WINONA, MINN. - Fans of the Saint Mary's University softball team could not claim they were not entertained during Saturday's Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) doubleheader against Augsburg University. With dramatic comebacks, clutch hits, and walk off wins, it was all Cardinal fans could ask for in a Saturday doubleheader that proved to be, perhaps, their most dramatic of the 2021 season. After falling behind in both games one and two, Saint Mary's rallied for two walk off wins, downing Augsburg in game one 5-4 before a nine-inning 7-6 win in game two.
The Cardinals rallied for a 5-4 walk off win in game one, as they earned their fourth MIAC win of the season in dramatic fashion over the visiting Auggies. In fact, Augsburg scored the first run of the ball game in the top of the third, as back-to-back singles by Sabriya Passmore and Olivia Dynneson resulted in an early 1-0 lead for the Auggies. That was the lone earned run Augsburg would score off Saint Mary's ace Amber Chow (West St. Paul, Minn. / Henry Sibley), but the Auggies managed to extend their lead to 4-0 in the top of the sixth, as they scored three runs on two Cardinal errors for the 4-0 lead.
That's when the dramatics started in a way that could only be scripted by the softball gods themselves. Jordan Meyers (Eyota, Minn. / Dover-Eyota) earned a lead off walk to open the inning and eventually scored Saint Mary's first run of the ballgame on a RBI single courtesy of Chow to cut the Augsburg lead to 4-1. The run prompted head coach Sam Borawski to substitute Amy Kulaga (Riverside, Ill. / Riverside Brookfield) as a base runner for Chow, giving the Cardinals some speed on the bases with the middle of the line up due at the plate.
The move paid off for Saint Mary's, as Kulaga advanced to second on a wild pitch and eventually scored on a single up the middle by Hallie Schmeling (Onalaska, Wis. / Onalaska), whittling the Auggies lead to 4-2 at the end of six innings. Chow then held the Augsburg hitters at bay in the top of the seventh, giving the Cardinals a chance to walk off the visitors in the bottom of the seventh.
A walk off is exactly what Saint Mary's did. Justine Schultz (Winona, Minn. / Winona) hit a one out double to left center and ignited the Cardinals offense. One batter later, the catcher scored on an RBI single by Meyers, cutting the Augsburg lead to just one run at 4-3. After that, Saint Mary's took advantage of a rattled pitcher, as the Cardinals loaded the bases on a hit by pitch and walk to bring Schmeling to the plate with one out.
Schmeling delivered. The shortstop roped a double into right center, scoring both Meyers from third and Lizzy Baird (Wells, Minn. / United South Central) from second, walking off the game with a 5-4 win for Saint Mary's.
Game two was equally as dramatic for the Cardinals, as they once again needed a late rally, this time to send the game to extra innings. Unlike game one, the two teams traded runs early and often in game two, with several lead changes over the course of seven innings. In the end, though, it proved seven innings weren't enough to determine a victor. After taking a 3-1 lead after four innings, Saint Mary's watched as Augsburg scored four unanswered runs and regained a 5-3 advantage heading into the bottom of the sixth. Like in game one, though, the Cardinals put together a furious six inning rally, as they scored two runs of their own to even the score. It was Schultz and Schemling that provided the RBI hits, allowing Saint Mary's to pull into the seventh inning deadlocked with the Auggies 5-5.
Neither the Cardinals nor Augsburg were able to score in the seventh inning, sending the game into extra innings with daylight to spare. It wasn't until the eighth inning when one of the teams managed to break through. Unfortunately, that team was the Auggies, as they scored one run on two hits to take the late 6-5 lead. This time, it looked like Saint Mary's wouldn't be able to answer despite a leadoff double by Baird. An error by the Augsburg third baseman, though, put runners on first and third for the Cardinals with Schultz coming to the plate.
Schultz played the hero in the best way possible. The hometown kid doubled to left field, allowing Barid to score the game tying run easily from third. Gunderson turned on the speed and scored the game winning run all the way from first, clinching the 7-6 victory for Saint Mary's.
Several hitters found success at the plate Saturday afternoon, as Schultz, Chow and Schmeling all recorded multiple hits in both games, while Tara Nikolich (Chicago, Ill. / Resurrection College Prep) and Haley Williams (Littleton, Colo. / Rock Canyon) were also offensive stars in game two. Schmeling went 3-4 in the opener with three RBI, while Schultz was 2-4 with a run and Chow went 2-3 with an RBI. Nikolich was the top hitter in game two, going 3-4 at the plate with two RBI while Williams was 2-4 with two runs scored.
Chow earned the win in the circle in game one, as she allowed four runs, one earned, on nine hits in seven complete innings of work and improved her record to 6-9 this season. Cassie Sutor (Chicago, Ill. / De La Salle Institute) was the pitcher of record in game two , as she improved her overall record to 2-6 thanks to 5.2 innings of relief.
With the sweep, Saint Mary's overall record improves to 8-18, and the team is now 5-9 in MIAC play. The Cardinals will return to action on Sunday, April 25 as they host Bethel University at 1 and 3 p.m. in Winona, Minnesota.
