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WINONA, Minn. — The sixth inning proved to be the Cardinals' inning Tuesday afternoon, as the Saint Mary's University fastpitch softball team scored four of its five runs in the penultimate frame.

The first, second, third, fourth, fifth and seventh innings, however, were all Hamline.

The Cardinals outscored Hamline 4-0 in the sixth inning alone, but the Pipers held a 9-1 advantage in the other six innings, beating SMU 4-3 and 5-2 in a key Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference showdown at the SMU Field.

“We just couldn't get anything going until the sixth inning in either game — and by that time it was almost too late,” said SMU coach Jen Miller, whose Cardinals fell to 6-6 in the MIAC and 14-10 overall with the losses. “We had our share of chances, we just never capitalized on the opportunities we had.”

The Cardinals, who spotted Hamline a 3-0 advantage, finally got on the board in the fifth, when Jess Sharpe (Ottawa, Ill.) laced her first collegiate home run — a solo shot over the left-field fence — to cut the Pipers' lead to 3-1.

SMU knotted things up in the bottom of the sixth, on an RBI single by Danielle Geske (Rosemount, Minn.) and an RBI groundout by Mallory Betzold (Farmington, Minn.) — and the Cardinals appeared to be on their way to big sixth inning. With two runs already across, SMU loaded the bases with one out, but Hamline pitcher Jesselyn Weaver got pinch-hitter Hanna Schmitt (Rosemount, Minn.) to ground into a pitcher-to-home-to-first double play to end the threat.

And when the Pipers responded with a solo run in the top of the seventh, the Cardinals didn't have an answer, going down in order in their final at-bat.

SMU once again found itself having to dig out of an early-game hole, giving up one run in the first inning and four more in the fifth, before the Cardinals' bats finally came to life in the sixth, stringing together four hits — including a two-run single by Sharpe — to cut the Pipers' cushion to 5-2.

That would be as close as the Cardinals would get, as SMU was once again set down in order in the seventh.

“That (sixth inning) in the first game was a perfect example — we put ourselves in perfect position, then couldn't come up with the key hit,” Miller said. “It's disappointing. Those were two very good softball games, and we just, unfortunately, came out on the short end both times.

“It's tough — we're certainly making (reaching the MIAC Tournament) tough,” Miller said. “We're not out of the hunt, but it's going to be an uphill climb.”