CLERMONT, Fla. — For the first five innings of Saturday's nonconference game against Southwestern (Texas), the Saint Mary's University of Minnesota fastpitch softball team found itself in a very familiar position—dominating its spring trip opponent.
 
After racking up 47 runs in breezing to four straight wins to open the season, the Cardinals found themselves in complete control against the Pirates, leading 8-0 heading to the fifth inning.
 
By the time Ashley Betzold (Farmington, Minn.) got the third out in the Pirate sixth, however, Southwestern had plated six runs and what appeared to be a fifth straight rout, had been transformed into a two-run nailbiter.
 
Fortunately for coach Jen Miller, the Betzold induced Southwestern into a 1-2-3 seventh, as the Cardinals hung on for win No. 5, 8-6.
 
The Cardinals' high-powered offense ran into a bit of a roadblock in their second game of the day, however, as Otterbein handed Saint Mary's its first setback of the season—riding a three-run second inning to a 5-3 victory.
 
Saint Mary's used a pair of big innings to grab its 8-0 lead over Southwestern, scoring three times in the second and four more in the fourth. Stanzy Snyder (Johnston, Iowa) delivered an RBI single—one of her four hits against the Pirates—and Brittney Birkhauser (Wisconsin Rapids, Wis.) added a two-run double in the second frame, while the Cardinals took advantage of a pair of Southwestern errors and got an RBI double by Betzold to plate four runs in the fourth.
 
Snyder paced the Cardinals' 10-hit attack against Southwestern, going 4-for-4 with three runs scored, while Mariah Harper (Schaumburg, Ill.) was 2-for-2 with two runs scored.
 
In the nightcap, the Cardinals struck first on back-to-back two-out doubles by Harper and Stanzy Snyder, but Otterbein answered with three runs in the bottom of the second to take the lead for good.
 
Trailing 4-1 in the fourth, Saint Mary's made it a one-run game with one swing of the bat, as Snyder delivered a two-run triple to cut the Cardinals' deficit to 4-3.
 
That, however, would be as close as Saint Mary's would get, as Otterbein added an insurance run in the bottom of the fourth—and the Cardinals failed to score on a first-and-third, two-out situation in the sixth, and could not take advantage of a lead-off walk in the seventh.
 
Snyder was once again perfect at the plate, collecting three of the Cardinals' eight hits against Otterbein, going 3-for-3 with three RBIs, while Kathi Opsahl (Elk River, Minn.) and Harper each added two hits.
 
Betzold suffered the pitching loss, allowing five runs on nine hits, while walking three and striking out four in six innings.
 
The Cardinals (5-1 overall) are back in action on Sunday, squaring off against Wartburg (9 a.m. EST) and John Carroll (1 p.m. EST).