WINONA, Minn. – Playing in front of a home crowd, the No. 11 Saint Mary's softball team (37-6) put on a show to open the first round of the NCAA DIII Softball Regionals. The team, who is the host site of Regionals, drew a record crowd on Thursday morning to take down the UW-Stevens Point Pointers (30-14), 5-1.
SMU 5, UWSP 1
The Cardinals were ready to punch first and they did.
The team used some smart base running to get on the board first after a single by Megan McGinnis allowed Alexandra Gerber to advance to third before an the Stevens Point catcher caught McGinnis stealing but it allowed Gerber to sneak home in the meantime for the 1-0 lead.
In the bottom of the second inning, Naleyah Bork doubled down the baseline and set pinch runner Ariel Herrera up to score when Abbie Stigler recorded the teams first RBI with a single.Â
The Cardinals held the Pointer scoreless until the fourth inning when a home run allowed some energy into the visiting teams dugout. The chances for a comeback were immediately dwindled after the Cardinals responded by plating two more runs, highlighted by a monster triple by Gerber, in the bottom of the fourth to hold the 4-1 lead.
The Cardinals added one more to their tally in the sixth after a lead off single by Stigler, where Breonna Methner pinch ran, and used her speed to get home from a single by Brianna Nusbaum.
Kenzie Gatz picked up her 17th win of the season and struck out four batters.
There was no slowing the team once they got started.Â
McGinnis notes that having experience in this position helped get this team this far.
"It means a lot to be here," she notes. "Even being here in front of our wonderful community as well."
Head coach John Tschida wants his team to keep the aggressive mindset heading into tomorrow's game.
"Don't be afraid to be aggressive, we practice how to win and not how to lose,"Â Tschida said.Â
"Just put that pedal down and let's see what happens."
Let's see what happens indeed as the Cardinals gear up to take on the No.2 team in the regional, the Calvin Knights at 11:00 a.m. tomorrow back at the SMU Softball Field.
The Knights took down Bethany Lutheran in five-innings, 8-0, to open the regional Thursday afternoon.Â
