WINONA, Minn. — After 13 consecutive road games, the Saint Mary's University fastpitch softball team finally got its first opportunity to play in front of its home fans Sunday afternoon.
And the Cardinals put on quite a display — much to the chagrin of visiting Concordia.
Saint Mary's rode the right-arm of
Sarah Kraus (Onalaska, Wis.) — who struck out a career-high nine batters — to a 6-2 victory over the Cobbers in the opening game of their Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference doubleheader.
And followed that up with a 13-hit offensive onslaught — including a four-run second inning and a three-run sixth — that fueled Saint Mary's to a sweep-clinching 9-5 victory in the nightcap.
GAME 1: FANNING THE FLAMES
The Cardinals wasted no time getting to Concordia starter Megan Gavin in the opener, scoring twice in the bottom of the first inning — scoring once on a Gavin wild pitch, with the other coming on an RBI double by
Mackenzie Carey (Prescott, Wis.).
With one swing of the bat, however, the game was back to even, as Concordia's Emma Redin launched a Kraus offering over the fence in right-center for a two-run home run — and a 2-2 deadlock.
That, however, would be the last time the Cobbers would push a runner across home plate against the Cardinal freshman, who limited Concordia to just two hits after the second inning en route to a four-hit, nine-strikeout complete-game victory.
Kraus wasn't only a thorn in the Cobbers' side from the pitcher's circle, either, as she helped her own cause offensively in the third inning, belting a two-run double as part of a four-run Cardinal outburst to give Saint Mary's the lead for good, 6-2.
Riley Hall (Dallas Station, Iowa) led the Cardinals' offensive attack in the opener, going 2-for-2 with two runs scored, while
Sophie Cave (Maplewood, Minn.), Carey, Kraus, and
Heather Nordlund (Byron, Minn.) accounted for SMU's other four hits.
GAME 2: GOING ON THE OFFENSIVE
Saint Mary's spotted the Cobbers a 1-0, first-inning advantage, which quickly evaporated when the Cardinals parlayed two hits and a pair of Cobber errors into their second four-run inning of the afternoon, giving SMU a 4-1 lead.
Concordia answered Saint Mary's four-run second with a four-run inning of its own in the top of the third to retake the lead, 5-4, only to have the Cardinals grab the advantage for good in the fourth, scoring a pair of runs on an RBI double by
Allison Ciero (Glen Ellyn, Ill.) and a run-scoring single by Hall.
Saint Mary's put the game out of reach in their final at-bat in the bottom of the sixth, as Cave belted an RBI single and
Erin Sullivan (Wisconsin Rapids, Wis.) launched a two-run home run to center field to make it a four-run, 9-5 Cardinal cushion.
Kraus, who came on in relief of starter
Amelia Spilde with one out in the sixth, struck out three of the five batters she faced to preserve the win — and earn her first collegiate save.
Cassie Sutor (Chicago, Ill.) was a perfect 3-for-3 from the plate, while Hall, Cave, Sullivan, and Kraus all chipped in two hits to propel the Cardinals' 13-hit attack in the nightcap. Spilde (Brooklyn, Wis.) improved to 3-0 on the season, allowing five runs — including three earned — on six hits in 5 1/3 innings.
The Cardinals (3-1 MIAC, 10-5 overall) are back in action on Wednesday, when the travel to St. Paul, Minn., for a 3:30 p.m. conference doubleheader against Hamline.
