CLERMONT, Fla. —As if playing the 18th-ranked team in the country wasn't tough enough, the Saint Mary's University of Minnesota fastpitch softball team decided to pick the most inopportune time to be their own worst enemy.
The Cardinals committed seven errors, and it came back to haunt them, as Augustana—ranked No. 18 in the latest NFCA Top 25—handed Saint Mary's a 6-5 nonconference loss Thursday morning.
If Saint Mary's was showing any ill effects from that seven-error performance against the Vikings, they certainly didn't show it in their second game of the morning, getting a run-scoring single from
Ashley Betzold (Farmington, Minn.) in the top of the eighth inning in the Cardinals' 2-1 nonconference win over Lebanon Valley.
"It was kind of a crazy day," said Saint Mary's coach
Jen Miller. "We really struggled in the field (against Augustana), but I was really happy with the way everyone was able to put that game behind them and come up with a big win over Lebanon Valley."
The Cardinals jumped out to a 5-2 lead after the first two innings against Augustana, scoring an unearned run in the bottom of the first, before getting an RBI single from
Alex Raske (Chicago, Ill.) and a two-run single off the bat of
Kathi Opsahl (Elk River, Minn.) in Saint Mary's four-run second.
That, however, would be the extent of the Cardinals' offense, while Augustana plated two runs in both the fifth and sixth to earn the come-from-behind win.
Brittney Birkhauser (Wisconsin Rapids, Wis.) and
Mariah Harper (Schaumburg, Ill.) each had two hits for the Cardinals against Augustana, while Raske scored two of the team's four runs.
Saint Mary's also scored first in its game against Lebanon Valley, plating an unearned fourth-inning run, only to have the Dutchmen answer with a solo run of their own in the fifth—setting up Betzold's eighth-inning heroics.
Birkhauser once again paced the Cardinals' offense attack, putting together her second 2-for-3 effort of the day, while Raske, Betzold,
Sam Borawski (Stickney, Ill.), and
Kali Aldrich (Rochester, Minn.) accounted for Saint Mary's other four hits.
Katie Homan (North Mankato, Minn.) picked up her second pitching win of the season, allowing one run on five hits, while walking one and striking out two.
The Cardinals (5-5 overall) close out their 10-game spring trip on Friday, squaring off against Rose-Hulman and John Carroll in a pair of seven-inning nonconference games.
