By Donny Nadeau
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director

ROCHESTER, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota fastpitch softball team returns to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Thursday, as the Cardinals square off against Macalester in a 3:30 p.m. doubleheader at the RCTC Dome.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (2-4 MIAC, 8-14 Overall) vs. Macalester Scots (2-2 MIAC, 8-14 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• GameDay Program
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—April 8, 2018 * Rochester, Minn.: Hamline scored a combined five runs in the sixth inning in rallying to beat the Cardinals twice, dealing Saint Mary's 3-1 and 6-4 MIAC setback at the RCTC Dome | Recap
• Macalester—April 8, 2018 * Minneapolis, Minn.: The Scots dropped both games of their conference doubleheader against Augsburg in the Augsburg Dome, as the Auggies erupted for five runs in the seventh inning in rolling to a 10-5 Game 1 win, before completing the sweep by rallying from a 4-3 deficit with three runs in the sixth for a 6-4 win | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Macalester—Their Last Meeting:
• April 14, 2017 * St. Paul, Minn.: The Cardinals took out their frustrations on host Macalester early, scoring as many runs in the opener as they had in their previous six games combined—cruising to a streak-snapping 6-2 victory in Game 1. Unfortunately, the Cardinals could not carry their offensive momentum into the nightcap, managing just five hits—and no runs—in falling to the Scots 2-0 | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals return to action with a pair of conference doubleheaders this weekend—both at the RCTC Dome. Saint Mary's will square off against Bethel in a 1 p.m. matchup on Saturday, before facing Saint Benedict, also at 1 p.m., the following afternoon.
• Macalester: The Scots hit the road for a pair of MIAC doubleheaders this weekend, traveling across town to St. Catherine for a 1 p.m. twinbill against the Wildcats on Saturday, before heading to St. Peter, Minn., to take on Gustavus in a 1 p.m. DH the following afternoon.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2018 Roster | 2018 Schedule | 2018 Statistics
• The Cardinals head into their conference doubleheader against Macalester having played their last eight games indoors. Saint Mary's played a pair of contests against St. Olaf in the Dundas Dome in Northfield, Minn., on April 4, before playing doubleheaders against Luther, Carleton, and Hamline under the RCTC Dome. … 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. … Kali Aldrich (Rochester, Minn.) went 2-for-3 and Allie Borawski drove in the Cardinals' lone run with a second-inning home run in the Cardinals' 3-1 loss to Hamline in Game 1 last Sunday, while Paige Gudmundson (Plainview, Minn.), Shayley Vesel (Austin, Minn.), Justine Schultz (Winona, Minn.), Brittney Birkhauser (Wisconsin Rapids, Wis.), and Tara Nikolich (Chicago, Ill.) all had two hits to pace SMU's 11-hit Game 2 attack. … Birkhauser enters the Cardinals DH against Macalester leading the team with a .423 batting average. Birkhauser is one of two Cardinal regulars boasting batting averages above .300—Gudmundson is the other, boasting a .338 average. … Along with her team-leading batting average, Birkhauser also owns team-highs in hits (30), doubles (6), triples (1), home runs (3), RBIs (15), total bases (47), slugging percentage (.662), and on-base percentage (.474). … 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. … Borawski became the only player besides Birkhauser to hit a home run this season with her round-tripper against Hamline Sunday. Borawski's second-inning bomb was not on her first of the season, but also the first of her collegiate career. … Gudmundson owns a team-high 77 at-bats, and is second to Birkhauser in runs (13), hits (26), total bases (26), slugging percentage (.338) and on-base percentage (.378). … 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 nine 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. … 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 collected her first collegiate three-hit game in last Thursday's 3-2, nine-inning loss to No. 5 Luther. … 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 (4-8, 3.73 ERA) leads the team with 77.0 innings pitched, with Trendle (4-5, 4.86 ERA) close behind with 59.0 IP. … Chow has recorded six of the staff's 10 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, but are just 1-10 when tied or trailing heading into the seventh inning. … The Cardinals are 6-4 when scoring first, while going 2-10 when their opponent scores first. … Saint Mary's is 6-5 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 Macalester Scots:
2018 Roster | 2018 Schedule | 2018 Statistics
• After pitching a pair of shutouts in 1-0 and 2-0 wins over Concordia last Saturday, the Scots surrendered 16 runs in its 10-5, 6-4 losses to Augsburg the following day. … The Scots' 1-0 Game 1 win over Concordia last Saturday snapped their five-game losing streak. … Julia Carpenter enters Macalester's showdown against Saint Mary's with a team-leading .397 batting average. She is one of three Scots' regulars hitting above .300—Sophie Migacz (.325) and Audrey Meade (.314) are the other two. … Carpenter also leads the team in at-bats (58), runs (13), hits (23), total bases (23), and on-base percentage (.435. … Kennedy Kechely (.293) is the team-leader in doubles (3), RBIs (8), and walks (9), while Migacz owns a team-high .425 slugging percentage and has belted the team's only triple. … Macalester has hit one home run this season, coming off the bat of Kaela Jackson. … Carpenter has amassed a team-leading seven multiple-hit games, with Kate Lawhead compiling a team-high four multiple-RBI performances. … Lawhead put together a 10-game hitting streak earlier this season, but no Scot heads into the Saint Mary's DH with an active hitting streak longer than two games. … Migacz (8-7, 4.28 ERA) has been the workhorse of the Scots' pitching rotation, tossing a team-leading 83.1 innings, while Morghan Bean (0-5, 7.78 ERA) and Emily Cekander (0-1, 5.85 ERA) have logged 27.0 and 26.1 innings, respectively. … Migacz has made a team-leading 17 appearances—including starts in 16 of the Scots' 22 games—and owns seven of the team's nine complete games. … Migacz has struck out a team-high 56 batters, with Bean chipping in 20 Ks. … Macalester has scored a season-high 10 runs twice—beating Grinnell 10-8 and Rockford 10-X. On the flip side, the Scots have allowed 10 or more runs in a game five times—including a season-high 26 runs in falling to Buena Vista 26-3 on March 15.