St. Scholastica was shut out Friday in its NCAA Division III tournament opener by host and No. 1-seed Luther College, 8-0, in Decorah, Iowa.
The fourth-seeded Saints (24-16) now face second-seeded St. Catherine University (32-12) in an elimination game at 1:30 p.m. today with the winner playing another elimination game at 4 p.m. against the loser of Luther (40-3) and third-seeded University of Chicago (26-12).
Luther, which beat the Saints in an NCAA tournament opener last year, plated three runs in the bottom of the third and four in the bottom of the fourth to end the game after just four and a half innings. The Saints only mustered three hits while drawing three walks.
Chrisi Mizera took the loss on the mound for the Saints, giving up eight hits and five walks with four strikeouts. Seven of the eight runs she surrendered were earned.
St. Scholastica has now lost eight-straight NCAA tournament games and is 2-11 overall in NCAA postseason play.
