Game 1 Box Score /
Game 2 Box Score /
GameDay Online
ST. JOSEPH Minn. — On Saturday, the Saint Mary's University fastpitch softball team had to work a little magic in its Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference doubleheader against St. Catherine, as the Cardinals rallied from behind in both games — including a seven-run, second-inning deficit en route to an 11-8 Game 1 win — to post their second straight MIAC sweep.
On Sunday, SMU was again in dire need of some hocus pocus.
Unfortunately, this time around, the Cardinals didn't have any tricks up their sleeve.
After scoring first in both games, the Cardinals found themselves staring at late-game deficits, only, unlike Saturday's come-from-behind efforts, this time around, when they got knocked down, they couldn't get up, as Saint Benedict cruised to 5-1 and 10-5 victories.
"It was not a good day — plain and simple," said a disappointed SMU coach
Jen Miller, whose Cardinals dropped into a tie with Gustavus and Hamline for second — and fourth — place in the race for one of the conference's four post-season tournament spots. "We couldn't do anything right. It was just one of those days where we seemed to get off on the wrong foot and it never got any better."
SMU scored its lone run in the opener in the top of the first on a
Jenny Giannini (River Grove, Ill.) single, before CSB plated three runs in the second and two more in the third to seal the win.
And it didn't get any better in Game 2, as the Cardinals jumped out to a 2-0 second-inning lead — without the benefit of a hit — then padded that advantage to 5-2 when
Danielle Geske (Rosemount, Minn.) laced her team-leading seventh home run of the season in the top of the third.
That, however, was the extent of SMU's Game 2 offense — and Saint Benedict was just warming up, as the Blazers scored twice in the third, once in the fourth, two more in the fifth and four in the sixth to seal up the win and complete the sweep.
"There wasn't too much to be happy about — it was probably our worst two performances of the season," said Miller, who did get to watch junior
Cassie Otte (Randolph, Minn.) extend her hitting streak to 27 straight games with a 2-for-4 effort in Game 1 and a 1-for-4 showing in Game 2. "It was great to see the way we battled back (on Saturday), and then (Sunday) we just couldn't do anything.
"It's pretty frustrating."
