WINONA, Minn. — For the Saint Mary's University fastpitch softball team, Game 1 of Thursday's Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference doubleheader against Gustavus came down to one swing of the bat — for both teams.
The Gusties' swing came in the fourth inning, when Lisa Klass belted a three-run home run over the center field fence.
SMU's swing, meanwhile, occurred in the bottom of the seventh, when
Kellie Simons (Richfield, Minn.) delivered a home run of her own to left field.
Unfortunately for the Cardinals, Simons' homer was a solo shot — and only got the Cardinals to within one — as the Gusties held on despite, SMU's seventh-inning rally, for the 3-2 victory.
And one swing of the bat proved to be the difference in Game 2 as well, as Andrea Brown drove in the Gusties' fourth run with an RBI single in the fifth inning as GAC again withstood a late SMU rally — this one a three-run outburst in the bottom of the fifth — to beat the Cardinals 4-3 and complete the conference sweep.
“We knew coming in that these were going to be two close games — and that's exactly how they turned out,” said SMU coach
Jen Miller. “One swing of the bat was the difference in both games. We did a nice job of battling back in both games, we just came up one run short.
“We just couldn't seem to get that clutch hit when we needed it most.”
The Cardinals got on the board first in the opener, getting an RBI single by Simons that scored
Katy Gannon (Roselle, Ill.) in the bottom of the third. Gustavus, however, would take the lead for good with Klass' one swing, as the Gustie sophomore launched a
Mallory Betzold (Farmington, Minn.) offering over the fence in straightaway center.
SMU threatened in its half of the seventh. After Simons' home run, the Cardinals putt runners on first and second — thanks to a GAC error and a
Julianne Bartosz (Mokena, Ill.) single, but Gustavus pitcher Betsie Collins got
Erin Stenseth (Eau Claire, Wis.) to fly out to center to end the threat.
Collins limited the Cardinals to four Game 1 hits, two coming from Simons, while
Paige Carter (Rosemount, Minn.) and Bartosz collected the other two. Betzold, meanwhile, tossed her third straight complete game, scattering nine hits, while allowing three earned runs.
SMU spotted the Gusties a 4-0 lead in the nightcap, surrendering single runs in the first, third, fourth and fifth runs, before banging out three of their five hits in their three-run fifth inning.
Bartosz got things going in the fifth with a one-out single. Stenseth followed with a single to center and Gannon walked to load the bases.
Hanna Schmitt (Rosemount, Minn.) drove in SMU's first run with a groundout to second and Betzold delivered a two-run single to center to cut the Gusties' lead to 4-3.
That, however, would be as close as SMU would get, as Gustavus reliever Callie Nelsen set the Cardinals down in order in the sixth and seventh to preserve the win.
Stenseth and Betzold each picked up two hits for the Cardinals in Game 2, while Bartosz accounted for the other. On the mound, Betzold allowed three earned runs on eight hits through 4 1/3 innings, while
Jaci Prondzinski (Ettrick, Wis.) threw 2 1/3 innings of hitless relief.
The Cardinals, who fall to 7-7 in the MIAC and 10-20 overall, are back in action on Saturday, traveling to Concordia for a 1 p.m. conference doubleheader against the Cobbers.
