Box Score 1 | Box Score 2  | GameDay Preview

ST. PAUL, Minn. — Saint Mary's University fastpitch softball coach Jen Miller must have felt like she stepped back in time Sunday afternoon.

After all, Sunday's opening game of their Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference doubleheader looked eerily familiar to Saturday's — or last Tuesday's for that matter.

For the third straight doubleheader — and second day in a row — the Cardinals' first game of their conference twinbill went into extra innings.

And, for the third straight opener, the extra-inning result did not go their way.

Less than 24 hours after St. Catherine scored the game-winning run in the top of the eighth inning in beating SMU 8-7 — and five days after St. Olaf walked away from SMU Field with a 7-6, eight-inning victory — Macalester put together some late-inning magic of its own, plating four runs in the bottom of the eighth to beat the Cardinals 5-4.

Fortunately for the Cardinals, Sunday's second game had the same final score — but did not follow the same script as Saturday — as SMU bounced back with a convincing 6-0 victory to earn the conference split.

The Cardinals and Scots decided to wait until the eighth to kick their offenses in high gear, as the two teams — tied 1-1 after seven innings — combined for seven runs in the eighth inning alone.

SMU scored three times in the top of the eight, taking advantage of an RBI single by Nicole Olson (New Brighton, Minn.) and a Macalester error to take a 4-1 advantage.

An advantage that lasted less than three outs, as the Scots parlayed five hits and two SMU errors into four runs to seal the come-from-behind Game 1 win.

The Cardinals left little doubt in the nightcap, scoring in each of the first three innings to take a 4-0 advantage, and then pushed the lead to 6-0 with a two-run fifth. Kayla Peterson (Lewiston, Minn.) and Paige Carter (Rosemount, Minn.) combined on a four-hit shutout — with Peterson scattering three hits in five innings, while Carter tossed the final two innings, allowing one hit.

Alex Raske (Chicago, Ill.) went 2-for-4 in both games, while Melanie Hamilton (Homewood, Ill.) was 2-for-3 in the opener, and Carter and Olson each chipped in two hits in the nightcap.

The Cardinals (9-9 MIAC, 15-15 overall) step out of conference play on Tuesday, traveling to Eau Claire, Wis., for a 4 p.m. nonconference doubleheader against UW-Eau Claire.