Game 1 Box Score / Game 2 Box Score

NORTHFIELD, Minn. — It happened again.

For the second time in the last two weeks, the Saint Mary's University fastpitch softball team had a victory — and a key conference sweep — snatched from their grasp with one swing of the bat.

Two weeks ago against Hamline, the Cardinals — fresh off a 5-2 Game 1 win — suffered an 8-5 loss when the Pipers' Joan Sheedy belted a three-run home run in the bottom of the seventh inning.

Sunday afternoon, the Cardinals were struck with a bad case of deja vu, as Carleton's Vickie Gunderson laced a solo shot in the bottom of the sixth inning to lift the Knights to a 2-1 Game 2 victory and a split of the teams' MIAC doubleheader.

Stacy O'Malley (Lake Elmo, Minn.) and Lindsay Mamer (Mankato, Minn.) combined on a two-hit shutout in the first game as SMU posted its third straight shutout win, 5-0.

SMU collected 10 hits in the nightcap, led by Amanda Daigle's (Rice Lake, Wis.) 3-for-4 performance. Gina Rizzardi (Woodbury, Minn.) was 2-for-4 with two RBIs and Jennifer Miller (Winona, Minn.) had two hits. The Cardinals also stole six bases.

Trailing 1-0, the Cardinals scored their lone run in the fourth inning to tie the game, 1-1, and SMU threatened again in the top of the sixth, putting runners on first and second with two outs, but the Cardinals couldn't not get the clutch hit when they needed it.

"We had a lot of hits, but they were pretty scattered," said SMU coach Nikki Fennern. "We just weren't able to come up with the key hits at the right times."