By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota fastpitch softball team takes to the road on Sunday, as the Cardinals travel to St. Thomas' South Field for a 1 p.m. conference doubleheader against the sixth-ranked Tommies.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (3-7 MIAC, 7-17 Overall) at #6 St. Thomas Tommies (8-2 MIAC, 22-4 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats: Game 1 * Game 2
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—April 7, 2019 * Macalester Softball Complex * St. Paul, Minn.: The Cardinals picked up their first conference sweep of the season, scoring four runs in both games in taking two from the Scots, 4-0 and 4-2 at Macalester Stadium | Recap
• St. Thomas—April 9, 2019 * South Field * St. Paul, Minn.: The Tommies stepped out of conference play to post a pair of impressive wins over UW-La Crosse, beating the Eagles 10-0 in five innings in the opener, before completing the sweep with a 7-3 victory in the nightcap | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. St. Thomas — Their Last Meeting:
• April 19, 2018 * South Field * St. Thomas, Minn.: After 10 straight games played inside domes across southern Minnesota, Saint Mary's finally got to play outside with the sun shining and temperatures in the 50s. Unfortunately, while Mother Nature may have finally cooperated with near-ideal playing conditions, the Cardinals' bats stayed in hibernation. The Cardinals scored the game's first run in their first at-bat, but that would be the highlight of the afternoon, as the Tommies — ranked No. 14 in the latest NFCA Top 25 — scored the next 13 runs in sweeping Saint Mary's 10-1 and 3-0 | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals return home to the Saint Mary's field on Wednesday, playing host to Augsburg in a pair of conference contests. Opening pitch in Game 1 is set for 3:30 p.m.
• St. Thomas: The Tommies are back on their home diamond at South Field in St. Paul, Minn., on Wednesday, entertaining Macalester in a 3:30 p.m. MIAC twinbill.
 
Scouting the Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2019 Roster | 2019 Schedule | 2019 Statistics
• The Cardinals picked up their first sweep of the season last Monday with their 4-0, 4-2 win over Macalester. … Saint Mary's 4-0 win over the Scots Monday snapped their season-high seven-game losing streak. … The Cardinals' Game 1 victory over Macalester Monday was their second shutout win of the season — Saint Mary's also blanked Rose-Hulman 1-0 on Feb. 25. … Hallie Schmeling (Onalaska, Wis.) went 3-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored and Erin Sullivan (Wisconsin Rapids, Wis.) drove in two of the Cardinals' four runs in the opener against the Scots last Monday, while Saint Mary's four Game 2 hits came from four different players — Schmeling, Paige Gudmundson (Plainview, Minn.), Justine Schultz (Winona, Minn.), and Chow. … With her four hits against Macalester Monday, Chow has now collected 15 hits in the Cardinals' last 10 games — including two or more hits five times. … Chow leads the team with a .338 batting average, followed by Schmeling (.392), Gudmundson (.282), and Schultz (.282). … Chow owns a team-leading 23 hits, two more than Schmeling, while Schultz (20), Tara Nikolich (Chicago, Ill. / 15), Roni Stevens (Delano, Minn. / 14), and Gudmundson (11) have also recorded 10 or more hits. … Stevens leads the team with 10 runs scored, while Schultz has belted a team-high six doubles and Schmeling and Amy Kulaga (Riverside, Ill.) have hit the Cardinals' two triples. … Schmeling has driven in a team-high 10 runs and also leads the team in total bases (29) and slugging percentage (.403). … One of Schmeling's two hits in Game 2 against Hamline on April 6 was a home run — the first round-tripper of her career. … Saint Mary's boasts six players who have recorded their first hits in a Cardinal uniform this season. McKayla Ahlrich (Sleepy Eye, Minn.) had one of the Cardinals' five Game 2 hits vs. UW-La Crosse on March 28, while Signey Stoesz (Mountain Lake, Minn.) and Sullivan recorded theirs against Luther on March 15, and Kulaga, DeJaye Baab (Wabasha, Minn.), and Maria Averbeck (Lewiston, Minn.) collected their first collegiate hits during the Cardinals' 10-game spring trip. … The Cardinals are 10-for-12 in stolen base attempts — led by Schultz, who is a perfect 6-for-6. … The Cardinals boast 31 multiple-hit games — including the first three-hit contests by