Game 1 Box / Game 2 Box / GameDay Online

ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University fastpitch softball team put together an impressive performance in the second game of their Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference doubleheader against St. Catherine.

The Cardinals erupted for five runs in the top of the fifth inning and rode the three-hit pitching of Jaci Prondzinski (Ettrick, Wis.) in handing the Wildcats an 8-0, five-inning setback.

Unfortunately for SMU, the Cardinals' performance wasn't quite that impressive in the opener, as St. Catherine used a pair of big innings — a two-run third and a three-run fifth en route to a 6-3 victory.

“It was the same old story, the consistency just wasn't there,” said SMU coach Jen Miller, whose team moved to 8-8 I the MIAC and 16-12 overall with the split. “We couldn't seem to do anything right in the first game, and then we turn around and put together one of our most dominating performances of the season in the second.

“It's enough to drive you crazy.”

And enough to drive the Cardinals to the brink of elimination from conference tournament contention.

With the split, SMU remained two games behind St. Catherine for fourth in the MIAC with three conference doubleheaders remaining — including a Sunday showdown against league-leading Gustavus.

“We're not out of, but we've definitely got our work cut out for us,” said Miller, whose team also must face Macalester and St. Thomas in the final week of the conference season. “We really could have used two wins today — and if we would have played the first game like we played the second, we could have gotten that.”

St. Catherine, fueled by its two runs in the third and three runs in the fifth, held a 5-1 advantage before SMU threatened in the sixth, scoring a pair of runs on RBI singles by Prondzinski and Joanna Mangan (Chicago, Ill.), but that was as close as the Cardinals would get, as CSC added an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth to seal the win.

The Cardinals were the ones getting out to the early lead in the nightcap, scoring single runs in the first, third and fourth, before putting the game out of reach with their five-run fifth inning — an inning that was highlighted by a two-run double by Prondzinski.

Cassie Otte — who went 2-for-4 to lead SMU's eight-hit Game 1 attack — recorded her second 4-for-4 performance in the last three games in Game 2, while Mangan was 2-for-3 and Katy Gannon (Roselle, Ill.) was 2-for-4 with three RBIs and a pair of runs scored.

“(Sunday's) a big day for us,” said Miller of her team's showdown against the Gusties. “We need to be at our best in every facet of the game. If we can play the way we did (in the second game), there's no doubt in my mind we can come away with two wins. But if we play like we did in the first game … .”