ST. PAUL, Minn. — The temperatures outside certainly said "spring."
Unfortunately, the Saint Mary's University of Minnesota fastpitch softball teams bats didn't get the message.
The Cardinals were limited to just one hit—and two base runners—in the opening game of their Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference doubleheader against St. Catherine, falling to the high-powered Wildcats 7-0.
Things didn't go much better for the Cardinals in the nightcap, as Saint Mary's bats remained in hibernation—managing just two hits and three baserunners—as the Wildcats completed the sweep with an 8-0, five-inning victory.
St. Catherine jumped out to a 1-0 lead after the first inning in the opener, before erupting for three runs in both the fifth and sixth innings en route to the shutout victory.
Ashley Betzold (Farmington, Minn.) drew a two-out single in the first, and
Allie Borawski (Stickney, Ill.) picked up the Cardinals' only hit against St. Catherine starter Krista Flugstad, lacing a leadoff single in the second. That, however, would be the extent of the Cardinals' offense against the hard-throwing right-hander, as Flugstad set Saint Mary's down in order in each of the next five innings to secure victory.
Brittney Birkhauser (Wisconsin Rapids, Wis.) picked up a leadoff single in the first inning of the nightcap, but by the time Betzold added the Cardinals' second hit of the game—a one-out single in the fourth—Saint Mary's was staring at a 3-0 deficit.
Clinging to that 3-0 advantage, the Wildcats sealed the win in the fifth, erupting for five runs on four hits.
The Cardinals (0-2 MIAC, 6-12 overall) are right back in action—and right back on the road—on Sunday, traveling to St. Joseph, Minn., for a 1 p.m. MIAC doubleheader against Saint Benedict.
