Game 1 Boxscore / Game 2 Boxscore

WINONA, Minn. — As if playing against the defending Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference champions in your conference opener isn't tough enough, the Saint Mary's University fastpitch softball team made things that much tougher on themselves Wednesday afternoon against St. Thomas.

And while St. Thomas certainly did its part, banging out 26 hits and scoring 21 runs in the twin bill, the Cardinals also proved to be their own worst enemy — as SMU's offense managed just seven hits, six of which were singles, while the Cardinals' defense committed seven errors.

With everything seeming to work against the Cardinals, it was no wonder when the dust finally settled, SMU found itself on the wrong end of a pair of lopsided losses, as UST rode a five-run first inning to an 11-3 Game 1 win, then completed the sweep with a 10-1 win that was fueled by back-to-back four-run innings in the sixth and seventh.

The Cardinals, who were coming off an impressive 2-1 win over eighth-ranked Wartburg on Saturday, found themselves behind the eight ball early in Game 1, as St. Thomas led off the game with three straight hits including an RBI double by Kaja Martinson. After an SMU error plated another Tommie run, UST broke the game wide open when Katie Wiberg delivered a three-run home run over the left-center field fence.

St. Thomas (2-0 MIAC, 16-4 overall) added two more runs in the third, three in the fourth and one in the fifth en route to their 10th straight victory. Nikki Jung (Inver Grove Heights, Minn.) accounted for all three SMU runs, as the freshman belted a bases-loaded double to right in the bottom of the fourth.

SMU (0-2 MIAC, 6-6 overall) got off to a much better start in Game 2, but still trailed 2-0 after St. Thomas scored twice in the top of the second.

The game remained close until the sixth, when Martinson's two-run single highlighted St. Thomas' four-run sixth inning — and the Tommies broke the game wide open, getting a grand slam home run from Kristi Huegel to account for their four seventh-inning runs.

Amy Edge (Mineral Point, Wis.), who collected two of SMU's four Game 2 hits, drove in the Cardinals' lone run with an RBI single in the sixth.