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WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University fastpitch softball team — held scoreless for a span of seven straight innings during their Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference doubleheader against Augsburg, came to life at just the right time Wednesday afternoon.

The Cardinals, who scored just two runs — both in the second inning on a Nicole Olson (New Brighton, Minn.) home run — in dropping the opening game of their MIAC twinbill 6-2, were held off the board for the first two innings of the nightcap as well.

Then SMU's bats came to life, as SMU scored to runs in the third, three in the fourth and two in the sixth to earn a 7-5 victory and a split with the Auggies at the SMU Field.

SMU collected four of its six Game 1 hits in the first two innings — the biggest blow Olson's first collegiate home run over the left-field fence that gave the Cardinals a short-lived 2-0 advantage.

Augsburg answered with a pair of runs in the top of the third, then padded that lead with single runs in the fourth and fifth, before tacking on two more in the top of the seventh.

Michelle Carne (Escanaba, Mich.) had two of SMU's six hits in the opener, while Olson, Hailey Ohl (Bloomington, Minn.), Erin Stenseth (Eau Claire, Wis.) and Kristen Thelen (Rochester, Minn.) accounted for the other four.

The Auggies jumped out to a 1-0 lead in their first plate appearance in the nightcap, but the Cardinals plated two runs in the third — one on an RBI single by Paige Carter (Rosemount, Minn.) and the other on an Augsburg error — and three more in the fourth to grab a 5-1 advantage.

Augsburg got to SMU starter Kayla Peterson (Lewiston, Minn.) in the sixth, scoring four runs on five hits to knot the game at 5-5. SMU responded in its half of the sixth, taking advantage of three Auggie errors to score twice and seal the victory.

Carter, who went 2-for-3 with a pair of RBIs at the plate, picked up her first pitching win of the season, scattering three hits and not allowing a run in 1 2/3 innings of relief. Alex Raske (Chicago, Ill.) and Thelen each chipped in two hits, as the Cardinals banged out 10 hits off a pair of Augsburg pitchers in Game 2.

The Cardinals (1-1 MIAC, 7-5 overall) are back in action on Saturday, hosting Bethel in a pair of MIAC games at the SMU Field. First pitch in the conference doubleheader is set for 1 p.m.