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ROCHESTER, Minn. — Saint Mary's University fastpitch softball coach Jen Miller entered Wednesday's nonconference season-opener against UW-River Falls at the Rochester Dome with plenty of questions.

Some got answered, others … not so much.

But in the end, a season-opening split against the Falcons left the Cardinal head coach feeling pretty good.

UW-River Falls erupted for five runs in the fifth inning in beating the Cardinals 6-1 in the opener, but the Cardinals turned in the tables, scoring twice in the fourth and once in the fifth to beat UW-RF 4-2 and earn the split.

The Cardinals got on the board first in the opener, getting an RBI single from Kristin Thelen (Rochester, Minn.) to snap a 0-0 deadlock in the top of the fifth inning.

UW-River Falls, limited to two hits through the first four innings by SMU freshman pitcher Ashley Betzold (Farmington, Minn.), more than doubled that hit total in their half of the fifth inning alone. The Falcons loaded the bases with two out, scored the game-tying run on a wild pitch, added two more runs on a double by Ali Murray, and made it a five-run inning on a pinch-hit, two-run home run by Kaityln Lepine.

And the Falcons didn't stop there, getting a lead-off home run from Amber O'Connell in the bottom of the sixth to push their lead to 6-1.

SMU threatened in the seventh, as Toni Hunsinger (Farmington, Minn.) and Thelen each singled with two out in the seventh, but UW-River Falls relief pitcher Lauren Janssen got Mariah Harper (Schaumburg, Ill.) to line out to secure the Falcon win.

Thelen and Molly Urban (Roseville, Minn.) each had a pair of hits to account for four of SMU's six hits — all singles — while Kathi Opsahl (Elk River, Minn.) and Hunsinger had the Cardinals' other two singles.

The Falcons picked up where they left off in Game 2, scoring a single run in their first at-bat. SMU, however, had an answer, as Opsahl delivered an RBI single to score Harper, who reached on a one-out double to right-center to make it 1-1.

UW-River Falls pushed another run across in the third, but again the Cardinals responded, as Katie Krull (Rochester, Minn.) and Hunsinger delivered one-out RBI singles in the fourth to give SMU a 3-2 advantage.

An Alex Raske (Chicago, Ill.) RBI single in the fifth pushed the Cardinals' lead to 4-2 and, Betzold — on in relief of starter Jess Wirz (Eau Claire, Wis.) — made it stand up.

Raske went 3-for-3 in the nightcap to pace the Cardinals' nine-hit attack, while Opsahl chipped in two hits in three at-bats.

Wirz went the first four innings, allowing two runs on five hits with seven strikeouts while Betzold threw three innings of scoreless relief  in earning the pitching win.

The Cardinals (1-1 overall) are back in action on Sunday, when SMU squares off against Susquehanna and Muhlenberg during the first day of their 10-game spring trip to Clermont, Fla.