EAU CLAIRE, Wis. — The Saint Mary's University fastpitch softball team entered Friday's nonconference doubleheader against UW-Eau Claire having won four straight and eight of its last 10 — with the two losses coming against No. 1-ranked St. Thomas.
Fourteen innings later, the Cardinals exited Todd Park having won nine of its last 12 — with all three losses coming against nationally ranked opponents.
In fact, the Cardinals came two outs away from extending their winning streak to six straight — only to have UW-Eau Claire, which entered the twin bill ranked No. 5 in the latest NFCA Top 25 poll, score a pair of runs in the bottom of the seventh to earn a split by beating SMU 7-6 in Game 2.
The Cardinals had won the opener, breaking open a 2-2 game with two runs in the top of the seventh to beat the Blugolds, 4-2.
"It was a bittersweet afternoon," said SMU coach
Jen Miller. "Offensively, we were outstanding today. On the mound, we were very good. But in the field, we did not have a very good day.
"The mental mistakes really hurt us — they were the difference between a sweep and a split."
The Cardinals were near-perfect in the opener, riding the pitching of
Megan Wallisch (Loveland, Colo.) — who posted a complete-game, seven-hitter, allowing single runs in the second and fifth innings — and the 10-hit offensive attack to the 4-2 victory.
UW-Eau Claire got on the board first, tagging Wallisch for a single run in the bottom of the second, but the Cardinals responded with a run of their own in the top of the third. The two teams then traded fifth-inning runs — with SMU's coming on an RBI single by
Jenna Johnson (Menomonie, Wis.) — before the Cardinals put the game out of reach with their two-run seventh.
Jenny Giannini (River Grove, Ill.) delivered the key hit in the seventh, belting a one-out, bases-loaded, ,two-run single to center.
SMU had more late-game heroics in the nightcap, digging out of a 3-0, first-inning hole — not to mention a 5-1 fourth-inning hole — with a single run in the fifth and back-to-back two-run innings in the sixth and seventh to grab a 6-5 lead.
The lead, however — and SMU's bid for a sweep — were short-lived, as UW-Eau Claire parlayed three singles into two runs in the bottom of the seventh to earn the win.
"It's tough to lose a game like that," said Miller of the Game 2 loss. "Offensively, we did everything you could ask — when you put up 16 hits and six runs, you should expect to win a lot of ball games. We just did not make the plays in the field — mentally we were not sharp and that's disappointing."
