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WINONA, Minn. — In golf, there's a saying that goes, “Drive for show, putt for dough.”

For the Saint Mary's University fastpitch softball team, it wasn't the driving — but rather the “putting” — that carried the Cardinals to a Game 1 victory Thursday, as the Cardinals overcame four Concordia home runs in recording the 10-7 win at the SMU Field.

The Cobbers belted home runs in each of the first two innings to grab a 3-1 advantage, but SMU rattled off nine unanswered runs — including three runs in the third and four in the sixth — to take a 10-3 lead into the seventh.

Concordia again flexed its muscles, launching two more home runs in its final at-bat, but it was not enough as Kayla Peterson (Lewiston, Minn.) got Kesley Jones to strike out swinging to ice the victory.

Peterson shut down Cobbers in the nightcap, as the Cardinal junior blanked Concordia over five innings, as SMU completed the sweep with an 8-0, five-inning victory.

Kristen Thelen (Rochester, Minn.) led the Cardinals' 15-hit Game 1 attack, going 3-for-4 with a pair of runs scored, while Hailey Ohl (Bloomington, Minn.), Anna Ramboldt (Goodhue, Minn.), Erin Stenseth (Eau Claire, Wis.), Michelle Carne (Escanaba, Mich.) and Mel Hamilton (Homewood, Ill.) all chipped in two hits.

Stenseth had the biggest blow for the Cardinals, belting her second home run in as many games — a three-run shot in the Cardinals' four-run sixth.

The Cardinals continued to feast on Cobber pitching in the nightcap, scoring once in the first, four times in the second and three times in the third in running their winning streak to four.

Thelen and Paige Carter (Rosemount, Minn.) each had two hits — including a double. Ohl joined the fray with a double of her own, while all three drove in two runs.

The Cardinals (6-2 MIAC, 12-6 overall) are back in action next Wednesday, traveling to St. Paul, Minn., for a 3:30 p.m. MIAC doubleheader against nationally ranked St. Thomas.