WINTER HAVEN, Fla. — After managing just two runs in their first spring trip game of the season earlier in the day, the Saint Mary's University fastpitch softball team turned up the offensive heat in its second out — with the end result being a Day 1 split.
 
Adrian erupted for three runs in the bottom of the third inning in dealing the Cardinals a 5-2 loss in their first game of the day Monday at DiamondPlex. SMU's second game of the day, however, was a totally different story, as SMU erupted for eight runs — including four in the second inning — en route to an 8-3 win over Houghton.
 
GAME 1: ADRIAN'S BIG INNING TOO MUCH
The Cardinals came out swinging to open their spring trip, plating a run on two hits in their very first at-bat against Adrian. Riley Hall (Dallas Center, Iowa) drew a one-out walk, moved to second on a single by Naleya Bork (De Pere, Wis., and scored on Heather Nordlund's (Byron, Minn.) RBI double.
 
Adrian, however, had an answer, scoring once in the bottom of the second and three more times in the third to grab a 4-1 advantage.
 
Saint Mary's cut the deficit to two, 4-2 on a run-scoring single by Peyton Berg (Chatfield,, Minn.) in the top of the sixth, only to have Adrian plate a solo run of its own in the bottom of the frame to seal the victory.
 
Bork finished 2-for-3 with a run scored to pace SMU's eight-hit offensive attack, with Nordlund, Berg, Mackenzie Carey (Prescott, Wis.), Cassie Sutor (Chicago, Ill.), Savannah Swanson (Marengo, Ill.), and Abbie Stigler (Menomonie, Wis.) all collecting one hit.
 
GAME 2: BACK ON TRACK
Houghton did not waste any time taking the lead, scoring three times in the Greyhounds' first at-bat.
 
That, however, would be the last time the Cardinals would let Houghton cross home plate — and the Cardinals' offense was just getting revved up.
 
Saint Mary's got one run back in the bottom of the first inning, before erupting for four second-inning run to take the lead for good, 5-3. Saint Mary's would tack on a solo run in the fourth and two more in the sixth to seal the win.
 
Allison Ciero (Glyn Ellyn, Ill.) accounted for two of SMU's five hits, going 2-for-3 with three runs scored. Hall, Nordlund, and Carey recorded the Cardinals other hits, with Hall joining Ciero with three runs scored.
 
Bork picked up the pitching win, allowing three runs on six hits, while walking four and striking out 10. Amy Gappa (Trempealeau, Wis.) worked a perfect seventh in relief.
 
The Cardinals (4-2 overall) are back in action on Tuesday, squaring off against Alma (9 a.m. EST) and Moravian (11:30 a.m. EST) in Winter Haven, Fla.
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