Chow, Kulaga and Sullivan. Chow leads the Cardinals with seven multiple-hit games, with Schultz and Schmeling close behind with six each. … Baab and Stevens recorded their first two-hit games during Saint Mary's spring trip. … Schmeling delivered her first career five-RBI game in the Cardinals' season-opening 10-9 win over Alma on Feb. 24. … Saint Mary's collected a season-high nine walks in their 3-2 Game 1 loss to St. Olaf on March 31. It the most walks in a game since inducing nine walks from Macalester pitchers during the 2015 season. … Chow — who picked up her first shutout of the season, and second of her career with a three-hitter against Macalester in Game 1 last Monday — has made a team-leading 14 starts in the pitcher's circle, four more than Amber Trendle (Chicago, Ill.). Chow has logged a team-high 90.1 innings, compiling a 3-8 record and 3.87 ERA, while Trendle boasts a 3-9 record and 3.92 ERA in 59.0 innings. … Stoesz has made seven pitching appearances, going 1-0 with a 4.38 ERA in 8.0 innings. … Chow has fanned a team-high 29 batters, won more than Trendle. … Trendle struck out a career-high eight batters in the Cardinals' 1-0 win over Rose-Hulman on Feb. 25. … Stoesz pitched one inning of shutout, one-hit relief en route to her first collegiate pitching win in the Cardinals' season-opening, 10-9 victory over Alma. … Saint Mary's has outscored its opponents 16-10 in the fifth inning, but have been outscored 20-9 in the first, 19-7 in the third, and 24-13 in the fourth. … The Cardinals have played eight one-run games, going 3-5. … The Cardinals are 4-3 when scoring first, but just 3-14 when their opponent plates the game's first run. … Saint Mary's has held its opponents to two runs or less in four of its seven wins. On the flip side, the Cardinals have been held to two runs of fewer in 12 of their 17 losses.
 
Scouting the St. Thomas Tommies:
2019 Roster | 2019 Schedule | 2019 Statistics
• St. Thomas, ranked No. 6 in the latest NFCA Top 25, heads into its matchup against Saint Mary's riding a seven-game winning streak. … Eleven of St. Thomas' 22 wins this season have been shortened to six innings or less by the eight-run rule. On the flip side, two of UST's four losses have been by one run — both 1-0 setbacks. … The Tommies, who are hitting .343 as a team, boast five players with 20 or more at-bats who are hitting above .300. … Melissa Barry leads the way, owning a team-best .500 batting average, while Chase Shortly (.446), Kierstin Anderson-Glass (433), Elise Barnes (.386), and Dana Connelly (.333). … Barnes leads or shares the team lead in at-bats (88), runs (32), triples (3), home runs (3), and total bases (59). … Barry is the team's hits leader with 42. She is one of three Tommies with 30 or more hits this season — Shortly (37) and Barnes (34) are the other two. … Shortly owns a team-best 36 RBIs and boasts a team-leading .711 slugging percentage. … St. Thomas has amassed 242 hits, including 71 for extra bases — 51 doubles, 12 triples, and eight home runs. … UST has stolen 55 bases in 66 attempts, led by Barry (14-for-15), Kristin McGonigal (14-for-16), and Barnes (13-for-15. … Anderson-Glass has been the ace of the Tommies' pitching staff, compiling a 9-3 record and 1.12 ERA in 75.0 innings pitched. Megan Baniecke (8-1, 2.66 ERA, 47.1 IP), Kendall Hopkins (2-0, 1.35 ERA, 10.1 IP), Hayley Dunning (2-0, 3.39 ERA, 10.1 IP), Madi DeMCarco (0-0, 0.00 ERA, 2.0 IP), and Abby Gray (0-0, 0.00 ERA, 1.0 IP) have also seen time in the pitcher's circle this season. … Anderson-Glass has made a team-leading 12 starts — posting 10 complete games with five shutouts — with Baniecke chipping in 10 starts, two complete games, and one shutout. … Anderson-Glass has struck out 23 batters and opponents are hitting just .181 off her this season. … The Tommies have outscored their opponents 166-49 — including 34-7 in the third, 23-1 in the fifth, and 33-6 in the sixth. … St. Thomas is 20-0 when lead after the fourth inning and are 18-1 when scoring the game's first run. … St. Thomas is 16-0 when scoring six or more runs, and the Tommies have not allowed a team to score more than five runs in a game this season. … St. Thomas has scored 10 runs or more six times — including a season-high 16 runs in a season-opening 16-4 win over Buena Vista. … UST kicked off the year winning its first eight games and 14 of its first 16 — with the two losses coming to UW-Whitewater (1-0) and fifth-ranked MIT (1-0).