EAU CLAIRE, Wis. — The Saint Mary's University fastpitch softball team steps out of conference play on Tuesday, traveling to UW-Eau Claire for a 4 p.m. nonconference doubleheader against the Blugolds.



The Matchup:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (15-15 Overall)
at UW-Eau Claire Blugolds (24-10 Overall)

GameDay Live On The Web:
Live Stats

Last Action:
The Cardinals bounced back from a 5-4, eight-inning Game 1 loss to Macalester Sunday, blanking the Scots 6-0 in the nightcap to earn the conference split in St. Paul, Minn. … UW-Eau Claire, meanwhile, picked up a pair of WIAC victories over UW-Superior in Superior, Wis., Monday, as the Blugolds dropped the Yellowjackets 10-1 and 4-2.

SMU vs. UW-Eau Claire — Their Last Meeting:
April 21, 2011: The 25th-ranked Blugolds banged out three home runs — including a grand slam off the bat of Emily Muller in UW-EC's six-run fourth — and limited SMU to just two singles in a 9-0, five-inning victory in the opener, then delivered three more home runs in the nightcap in completing the sweep with an 8-0, six-inning victory at the SMU Field.

Up Next:
The Cardinals are back on the road on Thursday, traveling to La Crosse, Wis., for a 4 p.m. nonconference doubleheader against the Eagles. … UW-Eau Claire, meanwhile, is off until Saturday, when the Blugolds host UW-Oshkosh for a pair of WIAC games in Eau Claire, Wis. First pitch is set for 2 p.m.

Saint Mary's Cardinals News and Notes:
2012 Roster | 2012 Statistics | 2012 Schedule | 2012 Media Guide
Tuesday's games against UW-Eau Claire are SMU's third doubleheader in the last four days. It's also the third of six twinbills for the Cardinals in a seven-day span. … Tuesday's DH is also the first of back-to-back nonconference doubleheaders against WIAC schools, as SMU squares off against UW-La Crosse on Thursday. … The Cardinals' 5-4, eight-inning loss against Macalester Sunday marked the third straight extra-inning Game 1 for SMU — with all three games being decided in the eighth inning. … After collecting a 6-5, nine-inning win over Elizabethtown on March 10, SMU is 0-3 in its last three extra-inning games. … That 6-5, nine-inning win over Elizabethtown was the Cardinals' longest game since beating Augsburg 5-4 in 10 innings of the second game of their MIAC doubleheader on April 13, 2011. … Erin Stenseth (Eau Claire, Wis.) picked up a hit in both games against Macalester Sunday, extending her hitting streak to a season-high eight straight games. During that stretch, Stenseth has gone 16-for-28 (.571), including a three-game span in which the junior went 10-for-11 — going 3-for-3 in Game 2 vs. St. Olaf on April 17, then following that up with 4-for-5 and 3-for-3 efforts against St. Catherine on April 21. … Alex Raske (Chicago, Ill.) went 2-for-4 in both games vs. Macalester Sunday, while Melanie Hamilton (Homewood, Ill.) was 2-for-3 in Game 1, and Paige Carter (Rosemount, Minn.) and Nicole Olson (New Brighton, Minn.) each added two hits in the nightcap. … Raske, who belted her team-leading fourth home run of the season in the opener against St. Olaf last Tuesday, is 19-for-35 (.542) with four home runs and 14 RBIs in her last nine Game 1s. … With her two, 2-for-4 performances against Macalester, Raske has gone 2-for-4 in four of the Cardinals' last six games. … Raske has recorded a team-best 13 multiple-hit games through SMU's first 30 contests, one more than Carter and two better than Hailey Ohl (Bloomington, Minn.). … Raske has put together two of SMU's four-hit games — and both times, the freshman catcher went 4-for-4 with three RBIs. … Carter owns a team-best seven multiple-RBI games, one more than Raske. … Raske enters Tuesday's nonconference games at UW-Eau Claire hitting a team-best .419. She is one of five Cardinals batting over .300. … Raske also leads or shares the team lead in runs (31), hits (44), doubles (10), home runs (4), total bases (66), walks (9), slugging percentage (.629) and on-base percentage (.461). … Fueled by her eight-game hitting streak, Stenseth moved into second on the team in batting average (.380), while also boasting nine doubles and a pair of home runs. … Ohl, who is hitting .358, leads the team in at-bats (106) and is second to Raske in runs (28) and hits (38). Ohl also boasts a team-best eight stolen bases. … Carter is the team leader in RBIs with 22. … SMU has eight players with 10 or more RBIs. … The Cardinals have hit eight home runs — with three being collegiate firsts. Along with Raske, Hamilton and Olson have also belted their first home runs as a Cardinal this season. … Kayla Peterson (Lewiston, Minn.) has been the workhorse on the mound for the Cardinals, throwing 156.2 of the team's 194.1 innings. … Peterson picked up her 12th win of the season in Game 2 against Macalester Sunday. … Peterson, who is 12-10 with a 5.06 ERA, has tossed 12 complete games — including a pair of shutouts — and has struck out 58 batters. …  SMU has outscored its opponents 171-152 — including 32-14 in the second inning and 25-15 in the fifth. … The Cardinals scored a season-high 12 runs in a 12-3, Game 1 win over Lebanon Valley on March 6. … SMU is 3-4 in one-run games this season. … SMU is a perfect 10-0 when holding its opponent to two runs or less, and the Cardinals are 8-1 when leading after the sixth. … The Cardinals played back-to-back doubleheaders on back-to-back days against nationally ranked teams — squaring off against No. 22 St. Thomas on April 11 and against No. 4 Luther on April 12. … SMU's 7-6 victory over Emerson on March 9 was the 100th career collegiate coaching win for Cardinal coach Jen Miller.

