CLERMONT, Fla. — You'll have to forgive the Saint Mary's University of Minnesota fastpitch softball if their arms are a little sore when they return from their 10-game spring trip—after all, they have been flexing their muscles a bit.
And the Cardinals were at their muscle-flexing best on Sunday, using a five-run second inning that included a
Kathi Opsahl (Elk River, Minn.) three-run home run to complete a 9-0, five-inning win over Wartburg in their first game of the day, before belting a pair of home runs—including a walk-off grand slam by
Katie Krull (Rochester, Minn.) in the bottom of the fifth—to complete their second five-inning, shutout, this time an 8-0 victory over John Carroll.
Saint Mary's scored in every inning but the first against Wartburg, platting five runs in the second, one in the third, two in the fourth and one more in the fifth.
Opsahl,
Stanzy Snyder (Johnston, Iowa),
Kali Aldrich (Rochester, Minn.), and
Toni Hunsinger (Farmington, Minn.) all delivered two hits, while Opsahl drove in three runs and
Allie Borawski (Stickney, Ill.) finished with two RBIs.
And while the Cardinals were feasting on Knights' pitching,
Abbey Killian (Fountain City, Wis.) was silencing the Wartburg bats, tossing a complete-game, three-hit shutout.
Saint Mary's jumped out to a quick 1-0 lead in their second game of the day against John Carroll, but the Cardinals' bats were silent over the next two innings.
And then came the fourth—and the fifth.
Saint Mary's plated three runs in the fourth—all coming on
Brittney Birkhauser's (Wisconsin Rapids, Wis.) second collegiate home run—before icing the game in the fifth when Krull delivered her first grand slam in a Cardinal uniform.
Opsahl led the Cardinals' nine-hit attack against John Carroll, going 3-for-3, while Birkhauser and Krull accounted for all seven of the team's RBIs.
Betzold earned the pitching win, limiting John Carroll to just two hits—a double in the second and a single in the fourth—while striking out six and not walking a batter.
The Cardinals close out their spring trip on Monday, squaring off against Rose-Hulman (3 p.m. EST) and Neumann (3 p.m.) in a pair of nonconference games.
