|  The Cardinals head into their conference-opening doubleheader against St. Thomas sitting at 3-9 overall. … After playing eight straight games on the road to open the season, the Cardinals have played their last four games on their home diamond at Saint Mary's Field. … The Cardinals enter their conference-opener against St. Thomas on the heels of a pair of nonconference losses to UW-La Crosse, falling to the Eagles 3-0 and 7-1 on March 28. Justine Schultz (Winona, Minn.) and Amber Chow (West. St. Paul, Minn.) each had two-hit games vs. the Eagles — Schultz going 2-for-4 in the opener, and Chow adding a 2-for-3 effort in the nightcap. … 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 on March 21, 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 .417 batting average and is one of five SMU regulars hitting .300 or better, being joined by Jordan Meyers (Eyota, Minn. / .353), Carey (.333), Chow (.333), and Cassie Sutor (Chicago, Ill. / .316). … Brooks leads or shares the team lead in runs (6), doubles (4), slugging percentage (.583), and on-base percentage (.516). … Carey boasts a team-best 11 hits, while Chow has driven in a team-leading seven runs. … Twenty of Saint Mary's 89 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 and Chow share the team lead with three multiple-hit games, one more than Brooks, Meyers, and Paige Gudmundson (Plainview, Minn.). … 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 March 26. … Chow tossed her third complete-game of the season in the opener against UW-La Crosse last Sunday, allowing three runs on seven hits in a 3-0 loss. Chow has thrown all three of the Cardinals' complete games this season. … Chow (2-5, 5.81 ERA) leads the Cardinal pitching staff in innings pitched (37.1), appearances (9), starts (6) and strikeouts (18). … Sutor (1-2, 8.40 ERA) has thrown 26.2 innings in eight appearances and has struck out 17. … Saint Mary's has scored first in two of its three wins, but the Cardinals are just 1-8 when their opponent scores the game's first run. … The Cardinals' 10 runs in their Game 1 win over Augsburg on March 21 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. … The Cardinals home-opener against UW-Platteville on March 26 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. … 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 Tommies enter Saturday's conference opener against Saint Mary's having compiled a 7-3 record. UST picked up its fourth straight win with a 9-1 victory over Bethany Lutheran in the opening game of their nonconference doubleheader on Thursday, but had the streak snapped with a 5-2 loss in Game 2. … St. Thomas has outscored its opponents 33-12 in its last five games. … After opening the season with a pair of games at the Dundas Dome, the Tommies have played eight straight home games — and will play Saint Mary's and St. Olaf on their home turf before finally playing a pair of road games on April 10 at Macalester. … St. Thomas delivered 14 hits in Game 1 against Bethany Lutheran on Thursday — including three hits from Kierstin Anderson-Glass, who also tossed a complete-game four-hitter. Sammie Petitt, ,Sarah Hudson, and Katie Goelz had UST's three hits in the nightcap. … Hudson enters Saturday's matchup against Saint Mary's leading the Tommies with a .393 batting average. Coryn Jacobson (.381), Goelz (.375), Sa Birling (.333), Abbie Witt (.333), and Bridget Armstrong (.318) are also hitting above .300 for UST, which is batting .320 as a team. … Hudson owns a team-high 11 hits, one more than Berling, while Jacobson has scored a team-leading 12 runs. … The Tommies have belted 25 extra-base hits through 10 games, including 16 doubles, seven triples, and two home runs. Keeeley Yeager has accounted for a team-best four doubles, while Jacobson owns three of the team's seven triples. Hudson and Birling have launched UST's two home runs. … The Tommies have stolen 29 bases on 31 attempts, led by Abby Gray with five steals, and Jacobson and Yaeger with four each. … Anderson-Glass and Hopkins have been the workhorses in the pitcher's circle for the Tommies. Anderson-Glass (3-1, 2.82 ERA) has tossed 22.1 innings, while Hopkins (3-1, 1.62) has thrown 30.1. Hopkins, who struck out a career-high nine batters in Thursday's 5-2 loss to Bethany Lutheran, leads the Tommies with 26 Ks, six more than Anderson-Glass. … With her four-hit gem in the opener against Bethany Lutheran Thursday, Anderson-Glass improved to 29-1 on the Tommies' home turf in her four-year collegiate career.
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