WINONA, Minn. — Monday afternoon's nonconference doubleheader against UW-Eau Claire was the final collegiate home games for Saint Mary's University of Minnesota seniors Alex Raske (Chicago, Ill.) and Sam Borawski—but Blugold pitcher Zana Lorbetske was spoiling the Cardinal duo's going away party.
 
So Raske decided to do a little spoiling of her own.
 
The senior shortstop drew a one-out walk in the bottom of the fourth inning to put an end to Lorbetske's perfect game, and then broke up the senior right-hander's no-hit bid with a one-out single in the sixth.
 
Unfortunately for the Cardinals, Raske role as spoiler was not enough, as UW-Eau Claire scored the game's only runs in the third inning, handing Saint Mary's a 2-0 Game 1 setback.
 
The Cardinals' offense remained in an April hibernation in the nightcap, as UW-Eau Claire erupted for six first-inning runs and never looked back, completing the nonconference sweep with an 8-1 victory.
 
After a pair of scoreless innings, UW-Eau Claire broke through in the third, getting an RBI single by Taylor Pierce and a run-scoring double by Leah Wolff to give the Blugolds a 2-0 advantage.
 
And with Lorbetske firing zeros, two runs proved to be more than enough.
 
Lorbetske limited the Cardinals to just two hits—Raske's one-out single in the sixth and Kathi Opsahl's (Elk River, Minn.) leadoff single in the seventh—while walking two and striking out 12.
 
Ashley Betzold (Farmington, Minn.) was equally impressive in the pitcher's circle for the Cardinals, allowing two runs on four hits en route to her 19th complete game of the season.
 
The Blugolds wasted little time securing the win in Game 2, taking advantage of three walks and a hit batsman to their first four batters—while Meredith's three-run home run to left completed the six-run opening frame. UW-Eau Claire would tack on two more runs in the fourth to put its lead to 8-0
 
Like her Game 1 counterpart, Laura Raflik kept the Cardinals at bay, limiting them to just three hits through the game's first four innings. Saint Mary's would finally break through in the bottom of the fifth, taking advantage of a pair of two-out Blugold errors to score their lone run of the day.
 
Saint Mary's five hits in the nightcap came from five different players—Raske, Stanzy Snyder (Johnston, Iowa), Opsahl, Molly Urban (Roseville, Minn.), and Brittney Birkhauser (Wisconsin Rapids, Wis.).
 
The Cardinals (17-19 overall) close out the 2015 season on Tuesday, traveling to Decorah, Iowa, for a nonconference doubleheader against fourth-ranked Luther.