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WINONA, Minn. — When it's come to doubleheaders this season, the Saint Mary's University baseball team has been a bit of a slow starter.

In five of their seven doubleheaders this season — heading into Tuesday's MIAC showdown with Concordia — the Cardinals had dropped the opening game of the twinbill.

In the nightcaps, the Cardinals had been much more productive, winning four of the seven nightcaps — including its last three Game 2s.

Unfortunately for coach Nick Winecke, there was no second-game magic Tuesday afternoon, as the Cobbers handed SMU its sixth Game 1 setback, 1-0, then completed the sweep with a 12-4 victory at Max Molock Field.

Cobber pitcher Randy Syrstad dominated the Cardinals in the opener, as the senior right-hander faced just 22 batters — one over the minimum — while limiting SMU to just three hits, while striking out five and not walking a batter.

The Cardinals got singles from Curt Swanson (Woodbury, Minn.) and Paul LaNasa (Bloomington, Minn.) in the first and third innings, and got a one-out double by Vince Lulic (Mendota Heights, Minn.) in the fifth. All three threats, however, were quickly eliminated, as Swanson was wiped out when he was caught stealing, LaNasa was stranded at first, and Lulic was picked off second to end the fifth inning.

Andrew Ruf (Chippewa Falls, Wis.) suffered the pitching loss for the Cardinals, scattering eight hits over seven innings. He fanned three and did not walk a batter in recording his team-leading third complete game.

One of the hits Ruf gave up, however, proved to be the game-breaker, as Tony Emmerich blasted an offering over the left field fence for a fourth-inning grand slam and lifting the Cobbers to a 4-0 advantage.

Concordia would add the fifth run in the fifth, and then rode the right arm of Syrstad to the victory.

SMU kicked its offense into high gear early in the second game, putting together a pair of two-run innings in the second and third to grab a 4-1 advantage.

From there, however, the Cardinals' offense stalled — and the Cobbers took advantage, scoring twice in the fourth, six times in the fifth and three times in the sixth to seal the sweep-clinching win.

Chris Bogie (St. Paul, Minn.) went 3-for-3 with a pair of runs scored, while Larson was 2-gfor-3 with an RBI and Jon Schlemmer (De Pere, Wis.) went 1-for-2 with a two-run single in the third.

The Cardinals (2-6 MIAC, 8-16 overall) are back in action on Saturday, traveling to Minneapolis, Minn., for a 1 p.m. conference doubleheader against Augsburg.