WINONA, Minn. – The College of St. Scholastica softball team faced a tough test on Wednesday afternoon, falling in both games of a MIAC doubleheader to No. 4-ranked Saint Mary's.

The Saints dropped game one 16-0 before falling 17-1 in five innings in the nightcap, moving to 6-17 overall.

Saint Mary's showed why it is among the nation's top teams early in the opener, scoring five runs in the first inning and never looking back. The Cardinals added runs in every frame, including five in the third and five more in the fourth, to build a commanding lead. St. Scholastica was limited to just one hit in the contest, coming off the bat of Lindsey Ewer (Hermantown, MN/Hermantown HS), while Saint Mary's tallied 13 hits and capitalized on five Saints errors.

In game two, the Saints showed a brief spark early. Sami Ernst (Forest Lake, MN./Forest Lake HS) led off with a single, and Kaylei Greene (San Bernardino, CA/Summit HS) followed with a double to put two runners in scoring position. Katelyn Hackman (Oakdale, MN/Tartan HS) brought home the Saints' lone run with a sacrifice fly to give CSS a 1-0 lead in the top of the first.

That momentum was short-lived, however, as Saint Mary's responded immediately. The Cardinals plated five runs in the bottom of the first, highlighted by a grand slam from Kenzie Gatz, and then broke the game open with a nine-run second inning. Saint Mary's finished with 14 hits in the game, including home runs from Gatz and Zoe Fink, and added runs in four of the five innings.

Ernst paced the Saints offensively in the nightcap, going 2-for-3 and scoring the team's only run, while Greene added a double.

St. Scholastica will look to bounce back on Friday with a MIAC doubleheader at Saint Benedict.