DECORAH, Iowa — Jumping out to the early lead wasn't a problem for the Saint Mary's University of Minnesota fastpitch softball team wasn't the problem against ninth-ranked Luther Tuesday afternoon.
 
Maintaining that advantage, however, was another story.
 
The Cardinals scored a combined five first-inning runs in their nonconference doubleheader against the Norse.
 
Over the remaining innings, however, Saint Mary's managed just one run, as the Norse cruised to a pair of victories—beating the Cardinals 10-2 in five innings in the opener, before completing the sweep with a 10-4 victory in Game 2.
 
Saint Mary's got off to an impressive start in Game 1, as Ashley Betzold (Farmington, Minn.) and Kathi Opsahl (Elk River, Minn.) launched back-to-back two-out home runs in the Cardinals' first at-bat to take an early 2-0 lead.
 
Unfortunately, those two round-trippers would be the Cardinals' only hits off Luther pitcher Samantha Bratland, who allowed just two base runners—Kali Aldrich (Rochester, Minn.) reached on a second-inning error and Quinncy Zupko () drew a fifth-inning walk—over the remaining four innings, while striking out nine.
 
Luther answered the Cardinals' two-run top of the first with three runs in their first at-bat—and added two runs in the second, three more in the fourth, and two in the fifth to ice the five-inning victory.
 
 The Cardinals once again came out swinging to open the nightcap, as Brittney Birkhauser (Wisconsin Rapids, Wis.) belted a lead-off home run, and, after Haley Vanourney (Marion, Iowa) singled, Betzold smashed her second home run of the afternoon to give Saint Mary's a quick 3-0 advantage.
 
Luther responded by scoring 10 unanswered runs—two in the second, third, and fifth innings, and four in the sixth—before Saint Mary's got an RBI single from Alexa Diteman () in the seventh.
 
Aldrich paced the Cardinals' seven-hit Game 2 offensive attack, going 2-for-3, while Birkhauser, Vanourney, Betzold, Diteman, and Haley Williams (Littleton, Colo.) accounted for the other five hits.
 
The Cardinals (6-10 overall) kick off Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play this weekend, traveling to St. Paul, Minn., for a 1 p.m. doubleheader against St. Catherine on Saturday, before heading to St. Joseph, Minn., on Sunday for a 1 p.m. twinbill against Saint Benedict.