WINONA, Minn. —The Saint Mary’s University fastpitch softball team scored more runs Wednesday against Carleton (eight) than they have scored in their last four games combined (five).

In fact, the Cardinals scored as many runs in the first game of Wednesday’s Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference doubleheader against the Knights than they had in those previous four games.

Unfortunately, that’s one moral victory that SMU coach Nikki Fennern wants no part of.

You see, after another dominating pitching performance by Jennifer Gonerka (St. Paul, Minn.) and 3-for-4, four-RBI performance from Jackie Huegel (Alta Vista, Iowa) that led SMU to a 5-3 Game 1 win, the Cardinals let a crucial conference sweep slip though their fingers, as Carleton rallied for four runs in the top of the seventh inning in beating SMU 5-3 to earn the split.

“This one hurts,” Fennern said of the split. “We had it right there for the taking and we let it slip through our fingers.”

The Cardinals jumped out to what appeared to be a commanding 3-1 advantage heading into the top of the seventh. SMU pitcher Hanni Lohmann (Lake Elmo, Minn.) was cruising along, carrying a three-hitter into the Knights’ final at-bat.

Then Carleton decided to rain on the Cardinals’ parade.

Three straight singles to lead off the inning loaded the bases. Lohmann got Cara Jones to pop out to second for the first out, but a fourth single plated the Knights’ first run of the inning, and sent Lohmann to the showers. Gonerka — who tossed a complete-game five-hitter in the opener — came on in relief and got a force-out at home for the second out of the inning. But an RBI single by Abby Kalland and a bases-loaded hit batter plated two more runs to give the Knights the lead for good.

“What can you say — we didn’t get the job done when we needed to,” said a frustrated Fennern, whose team dropped to 8-2 in the MIAC and 13-7 overall. “Everyone on this team knows we let this one slip away — and everyone on this team knows that we can’t afford slip-ups like that. This conference is way too tough to give games away.”

The Cardinals were in command from start to finish in Game 1, scoring once in the first, three times in the second – all three runs coming on Huegel’s first home run of the season — and once in the fifth on Huegel’s RBI triple.

“We can’t sit around and feel sorry for ourselves,” said Fennern, whose team faces the task of playing four MIAC doubleheaders this week — including back-to-back-toback games against Gustauvs, Bethel and St. Catherine and culminating with a showdown against league-leading St. Thomas on Saturday.. “We’ve got to put this game out of our mind and go out and take our frustrations out on our next opponent.”

* THIS AND THAT: -Jackie Huegel (Alta Vista, Iowa) drove in four of SMU’s five runs — belting a three-run HR in the third, and adding an RBI triple in the fifth – in the Cardinals’ Game 1 win over Carleton last Wednesday. … Huegel’s HR was SMU’s first of the year. … Huegel's four RBIs were a season high and gave her a team-leading three multiple-RBI games this season. … Jennifer Gonerka (St. Paul, Minn.) notched her team-leading fifth complete game in the opener, allowing five hits and one earned run. … Niki Lynch (Winona, Minn.) hit her team-leading fifth triple in Game 1 last Wednesday. … SMU's scheduled doubleheader against UW-Eau Claire on Thursday was cancelled due to rain, meaning Mother Nature has froced the postponement of six of the Cardinals' nonconference games this season. … SMU has outscored its opponents 88-57 — including 24-5 in the first inning and 11-1 in the second. … The Cardinals have not been shut out in any of the 20 games they've played, while the SMU pitching staff has recorded six shutout wins this season.