WINONA, Minn. — There's something about playing the first game of a doubleheader that seems to send the Saint Mary's fastpitch softball team's bats into a deep-freeze.
 
Just two days after managing just one hit against St. Olaf in a 6-0 loss to the Oles in the opening game of their Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference doubleheader, it was a near-repeat in the opener against Gustavus on Saturday.
 
The Gusties scored single runs in the first and second innings to account for all the offensive highlights, as GAC held the Cardinals to no runs on three hits in dealing Saint Mary's a 2-0 setback at Saint Mary's Field.
 
Saint Mary's bats heated up in a big way in the nightcap, hammering a pair of Gustie pitchers for 11 hits — including a pair of home runs — as the Cardinals rolled to an 8-2 win in the nightcap to earn the split.
 
With the Cardinals' bats silent in Game 1, SMU pitcher Amber Chow (West St. Paul, Minn.) did all she could to keep things close, scattering just four hits — all in the first two innings — while striking out a career-high 10 Gusties in posting her team-leading sixth complete game.
 
GAC's Payton Beit picked up the win in the pitcher's circle, limiting Saint Mary's to three singles — one each by Justine Schultz (Winona, Minn.), Jordan Meyers (Eyota, Minn.), and Paige Gudmundson (Plainview, Minn.) — while walking one and striking out three.
 
After suffering through their eighth straight scoreless inning, the Cardinal offense showed signs of life, scoring three times in the second inning of Game 2 — including an RBI single by Amy Kulaga (Riverside, Ill.) and a run-scoring sacrifice fly by Schultz.
 
The two teams traded runs in the third — Saint Mary's coming on Cassie Sutor's (Chicago, Ill.) second home run of the season — a lead-off shot — and Gustavus made it a two-run SMU lead with a solo run in the fifth.
 
Saint Mary's then broke the game open in the sixth, scoring four times — three coming on Erin Sullivan's (Wisconsin Rapids, Wis.) first career-home run — to seal the 8-2 victory.
 
Meyers led the way for the Cardinal offense in the nightcap, going 3-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored, while Sullivan was 2-for-4 with three RBIs and a run scored. Kulaga also had a pair of hits and scored twice for Saint Mary's.
 
The Cardinals (3-7 MIAC, 6-16 overall) are right back in action on Sunday, heading to St. Paul, Minn., for a conference doubleheader against St. Catherine. First pitch is set for 1 p.m.