| The Cardinals home-opener against UW-Platteville marked their first home contest in 696 days, dating back to April 28, 2019 when Saint Mary's split its season-ending doubleheader with Bethel. … The Cardinals enter Sunday's games against UW-La Crosse on the heels of a pair of nonconference losses to UW-Platteville, falling to the Pioneers 12-3 and 14-0. Justine Schultz (Winona, Minn.) had three hits against the Pioneers to pace the Cardinal offense. … Saint Mary's picked up its first doubleheader sweep of the season last Sunday, taking a pair of nonconference victories from Augsburg — beating the Auggies 10-5 and 6-0. … Mackenzie Carey (Prescott, Wis.) was perfect from the plate in the opener against Augsburg last Sunday, going 4-for-4 with an RBI and a pair of runs scored. It was Carey's first four-hit game of her collegiate career. … Lexi Brooks (Searcy, Ark.) owns a team-leading .500 batting average and is one of nine SMU regulars hitting .300 or better, being joined by Hallie Schmeling (Onalaska, Wis. / .400), Marissa Kleckler (Oregon, Wis. / .385), Paige Gudmundson (Plainview, Minn. / .346), Carey (.345), Amber Chow (West St. Paul, Minn. / .333), Cassie Sutor (Chicago, Ill. / 308), and Schultz (.300). … Brooks leads or shares the team lead in runs (6), doubles (4), slugging percentage (.722), and on-base percentage (.600). … Carey boasts a team-best 10 hits, while Chow has driven in a team-leading seven runs. … Twenty of Saint Mary's 80 hits have been for extra bases — including 17 doubles and three triples. … Justine Schultz (Winona, Minn.) owns two of SMU's three triples, with Schmeling accounting for the other. … Schultz, Chow, Brooks, Gudmundson, and Jordan Meyers (Eyota, Minn.) have all recorded two multiple-hit games, while Chow is the team-leader with three multiple-RBI contests. … Schultz and Sullivan have each put together team-high five-game hitting streaks this season, but no Cardinal has a current hitting streak longer than two games. … Kulaga had reached base safely in seven straight contests, before being held off the base paths in Game 1 vs. UW-Platteville on Friday. … Chow tossed her second complete-game of the season in the nightcap against Augsburg last Sunday, throwing a four-hit shutout. … Chow (2-4, 7.17 ERA) leads the Cardinal pitching staff in innings pitched (27.1), appearances (7), starts (5) and strikeouts (13). … Sutor (1-1, 8.03 ERA) has thrown 22.2 innings in seven appearances and has struck out 10. … Saint Mary's has scored first in two of its three wins, but the Cardinals are just 1-6 when their opponent scores the game's first run. … The Cardinals' 10 runs in their Game 1 win over Augsburg last Sunday marked the second time this season SMU has scored in double figures. Saint Mary's scored a season-high 12 runs in its 14-12 Game 1 loss to St. Scholastica on March 14. … Saint Mary's 10-7, Game 2 win over Northwestern on March 11 was the first collegiate coaching victory for Cardinals' interim head coach Sam Borawski. |
The Eagles have been off since March 20, when they split a nonconference doubleheader with Augustana (Ill.) — with both games being decided by shutout. UW-L dropped a 1-0, 10-inning affair in the opener, before rallying for a 2-0 triumph in the nightcap. … As a team, the Eagles are hitting .299, and boast four regulars who are hitting above .350 — Mia Schmidtke (.391), Jordyn McCormack (.389), Katie Block (.375), and Nicole Trussoni (.357). … Schmidtke also leads or shares the team lead in hits (9), doubles (2), and total bases (14). … Sabrina Scardamaglia has scored a team-leading four runs, shares the team lead in doubles (2), and his second to Schmidtke in both hits (7) and RBIs (12). … Schmidtke and Scardamaglia have belted UW-L's two home runs this season. … Maddie Muelken (0-2, 1.54 ERA) has been the workhorse in the pitcher's circle for the Eagles, tossing a team-leading 22.2 innings. Muelken suffered the loss in the Eagles' 1-0, 10-inning setback to Augustana on March 20, going 9.2 innings, allowing seven hits and one unearned run. She had a perfect game for 5.2 innings, before surrendering a two-out single in the sixth. … Muelken has started — and completed — all three games she's appeared in this season and owns a team-best nine strikeouts. … Sydne Shattuck (2-0, 1.50 ERA) has made two pitching starts, tossing 9.1 innings, while Elise Weinzierl (0-0, 3.50 ERA) has made UW-L's other start. … UW-La Crosse is 2-0 when leading after six innings, but the Eagles are 0-4 when tied or trailing heading into the seventh frame. … Three of UW-L's four losses have been decided by two runs or less — the lone exception, an 8-1, Game 2 loss to St. Catherine on March 7. … Saint Mary's is the Eagles' third opponent from the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. UW-L dropped a pair of games to St. Catherine (3-1, 8-1), while splitting its doubleheader against Saint Benedict (L, 5-3, W, 10-5).
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