WINONA, Minn. — Saint Mary's University fastpitch softball coach
Jen Miller was certain of one thing when her Cardinals took the field for Sunday's nonconference doubleheader against UW-La Crosse — the Eagles' offense was a pitcher's worst nightmare.
The Eagles banged out four home runs — bringing their season total to 26 — in handing SMU a pair of losses at the SMU Field. UW-L scored hammered three home runs three runs en route to a five-inning, 8-0 win in the opener, and then added another round-tripper in completing the sweep with a 5-1 victory in the nightcap.
“We knew coming in that they could swing the bats — and they certainly did that,” said Miller, whose team had its three-game winning streak snapped with the Game 1 loss. “We got behind early (in the first game) and were never able to get our offense going. And then in the second game, we had our chances offensively, but we couldn't seem to get that big hit when we needed it.”
The Eagles jumped out to a 3-0 first-inning lead in the opener, getting a two-run home run by Rachel Weyer and an RBI double off the bat of Cara Salm. UW-L's Lauren Schaller added a solo home run in the second to make it 4-0, and the Eagles put the game out of reach with a four-run fourth.
UW-L grabbed an early 1-0 lead in the second, but SMU responded, knotting the game at 1-1 when
Hanna Schmitt (Rosemount, Minn.) delivered her team-leading 12th RBI with a run-scoring single in the fourth. That, however, would be the extent of the Cardinals' offensive attack, while UW-L added single runs in the fifth and sixth and two more in the seventh in completing the sweep.
“(UW-La Crosse) is a good team and they swung the bats well,” said Miller, whose team is back in action Tuesday, traveling to St. Thomas for a 4 p.m. Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference doubleheader against the Tommies. “Hopefully we can get back on the right track (Tuesday).”
