WINONA, Minn. — After back-to-back NCAA Division III national tournament appearances in 2000 and 2001, the Saint Mary’s University fastpitch softball team found itself on the outside looking in when last year’s national tournament field was announced.

And the Cardinals did not like it one bit.

“Obviously the season didn’t end the way we had wanted last year, and that’s weighed heavily on all of our minds,” said SMU coach Nikki Fennern, whose team finished second in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference with a 16-6 mark and was 25-11 overall. “Before the season, a lot of coaches set goals like winning a conference championship out of obligation — they feel it’s the right thing to do. Our attitude isn’t one of setting a goal to win a conference, regional or national championship — we expect to be competing for those championships year-in and year-out.”

To earn a return invitation to the NCAA Division III national tournament — which SMU won in 2000 and finished fourth in 2001 — the Cardinals are going to need another Herculean effort from senior shortstop Jackie Huegel (Alta Visa, Iowa), as well as an Academy Award-winning performance from her supporting cast.

Huegel earned all-conference and all-region honors a year ago, after leading the Cardinals in virtually every offensive category — including batting average (.449), hits (44), doubles (13), triples (4), total bases (68) and slugging percentage (.694).

As impressive as those numbers may be, however, Fennern knows that the Cardinals can’t afford to hop on Huegel’s shoulders and hope the senior will single-handidly carry them back into the national spotlight.

“We are a pretty young team, with just six upperclassmen (four seniors, two juniors), but that group has really accepted their role as the leaders of this team,” said Fennern. “For this team, it’s really like putting together a giant puzzle — just trying to find exactly where all the pieces are going to fit.”

As Fennern begins the process of putting the Cardinals’ puzzle together, several pieces will be easy to place — Huegel at short, fellow senior Niki Lynch (Winona, Minn.) at second and Hanni Lohmann (Lake Elmo, Minn.) in center.

Others, however, won’t be so easy.

Like, who’s going to fill the shoes — and shin guards and chest protector and mask — of catcher Jennifer Miller, not to mention third baseman Gina Rizzardi, first baseman Annie Hovde and left fielder Ann Munzenmeier, who all graduated last season.

Add to that the fact that starting pitcher Stacy O’Malley (Lake Elmo, Minn.), who struck out 146 batters en route to All-MIAC and All-Region honors as a freshman last season, could miss the entire season due to a lingering back injury, and Fennern knows that this is one puzzle that could take a while to complete.

“It’s still pretty early, but so far I’ve liked what I’ve seen,” said Fennern, noting that pitching and defense — staples of the Cardinals’ success over the past several years — are once again at a premium this season. “If you look at where we are now, in comparison to where we were at the same time last year, I think we are way ahead of the game.

“Hopefully that improvement will continue.”