CLERMONT, Fla. — The Saint Mary's University fastpitch softball team arrived in Florida for its six-game spring trip flying high — having compiled a near-perfect 7-1 record and a 76-20 advantage in runs scored.
 
And the Cardinals did not miss a beat when they took to the field for their first spring trip matchup against Thomas College — scoring three runs in the first and four in the fourth in cruising to a 10-1, five-inning win over the Terriers Monday afternoon.
 
The runs kept coming in SMU's second game of the afternoon, as the Cardinals erupted for 17 runs — including a whopping eight in the first inning — in outslugging Emmanuel 17-9 in six innings to complete their perfect opening day.
 
GAME 1: SMU 10, THOMAS 1
Saint Mary's certainly didn't waste any time against Thomas, scoring three times in its first at-bat — using a pair of singles and a Terrier error to grab a quick 3-0 lead.
 
The Cardinals pushed their advantage to 5-0 with a pair of runs in the third. Heather Nordlund (Byron, Minn.) drew a two-out walk, and advanced to third on a double by Naleya Bork (De Pere, Wis.), and both scored on an infield single by Lizzie Pike (Rochester, Minn.).
 
SMU's lead ballooned to 9-0 with three more runs in the fourth — the first run coming on an infield single by Breonna Methner (Woodbury, Minn.), and the other two on back-to-back RBI groundouts by Ali French (Winona, Minn.) and Peyton Berg (Chatfield, Minn.) — before Bork drove in SMU's fourth run of the inning with a two-out single to left-center.
 
After managing just one hit through three innings off SMU starter Mikayla Steffes (Winona, Minn.), the Terriers strung together back-to-back-to-back two-out singles off the freshman left-hander to scratch across a solo run.
 
Saint Mary's got that run back in the top of the fifth on a two-out RBI single by Berg, and Steffes shut the door in the bottom of the fifth to cinch the five-inning complete-game victory.
 
Bork finished 3-for-3 with an RBI and Pike added two hits in three at-bats with a pair of RBIs to pace the Cardinals' 11-hit attack against the Terriers, while Berg also drove in a pair of runs and Steffes finished 1-for-1 with three runs scored. In the pitcher's circle, Steffes allowed one run on four hits, while walking two and striking out two.
 
GAME 2: SAINT MARY'S 17, EMMANUEL 9
It appeared as if the Cardinals would be coasting to an easy win over Emmanuel in their second game of the day — erupting for eight runs in the in the bottom of the first inning.
 
By the end of the second inning, however, the game was deadlocked at 8-8, as the Saints answered SMU's eight-run first with an eight-run second of their own.
The Cardinals took control from there, scoring a solo run in the third, before plating five more in the fourth and another in the fifth. Emmanuel got one run back in the top of the sixth, only to have SMU seal its second eight-run rule win with a pair of runs in the bottom of the sixth on an RBI double by French and a walk-off, RBI single by Berg.
 
Steffes led the way for the SMU offense, going 4-for-4 with four RBIs and five runs scored, while French finished 3-for-5 with four RBIs and a pair of run scored, and Nordlund and Methner each chipped in two hits. Izzy Griffin (West St. Paul, Minn.) picked up the pitching win, allowing one run on three hits in four innings of relief.
 
The Cardinals (9-1 overall) are now off until Thursday, when they square off against Heidelberg (10 a.m. EST) and Penn State Behrend (12:30 p.m.)
 
 
 
 
 
 
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