UW-Eau Claire News and Notes:
2012 Roster | 2012 Statistics | 2012 Schedule
Tuesday's doubleheader against Saint Mary's is the first of three straight home twinbills to close out the regular season for the Blugolds, who are 4-0 on their home turf this season. … With their two wins over UW-Superior Monday, the Blugolds pushed their season-high winning streak to eight straight. … UW-EC is 13-2 in its last 15 contests. … Sarah Fern and Nikki Bromelkamp each drove in three runs in the Blugolds' 10-1 Game 1 in over UW-Superior, while Taylor Pierce sparked a 12-hit Eau Claire attack with three hits and three runs scored. … Amanda Fisher boasts a team-best .385 batting  average, one percentage point ahead of Bromelkamp (.384). … Pierce, who is third on the team with a .372 batting average, leads the Blugolds in at-bats (113), hits (42) and triples (2). She has also compiled a team-high 11 multiple-hit games — including one of the team's four, four-hit contests. … Bromelkamp has driven in a team-high 32 runs, while Fern has belted a team-best eight home runs — including one vs. UW-Superior Monday — and is second to Bromelkamp with 29 RBIs. … Fern owns a team-leading eight multiple-RBI games. … As a team, UW-Eau Claire is hitting .312 with 28 home runs — including four vs. UW-Superior Monday. … Emma Wishau and Ashley Meinen have done the brunt of the work from the pitcher's circle this year, with Wishau compiling a 9-6 mark and a 1.96 ERA in 107.0 innings of work, while Meinen is 10-3 with a 2.56 ERA in 87.2 innings. … Wishau has also fanned a team-leading 65 batters, with Meinen close behind with 50. … UW-Eau Claire has outscored its opponents in every inning but the sixth, and hold a 26-7 scoring edge after the sixth inning. … Twelve of UW-Eau Claire's 32 games have been decided by one run. The Blugolds are 6-6 in those 12 games. … The Blugolds, who have scored 177 runs this season, have scored 10 or more runs six times this season — including a season-high 13 runs in a 13-4 Game 2 win over UW-Platteville on April 1. … UW-EC is a perfect 15-0 when leading after the sixth inning.