NORTHFIELD, Minn. — Mother Nature finally gave the Saint Mary's University fastpitch softball team a slight reprieve on Sunday, allowing temperatures to climb to a more seasonable 60 degrees when the Cardinals took the field for their conference doubleheader against St. Olaf.
Unfortunately, the Cardinal offense did not get the memo.
Saint Mary's struggled to find its offensive rhythm all afternoon, managing just three runs over 12 innings, as the Oles dealt the Cardinals 9-1 and 10-2 conference setbacks at Mabel Shirley Field.
GAME 1: NOT ENOUGH FIREPOWER
The Cardinals got off to a solid start in the opener, scoring the game's first run in the top of the second inning, as
Sarah Kraus (Onalaska, Wis.) delivered a run-scoring bunt single, plating
Mackenzie Carey (Prescott, Wis.) — who had reached on a one-out walk and moved to third on
Cassie Sutor's (Chicago, Ill.) double to left-center.
That, however, would be the extent of the Cardinal Game 1 offense.
And St. Olaf's bats were just getting warmed up.
The Oles knotted the game at 1-1 with a solo run in the third, before taking the lead for good with a pair of runs in the fourth. After pushing the advantage to 4-1 with one run in the fifth, the Oles sealed the six-inning win, scoring five times in the sixth.
Kraus, Sutor,
Sophie Cave (Maplewood, Minn.), and
Allison Ciero (Glen Ellyn, Ill.) accounted for Saint Mary's four hits in the opener against St. Olaf pitchers Abby Grismer and Jaelyn Orth.
GAME TWO: OFFENSE CAN'T KEEP PACE
The Cardinal offense remained on its early April hiatus in Game 2 — through the first two innings, that is.
Saint Mary's spotted the Oles a 6-0 advantage — giving up two runs in the first and four more I the second — before its offense showed signs of life in the third.
The Cardinals loaded the bases with no one out in the third on a
Madison Kindler (Sussex, Wis.) single, a Ciero walk, and an infield single by Hall. Cave followed with SMU's second straight infield single to plate Kindler with the first run, and a
Heather Nordlund ground-out scored Ciero with run No. 2, cutting the deficit to 6-2.
As was the case in the opener, that two-run burst would be all the Cardinals could muster in Game 2 — and St. Olaf once again plenty more in the tank. The Oles answered Saint Mary's two-run third with a single run in the fifth, before sealing their second straight six-inning win with three runs in the sixth.
Kindler paced the Cardinals' six-hit attack, recording her first two-hit game, with Hall, Cave, Nordlund, and
Emma Kral (Emmetsburg, Iowa) each chipping in one hit.
The Cardinals (3-5 MIAC, 10-9 overall) will play their third doubleheader in as many days on Monday, as they head to St. Paul, Minn., for a 3:30 p.m. conference twinbill against Hamline.
