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MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — After dropping both games of their Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference doubleheader against Carleton on Tuesday, the Saint Mary's University fastpitch softball team was in dire need of a spark heading into Wednesday's showdown with Augsburg.
 
Enter Toni Hunsinger (Farmington, Minn.) … 
 
And Ashley Betzold (Farmington, Minn.) …
 
And Kathi Opsahl (Elk River, Minn.).
 
Hunsinger, batting in the No. 9 spot, went 2-for-4 with two RBIs and a run scored and Betzold tossed a complete-game five-hitter in leading the Cardinals to a much-needed 8-1 victory over the Auggies in Game 1 of their conference twinbill at Edor Nelson Field.
 
And Opsahl followed Hunsinger's offensive lead in the nightcap, going 3-for-3 with five RBIs — including her first collegiate home run — as SMU completed the conference sweep with a 10-2, six-inning victory.
 
"Offensively, we were much better today than we were (Tuesday) against Carleton," said SMU coach Jen Miller. "Up and down the lineup we were able to adjust to (Augsburg's) pitchers quickly and that was huge.
 
"Plus, we got outstanding pitching from both Ashley and Jess (Wirz) — they both pitched great," Miller added. "It was a great day all the way around."
 
The Auggies got on the board first in the opener, scoring a single run off Betzold.
 
That, however, would be all the offense Augsburg would muster against the Cardinal right-hander, who recorded her team-leading seventh complete game, scattering five hits and striking out a career-high 10 batters.
 
And while Betzold was doing her part in the pitcher's circle, Hunsinger did hers in the batter's box — delivering a key, two-run single in the third that gave the Cardinals the lead for good.
 
SMU would score three runs in both the third and fourth innings and added another run in the seventh to seal the win.
 
Molly Urban (Roseville, Minn.) also went 2-for-4 for the Cardinals in Game 1, while the other five hits came from five different SMU players.
 
The Cardinals didn't waste any time getting their offense rolling in the nightcap — Opsahl made sure of that, belting a two-run bomb over the left-field fence to help give SMU a 3-0, first-inning advantage.
 
SMU added two more runs in the third and put together its second three-run inning of the game in the fourth to push their lead to 8-0. Augsburg foiled Cardinal starting pitcher Jess Wirz's (Eau Claire) shutout bid with two runs in the bottom of the fourth, but that would be the extent of the Auggies' offensive punch.
 
Opsahl completed her five-RBI effort with a two-run double in the sixth that pushed SMU's lead to 10-2 and allowed the game to be called by the eight-run rule.
 
Opsahl wasn't the only Cardinal feasting on Augsburg pitching in Game 2, as Alex Raske (Chicago, Ill.) went 3-for-3 with two RBIs and four runs scored, and Kristen Thelen (Rochester, Minn.) chipped in a 2-for-4 effort and scored a pair of runs.
 
The Cardinals (4-4 MIAC, 8-10 overall) return home for a pair of conference doubleheaders at the SMU Field this weekend. SMU hosts Saint Benedict in a 1 p.m. conference twinbill on Saturday, before entertaining Macalester in a pair of MIAC games on Sunday, also kicking off at 1 p.m.