WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University fastpitch softball team has made a habit of winning the first game of a doubleheader in nailbiting fashion, then turning around and leaving little doubt in the nightcap.

Last Sunday at the SMU Field, the Cardinals decided to kick the habit.

Fortunately for the Cardinals — and unfortunately for visiting St. Benedict — the result was the same.

SMU blanked the Blazers on three hits en route to a convincing 4-0 win in the first game of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference doubleheader, then scored an unearned run in the bottom of the fourth — and rode the right arm of pitcher Jenny Schipp (North St. Paul, Minn.) — to a 3-2 win in Game 2.

"It was a little backwards from the way we have been winning games, but as long as we keep winning, I'm not too concerned about how we go about it," said SMU coach Nikki Fennern, whose team has now won 10 straight — including a perfect 6-0 week that included handing Gustavus its first two MIAC losses of the season (on Wednesday) and dealing Hamline MIAC losses No. 2 and No. 3 (on Thursday). "We knew coming in that this was a big, big week for us. We were going to face three of the top teams in the conference, and we had to be at the top of our game."

Which is exactly where the Cardinals were Sunday.

The Cardinals jumped out to a 1-0 Game 1 lead on an RBI single by Jenni Gutterman (Shoreview, Minn.), then got a two-run double from Melissa Mondo (Vadnais Heights, Minn.) in a three-run fifth that sealed the win.

Schipp picked up the pitching win, tossing five innings of shutout ball. The SMU junior allowed just two hits — a two-out single in the first and leadoff double in the fifth — while walking one and striking out one. Megan Wallisch (Loveland, Colo.) pitched the final two innings, giving up a seventh-inning single to center.

"Jenny pitched outstanding again," said Fennern of her ace, who tossed four innings of scoreless relief in Game 2, scattering three hits and striking out one. "It was nice to be able to pull Jenny (in the fifth) and come back with her in relief in the second game. It's a really nice situation to have when you can bring (Schipp) on in relief like that."

And with Schipp tossing zeroes, life was that much easier for the Cardinals' offense, which managed just four hits vs. CSB's Christina Gardner in the nightcap.

SMU wasted little time getting a run across as Gutterman scored from third on a squeeze bunt by Amy Edge (Montfort, Wis.) in the bottom of the first. The Blazers, however, bounced back with a pair of runs off Wallisch in the top of the third to take a 2-1 lead.

Mondo knotted things up for the Cardinals in the bottom of the third with an RBI groundout, and SMU got the game-winning run on a pair of St. Benedict errors in the bottom of the fourth.

"I'm very pleased with where we are at right now," said Fennern. "This week was a huge test — and for us to get through that part of our schedule unbeaten is a huge testament to the level we are playing at.

"Now the key is, we've got to keep our game at that level,."