By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
CLERMONT, Fla. — It took eight innings for the Saint Mary's University fastpitch softball team to plate its first run of the day Thursday morning.
 
And, unfortunately for the Cardinals, that lone first-inning run in that second game would prove to be their only offensive highlight.
 
Saint Mary's — blanked 6-0 in its first game of the day against Alvernia — scored a solo run in the top of the first inning against Muskingum, only to have the Fighting Muskies rattle off nine unanswered runs in dealing the Cardinals a 9-1, five-inning setback.
 
The Cardinals wasted little time getting on the board against the Fighting Muskies — drawing back-to-back-to-back walks from Justine Schultz (Winona, Minn.), Paige Gudmundson (Plainview, Minn.), and Hallie Schmeling (Onalaska, Wis.), before getting an RBI single from Tara Nikolich (Chicago, Ill.).
 
The first-inning threat ended as quickly as it began, however, as Muskingum pitcher Hannah Smith struck out the next three batters to keep it a 1-0 Saint Mary's lead.
 
Muskingum grabbed the lead with a three-run third inning, tacked on another run in the fourth, then iced the five-inning win with five runs in the bottom of the fifth.
 
The Cardinals' four hits against the Fighting Muskies' Smith came from four different players — Schultz, Nikolich, Erin Sullivan (Wisconsin Rapids, Wis.), and Mackenzie Carey (Prescott, Wis.).
 
In the first game of the day, Alvernia scored all the runs it would need with a solo run in the first inning, before plating three more runs in the third and single runs in the fifth and seventh.
 
Alvernia pitcher Ally Decker limited the Cardinals to just four hits — including the second collegiate two-hit game from Heidi Stewart (Burnsville, Minn.). Gudmundson and Haley Williams (Littleton, Colo.) picked up Saint Mary's other two hits.
 
Saint Mary's (4-4 overall) is now off until Saturday, when they square off against both Northwestern (9 a.m. EST) and Webster (11:15 a.m.) in Clermont, Fla.