WINONA, Minn. — Two swings of the bat determined the outcome of Friday's Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference doubleheader between the Saint Mary's University of Minnesota and St. Olaf fastpitch softball teams.
 
And we're talking "big" swings.
 
Ashley Betzold (Farmington, Minn.) delivered a walk-off, three-run home run in the bottom of the seventh inning to rally the Cardinals to a 3-1 conference win the opener of their twinbill against the Oles at Saint Mary's Field.
 
Unfortunately, the Oles returned the favor in Game 2, as Brooke Paradise blasted a three-run home run of her own in the top of the fifth inning, breaking a 1-1 tie and leading St. Olaf to the 4-1 victory.
 
Betzold and St. Olaf starter Danielle Collins were locked in a pitcher's duel in Game 1, as the duo put up shutout inning after shutout inning through the game's first five frames.
 
St. Olaf finally broke through in the sixth on a one-out, Jessica Bentley home run, giving the Oles the 1-0 advantage.
 
Enter Betzold—the hitter, not the pitcher.
 
The sophomore laced her second home run of the season—scoring Mariah Harper (Schaumburg, Ill.) and Stanzy Snyder (Johnston, Iowa) ahead of her—to give the Cardinals the dramatic come-from-behind victory.
 
The top three hitters in the Cardinal lineup—Alex Raske (Chicago, Ill.), Snyder, and Betzold—all had three hits to account for six of the team's eight hits. On the mound, Betzold allowed just the one, fourth-inning run on four hits in tossing her team-leading 12th complete game.
 
St. Olaf got once again got on the board first in the second game, scoring a single run in the top of the third inning. But the Cardinals would answer with a run of their own in the bottom half of the third on an RBI double by Kathi Opsahl (Elk River, Minn.).
 
The score would remain deadlocked until the fifth, when a walk and single brought Paradise to the plate with two on and no one out. The sophomore greeted Betzold—on in relief of starter Katie Homan (North Mankato, Minn.)—by blasting an offering over the left-field fence to give the Oles a commanding 4-1 advantage.
 
The Cardinals put a runner on base in both the sixth and seventh, but could not cut into the Ole lead in falling to 5-5 in conference play and 11-11 overall.
 
Raske and Sam Borawski (Stickney, Ill.) each had two hits for the Cardinals, who finished with eight hits for the second game in a row.
 
The Cardinals are right back in action on Saturday, entertaining Augsburg in a 1 p.m. conference doubleheader at the Saint Mary's Field.