ST. PAUL, Minn. — You'll have to forgive the Saint Mary's University of Minnesota fastpitch softball team if they entered Friday's Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference doubleheader with a chip on their shoulder.
Dropping six straight—and plating just six runs in that six-game span—will do that to a team.
And the Cardinals took out their frustrations on host Macalester early, scoring as many runs in the opener as they had in their previous six games combined—cruising to a streak-snapping 6-2 victory in Game 1.
Unfortunately, the Cardinals could not carry their offensive momentum into the nightcap, managing just five hits—and no runs—in falling to the Scots 2-0.
Saint Mary's jumped out to a 2-0 lead after their first at-bat, getting an RBI single from
Kathi Opsahl (Elk River, Minn.) and a run-scoring ground-out by
Allie Borawski (Stickney, Ill.).
Macalester cut the gap to 2-1 with a run in the bottom of the first, but the Cardinals tacked on a run in the fourth to regain their two-run advantage.
Mia Lloyd (Minneapolis, Minn.) opened the inning with a walk and, one out later, moved to second on a single by
Jordyn Keprios (Farmington, Minn.).
Ashley Betzold (Farmington, Minn.) followed with an infield single, scoring Lloyd and pushing Saint Mary's lead to 3-1.
The Scots again cut the deficit to one, 3-2, scoring an unearned run in the bottom of the fifth, but a clutch, two-run single through the left side by Borawski in the sixth padded the Cardinal lead to 5-2, and
Brittney Birkhauser (Wisconsin Rapids, Wis.) tacked on an insurance run with a two-out single in the top of the seventh.
Birkhauser, Keprios, and Betzold all collected two hits in the opener, while Betzold tossed her 16
th complete game of the season, a four-hitter.
Macalester did not waste any time playing with the lead in the nightcap, scoring a solo run in its first at-bat, before adding another run—this one in the fourth—to seal the win and earn the conference split.
Molly Urban (Roseville, Minn.) collected a pair of hits, while Keprios, Betzold, and Opsahl accounted for the other four. Betzold was tagged with the pitching loss, despite allowing just two runs on six hits.
The Cardinals (2-11 MIAC, 8-21 overall) are back in action—and back on the road—on Wednesday, traveling to Northfield, Minn., for a 3:30 p.m. conference doubleheader against Carleton.