(Photo: KAREN HICKEY/isiphotos.com) on March 10, 2021 Softball (11-3, 0-0 Pac-12) takes on Saint Mary’s California (6-9, 0-0 WCC) on Thursday in a doubleheader where Stanford should be favored to win both games. This past weekend, the Cardinal went 4-1 in the DeMarini invitational, winning four straight before falling to UCSB in the final game of the weekend. Key performances came from freshman pitcher Reagan Krause, graduate third baseman Kristina Inouye and junior shortstop Emily Young. Stanford is off to a strong start this year, currently ranked second in the country in ERA (.89) and 37th in the country in batting average, reflective of its games so far which have been dominated by strong pitching from Krause and sophomore pitcher Alana Vawter — who is ranked 15th in the country in individual ERA — as well as above average hitting from the team as a whole. The downfall to the Cardinal’s playing has been fielding errors. Despite allowing only 12 earned runs all season, teams have scored a total of 25 runs against the Cardinal, meaning over half of the runs allowed have been unearned. Comparatively, No. 22 Tennessee, which is 3rd in the country with a .91 ERA, has allowed a total of 15 runs, but only five have been unearned.