By
DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
NORTHFIELD, Minn. — After scoring just three runs in dropping both games of its Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference doubleheader against St. Olaf last Sunday, the Saint Mary's University of Minnesota fastpitch softball team was in dire need of an offensive awakening.
Carleton's pitchers, however, refused to cooperate.
For the second straight doubleheader, Saint Mary's could only muster three runs in its conference doubleheader against the Knights, falling 7-1 in the opening, and dropping a 10-2, five-inning setback in the nightcap at Carleton's Ele Hansen Field.
The Cardinals loaded the bases in the third, and
Marissa Kleckler (Oregon, Wis.) drove in the game's first run on an RBI groundout. Carleton, however, would answer with three runs in its half of the third — before pushing the lead to 4-1 with a solo run in the fifth, and tacking on three more in the sixth to seal the Game 1 victory.
Saint Mary's five hits in the opener came from five different players — Kleckler,
Paige Gudmundson (Plainview, Minn.),
Justine Schultz (Winona, Minn.), Trendle (Chicago, Ill.), and
Roni Stevens (Delano, Minn.) — while Kleckler drove in the lone Cardinal run.
The Knights offense picked up right where it left off in Game 2, erupting for four runs — including a two-run double from Brooke McKelvey, a sacrifice fly from Sam Kile and a run-scoring single by Maris Daleo — to take a commanding 4-0 advantage.
The Cardinals finally got their offense back on track in the fourth, getting a lead-off walk by Gudmundson and a single by
Amber Chow (West St. Paul, Minn.). Two outs later,
Maria Averbeck (Lewiston, Minn.) smacked an infield single to load the bases, and Trendle and
Erin Sullivan (Wisconsin Rapids, Wis.) followed with RBI singles to whittle the Knights' lead to three, 5-2.
Unfortunately, as quickly as the lead shrunk to three, it ballooned to six — and then eight — as Carleton answered the Cardinals' two-run fourth inning with three in their half of the inning, before sealing the win with two more runs in the fifth.
Chow led the Cardinals' seven-hit offensive attack, going 3-for-3, with Gudmundson, Averbeck, Trendle, and Sullivan each chipping in one hit.
The Cardinals (1-5 MIAC, 5-15 overall) return home to the Saint Mary's Field on Saturday, hosting Hamline in a conference doubleheader. Opening pitch for Game 1 is set for 1 p.m.
