Joyce DeWitz was tagged with her first loss in eight game in game one.
Meghan Powers rounds second base.
The Gustavus women’s softball team saw its eight-game win streak come to and end with two losses to Saint Mary’s in St. Peter on Wednesday afternoon. The Cardinals claimed game one 5-3 and then completed the sweep with a 9-1 victory in game two.
In game one, the Gusties controlled play through the first four innings. Julie Mahre gave Gustavus a 1-0 lead as she drove a pitch well past the left field fence for a home run in the bottom of the first inning. Joyce DeWitz was perfect threw four innings as she did not allow a hit and did not walk a batter. However, in the fifth inning, St. Mary’s luck started to change as the Cardinals got a bases-loaded triple from Jenni Gutterman giving St. Mary’s a 3-1 lead. The Cardinals added two more runs in the top of the sixth when Nikki Jung doubled which drove in Tara Close and Melissa Mondo. Gustavus countered with two runs of its own in the bottom of the sixth when Abby Bernstein singled to drive in Audrey Lenoch and Tina Strauss to cut the lead to 5-3. The Gusties would go down in order in the seventh inning giving the Cardinals the 5-3 win. Joyce DeWitz suffered the loss on the mound as she allowed four earned runs on four hits with four walks and six strikeouts.
In game two, things went from bad to worse for the Gusties as the Cardinals scored twice in the third, three in the fourth, one in the fifth and three more in the sixth to claim the 9-1 win. The lone Gustavus run was scored in the fourth when Dawn Lewis singled to drive in Meghan Powers. Saint Mary’s exploded for 12 hits in the game, while the Gusties could only muster five hits. Joyce DeWitz suffered the loss on the mound as she allowed two earned runs in three innings of work. Jenna Ruhl pitched the final three innings for Gustavus allowing six hits and four earned runs.
Coach Shanda Ness’ squad falls to 12-12 overall and 6-2 in the MIAC, while Saint Mary’s improves to 14-6 overall and 6-2 in the MIAC.
The Gusties will look to bounce back on Thursday, when they travel to St. Paul to face Macalester at 4:00 pm.