Box Score  | GameDay Preview

SHOREVIEW, Minn. — Saint Mary's University fastpitch softball coach Jen Miller knew her Cardinals were going to have their hands full when they kicked off Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament play against top-seeded and regular-season champion St. Thomas.

After all, not only were the Tommies entering Friday's tournament-opener as the conference's top seed — for the eighth time in the tourney's nine years in existence — they were also ranked No. 14 in the latest NFCA Poll.

Oh, and one other thing — the Tommies have never lost in MIAC Tournament play.

And they still haven't.

St. Thomas — now a perfect 25-0 in tournament play — scored three runs in each of the first two innings and held off a late Cardinal rally that included a four-run seventh inning, in handing SMU an 8-6 setback in one of two conference tournament openers at the Rice Creek Fields.

The Tommies move on to face the winner of Friday's other 3 p.m. game between Augsburg and Gustavus at 5 p.m., while SMU will square off against the Augsburg-Gustavus loser in an elimination game at 5 p.m.

UST got to SMU starter Kayla Peterson (Lewiston, Minn.) early, scoring three runs on three hits in the bottom of the first, then repeating that effort in the second to take a 6-0 advantage. The Tommies collected four more hits — and a pair of runs — in the third to push their lead to 8-0.

And it appeared the Tommies were on their way to an easy, five-inning victory.

Fortunately for the Cardinals, things aren't always as they appear.

After being held scoreless on two hits through the game's first four innings, the Cardinals finally broke free in the fifth, as Hailey Ohl (Bloomington, Minn.) delivered one of two SMU hits in the inning, scoring pinch-runner Breanna Olson (Byron, Minn.).

And SMU was just heating up — as the Cardinals got an RBI single from Kristen Thelen (Rochester, Minn.) and a run-scoring ground-out by Alex Raske (Chicago, Ill.) in the sixth to get within five, 8-3.

The Cardinals loaded the bases with no one out in the seventh — taking advantage of three St. Thomas errors. Anna Ramboldt (Goodhue, Minn.) drew a bases-loaded walk,, Thelen delivered a two-run single and Raske added a two-out, run-scoring single to cut the Tommies' lead to one, 8-7.

That, however, would be as close as SMU would get, as UST pitcher Kendra Bowe got Ohl to fly out to center and end the threat.

Thelen, Carne and Erin Stenseth (Eau Claire, Wis.) all had two hits for the Cardinals, while Thelen finished with a team-best three RBIs.