Game 1 Box Score / Game 2 Box Score

WINONA, Minn. — When they score, they score in bunches.

For the third straight game, the Saint Mary's University fastpitch softball team lumped all of its runs together Tuesday afternoon, as the defending Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference champion Cardinals opened defense of their league title with a 4-2, 10-2 sweep of St. Olaf.

Since their eight runs in the third inning of last Saturday's 9-4 win over UW-Eau Claire, the Cardinals have not scored less than three runs in any inning they've scored over their last three games.

The Cardinals scored all four of their runs in the second inning of their opener against St. Olaf, transforming three Ole errors and a pair of walks into a 4-0 advantage. An advantage that held up until the top of the seventh, when St. Olaf tagged SMU starter Stacy O'Malley (Lake Elmo, Minn.) for a pair of runs on three hits. But the Cardinal right-hander got out of the jam with a strikeout and a line-out to end the threat and notch her fourth win in five decisions.

In the nightcap, the Cardinals once again made their plate appearances last a long time, as SMU scored seven runs in the first inning and three more in the bottom of the fifth en route to the sweep.

Ann Munzenmaier (Urbandale, Iowa) went 3-for-3 and drove in three runs to lead SMU's 10-hit attack in Game 2, while pitchers Lindsay Mamer (Mankato, Minn.) and Kari Smith (Lourdes, Iowa) tossed a six-hitter.