WINTER HAVEN, Fla. — For the second game in a row, the Saint Mary's University fastpitch softball team erupted for eight runs in its first contest of the day Tuesday.
 
Unlike Monday's 8-3 win over Houghton, however, eight runs would not be enough against Alma, as the Scots scored four runs in the top of the seventh to knot the game at 8-8, and platted two more in the eighth in dealing the Cardinals a 10-8, extra-inning setback.
 
The Cardinal bats were silenced in their second game of the day, as Moravian limited Saint Mary's to just one run on seven hits in saddling SMU with a 4-1 loss.
 
EIGHT IS NOT ENOUGH
The Cardinals got off to a quick, first-inning lead, as Heather Nordlund (Byron, Minn.) launched her first home run of the season, a two-run shot, to put SMU in front 2-0.
 
Alma pushed four runs across in the top of the three to gain a 4-2 advantage, but SMU trimmed that lead to one, 4-3, with a solo run in the bottom of the third on an RBI double by Abbie Stigler (Menomonie, Wis.) — before erupting for five runs in the bottom of the fourth for what appeared to be a commanding 8-4 cushion.
 
Jada Allen (Eau Claire, Wis.) belted her first collegiate run to plate two of SMU's five fourth-inning runs, with Naleya Bork (De Pere, Wis.) also driving in a pair of runs with a double, and Nordlund adding a run-scoring single.
 
Saint Mary's maintained that four-run cushion into the seventh, where Alma kicked off the frame with back-to-back home runs and added two more runs to knot the game at 8-8.
 
The Scots took advantage of two Saint Mary's errors in the eighth to score a pair of runs, then set the Cardinals down in order in the bottom of the inning to ice the win.
 
Nordlund finished 3-for-4 with three RBIs and Bork, Allison Ciero (Glen Ellyn, Ill.), and Mackenzie Carey () each chipped in two hits to ignite SMU's 13-hit attack. 
 
OFFENSE GOES ON HIATUS AGAINST MORAVIAN
The Cardinals came out swinging in their second game of the day, banging out three hits — and scoring one run — in their first at-bat against Moravian.
 
Riley Hall (Dallas Center, Iowa) kicked things off for SMU, delivering a one-out single. Nordlund laced a two-out single to move Hall to third, and the senior scored on SMU's third hit of the inning — an infield single by Stigler.
 
Unfortunately, that first-inning run would be the only one for the Cardinals, who managed just four hits over the final six innings.
 
Moravian, meanwhile, pulled even with a solo run in the second, took the lead for good with a two-run third, and tacked on one final run in the bottom of the seventh to seal
 
Stigler finished with two hits to lead the Cardinal offense, going 2-for-3 with SMU's lone RBI, while Hall, Bork, Nordlund, Allen, and Zoe Fink (Stevens Point, Wis.) accounted for Saint Mary's other five hits. Bork took the loss in the pitcher's circle, allowing four runs — only two of which were earned — on 10 hits, while walking two.
 
The Cardinals (4-4 overall) have an off day on Wednesday, before returning to spring break action with nonconference games against Calvin (9 a.m. EST) and Chatham (2 p.m. EST) on Thursday.
 
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