Game 1 Boxscore / Game 2 Boxscore
WINONA, Minn. — After giving away a win in the bottom of the seventh inning against Hamline on Saturday, the Saint Mary's University fastpitch softball team was all business Tuesday afternoon at the SMU Field.
Much to the dismay of Bethel.
The Cardinals weren't able to take anything for granted against the Royals, pounded out 22 hits and 15 runs en route to an 8-0, 7-2 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference sweep.
"Practice on Monday was a bit of a wake-up call," said SMU coach Jen Miller, whose team gave up a pair of runs in the bottom of the seventh inning in losing Game 2 to Hamline 2-1 Saturday. "That Hamline loss really hurt, and I think now everyone realizes how important every game is in this conference.
"You can't afford to give away wins like we did (against Hamline), and you could tell today that we were much more focused."
The Cardinals jumped on Bethel pitcher Nea Harkness early in Game 1, plating a pair of runs in both the first and third innings. The Cardinals pushed their lead to 7-0 with a three-run fifth — fueled by an two-run single off the bat of Danielle Geske (Rosemount, Minn.) — before icing the win on an RBI single by Hanna Schmitt (Rosemount, Minn.) in the bottom of the sixth.
SMU continued to feast on Bethel pitching in the second game, sandwiching a five-run third inning between single runs in the second and fourth to complete the conference sweep.
"It was good to see us swing the bats the way we did, and it was nice to see our bench supply some key hits," said Miller, whose team collected 11 hits in each game, while the Cardinal pitching staff — led by Megan Wallisch (Loveland, Colo.), who did not allow a run in nine innings — held the Royals to just six hits in the two games combined. "Megan pitched great, and Sara (Fitzgerald, Colo, Iowa) and Erin (Leone, Farmington, Minn.) both did a nice job in relief. It was good to get the chance to give Megan a little breather and get Sara and Erin some work.
"This was a good sweep for us," added Miller, whose team travels to Gustavus for a key conference doubleheader on Thursday. "This team learned a valuable lesson on Saturday (against Hamline). We can't afford to take any at-bat off — we have to be focused every single pitch of every single game.
"We did that today, and it paid off with two wins."