the RCTC Dome, falling 9-0 in five innings in the opener, before giving up two runs in the bottom of the ninth in a 3-2 setback in the nightcap | Recap
• Carleton—April 4, 2018 * Minneapolis, Minn.: The Knights drop both games of its MIAC-opening doubleheader against Augsburg, falling to the Auggies 2-0 and 8-4 | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Carleton—Their Last Meeting:
• April 28, 2017 * Northfield, Minn.: The Cardinals scored a pair of runs in the sixth inning, but their comeback fell one run short, as Carleton opened the teams' Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference doubleheader with a 5-4 victory. In the nightcap, however, the Cardinals turned up the offensive heat, erupting for 11 runs—including at least one run in every inning but the third and seventh—en route to an 11-4 victory and a conference split | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals are right back in action Sunday morning, traveling to the Rochester Dome in Rochester, Minn., for a 7:30 p.m. conference doubleheader against Hamline.
• Carleton: The Knights return to the Augsburg Dome in Minneapolis, Minn., on Sunday for an 8:30 p.m. conference doubleheader against St. Catherine.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2018 Roster | 2018 Schedule | 2018 Statistics
• The Cardinals had their three-game winning streak snapped with Thursday's 9-0, Game 1 loss to fifth-ranked Luther. … Saturday's games against Carleton are the third and fourth of six straight games in the RCTC Dome for the Cardinals, who played twice in the Dome against Luther on Thursday, and will return for a pair of contests against Hamline on Sunday. … The Cardinals' 1-0, 4-0 sweep of the St. Olaf 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. … Shayley Vesel (Austin, Minn.) collected her first collegiate three-hit game in Thursday's 3-2, nine-inning loss to No. 5 Luther. Paige Gudmundson (Plainview, Minn.) and Brittney Birkhauser (Wisconsin Rapids, Wis.) finished the DH vs. Luther with a pair of hits. … Birkhauser—who went 7-for-8 against UW-River Falls on March 29—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 two hits against Luther Thursday, Birkhauser remained the team's batting leader with a.450 average. … Birkhauser is one of two Cardinal regulars boasting batting averages above .300—Gudmundson (.359) is the other. … Along with her team-leading batting average, Birkhauser also boasts team-highs in hits (27), doubles (6), home runs (3), RBIs (15), total bases (42), slugging percentage (.700), 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 on March 29. … Gudmundson owns a team-high 64 at-bats, and is second to Birkhauser in runs (13), hits (23), total bases (23), slugging percentage (.359) and on-base percentage (.406). … The Cardinals boast five players—Gudmundson, Nikolich, Schultz, Vesel, 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 eight multiple-hit games—one more than Birkhauser—while Birkhauser, Borawski, and Kali Aldrich (Rochester, Minn.) are the team-leaders in multiple-RBI games with four. … Chow 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 (4-7, 3.71 ERA) leads the team with 66.0 innings pitched, with Trendle (4-3, 4.14 ERA) close behind with 49.0 IP. … Chow has recorded five of the staff's eight 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 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 2-8 when their opponent scores first. … Saint Mary's is 6-3 in games decided by two runs or less—including 4-3 in one-run games. … The Cardinals have played three 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 in nine innings.
 
Scouting The Carleton Knights:
2018 Roster | 2018 Schedule | 2018 Statistics
• Saturday's games against Saint Mary's will be the 13^th and 14^th straight games played at a neutral site for the Knights, who were originally scheduled to play their home opener against Augsburg on Wednesday, but unplayable field conditions forced the games to be played at the Augsburg Dome. Saturday's games vs. Saint Mary's were originally scheduled at Saint Mary's, but again, unplayable field conditions (aka snow) moved the games to the RCTC Dome in Rochester, Minn. … Katie Eppard heads into Saturday's showdown against Saint Mary's leading the Knights with a .463 batting average. Eppard is one of five Carleton regulars hitting .300 or better—Natalie Maurice (.405), Maddie Sherwood (.346), Maris Daleo (.342), and Same Kite (.300) are the other four. … Eppard also leads the Knights in hits (19), doubles (3), triples (2), home runs (2), RBIs (23), slugging percentage (.780), and on-base percentage (.457). … Eppard's two triples and two home runs are the only ones hit by the Knights this season. … Daleo has scored a team-high 13 runs, four more than Eppard and Maurice. … The Knights have used three different pitchers this season, led by Sam Kile and Sherwood, who have logged 31.2 and 28.0 innings, respectively. … Sherwood boasts a team-best 1.75 ERA, going 3-2 in six appearances, while Kile boasts a 3.98 ERA and 2-3 record in nine outings. Sarah Ogle (0-2, 4.11 ERA) has chipped in 15.1 innings of work in the pitcher's circle. … Sherwood has accounted for three of the team's four complete games, with Kile owning the Knights' lone save. … Kile has struck out a team-best 22 batters, followed by Ogle with 10 and Sherwood with nine. … The Knights have not allowed a first-inning run this season, outscoring their opponents 10-0 in the first at-bat. … Carleton has scored six or more runs in four of its five wins—the Knights are 1-6 when scoring five runs or less. … Carleton scored a season-high 13 runs in a 13-0 rout of Sewanee on March 21. On the flip side, the Knights surrendered a season-high 12 runs in falling to Hope 12-2 on March 17. … The Knights are 3-0 when leading after six innings, but are 0-6 when tied or trailing heading into the seventh inning. … The Knights have played one exgtra-inning game, falling to Centre 6-5 on March 21.