Box Score | MIAC Tournament GameDay

ARDEN HILLS, Minn. — For the second time in less than a week, Saint Mary's University and Gustavus squared off in a key fastpitch softball game.

Unfortunately for the Cardinals, unlike Monday's 4-1 Game 1 win — which helped fuel SMU's late-season charge into the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament — this time around, it was the Gusties who had the upper hand, as GAC handed SMU a 3-0 setback in the tournament's opening round at Bethel's Ona Orth Field.

The Cardinals managed seven hits off GAC starter Kate Renschler, but could not come up with the key hit when they needed it most.

SMU threatened in the seventh, as Kellie Simons (Richfield, Minn.) led off with a single and moved to second on a groundout by Joanna Mangan. Erin Stenseth (Eau Claire, Wis.) followed with a single to center, but GAC centerfielder Jenny Ewert threw Simons out at third, and Rentschler got Hailey Ohl (Bloomington, Minn.) to ground out to second to end the threat, and the game.

GAC got all the runs it would need in the bottom of the second, as MacKenzie Dalton doubled with one and Kelly Myers followed with an RBI single. Jen Ulman gave the Gusties some breathing room in the bottom of the sixth, belting a two-run home run to push the lead to 3-0.

Simons and Paige Carter (Rosemount, Minn.) each had two hits for the Cardinals, while Stenseth, Michelle Carne (Escanaba, Mich.) and Mangan accounted for the other three.

The Cardinals (21-15 overall) are right back in action at 5 p.m. on Friday, taking on Hamline — 7-0 losers to top-seeded and regular-season conference champion St. Thomas. The loser of the 5 p.m. game is eliminated from the double-elimination tournament, while the winner will face the loser of the St. Thomas-Gustavus game at 11 a.m. Saturday at St. Thomas.