MOORHEAD, Minn. — Saint Mary's University fastpitch softball coach
Jen Miller knows what it feels like to watch a lead slip through her team's grasp as an opponent launches a late-game home run.
It happened in the Cardinals' 5-3 loss to league-leading St. Thomas on April 14, when Alison Wright laced a three-run home run that turned a 2-1 SMU lead into a 3-2 deficit and eventually a 5-3 loss to the Tommies.
It happened again in the Cardinals' 3-1, eight-inning loss to Hamline on April 20, when the Pipers' Heidi Larsen launched a two-run home run to break a 1-1 tie.
And, two days later, it was Gustavus' turn, as the Gusties' Lisa Klass belted a three-run shot that lifted GAC to a 3-2 victory.
Saturday afternoon, Miller watched yet another game-changing home run sail out of the park in SMU's Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference opener against Concordia.
This time, however, it was the Cardinals doing the launching, as
Katy Gannon (Roselle, Ill.) drilled a three-run home run in the top of the fifth inning, erasing a 2-0 Concordia lead and propelling SMU to a 10-3 victory in the first game of their conference doubleheader.
And it was more of the same in Game 2, as SMU again spotted the Cobbers the early lead, falling behind 4-1 heading into the top of the sixth inning. By the time
Mallory Betzold (Farmington, Minn.) had grounded out to short for the final out in the top of the sixth, however, the Cardinals had plated 11 runs en route to a 12-4, six-inning victory and a sweep of the conference series.
“Two big innings were the difference,” said Miller, whose team improved to 9-7 in the MIAC and 12-20 overall with the back-to-back wins. “We didn't get rattled when we fell behind early, we just kept at it and got the bats going.”
The Cardinals gave up a pair of Cobber runs in the bottom of the third, before erupting for six fifth-inning runs in the opener. Gannon accounted for the first three runs with her team-leading third home run of the season, while
Angie Diercks (Red Wing, Minn.) drove in two more with a double to left-center and
Morgan Stock (Amboy, Minn.) drove in the sixth run with a two-out single to left.
SMU would tack on four more runs in the seventh, highlighted by a two-run Betzold single, to seal the Game 1 victory.
In the nightcap, the Cardinals got on the board first, as
Hanna Schmitt (Rosemount, Minn.) drove in Gannon with an RBI single in the top of the third. The Cobbers, however, responded with four runs in the bottom of the fifth to take a 4-1 advantage.
And set the table for the Cardinals' 11-run sixth inning, in which SMU sent 16 batters to the plate, collecting seven hits — including two from
Joanna Mangan (Chicago, Ill.) and a two-run double from
Kellie Simons (Richfield, Minn.) and a two-run single from Schmitt.
“It was a crazy inning,” said Miller. “Once we got our timing down a bit, we really started to swing the bats well — and that sixth inning we were all of (Concordia's) pitchers.”
Diercks went 4-for-4 with a pair of doubles, two RBIs and three runs scored to pace the Cardinals offense in the sweep, while Gannon was 5-for-6 with four RBIs and four runs scored. Schmitt, Simons, Mangan, Betzold and
Paige Carter (Rosemount, Minn.) all had three hits vs. the Cobbers, as SMU belted out 27 hits — including three doubles and Gannon's home run.
SMU is back in action on Sunday, traveling to St. Joseph, Minn., for a conference doubleheader against Saint Benedict. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m.
