Rivalry games always bring out the best in teams – and those same games always seem to have odd or fortuitous bounces and plays that make them memorable.
When University of the Incarnate Word welcomed cross-town and Heartland Conference rival St. Mary's University to Sullivan Field, the No. 14-ranked Cardinals were putting their 13-game conference unbeaten streak on the line. UIW was able to push that streak to 14 games, 1-0, before the Rattlers ended UIW's conference domination in the second game of the doubleheader, 5-4.
In the first game, Kirk Jewasko mowed down seven batters for a complete game victory and improved his record to 5-0 on the year. The sophomore only needed one run to get the shutout win, and he got in in interesting fashion in the bottom of the fourth inning.
With the score at 0-0, second baseman John Zule cranked a pitch by STMU's Alfonso Maldonado high and down the right field line. The Rattler right fielder, Jason Garcia, got a jump on the ball, but what appeared to be a combination of strong winds and the sun caused him to misjudge the ball's flight path. When Garcia saw the change of the ball's arch, he tried to adjust as he neared the wall and his cleats hit the warning track and he crashed headfirst into the outfield wall as the ball dropped fair.
Garcia was unable to get to his feet after the collision and Zule rounded the bases for an in-the-park home run and the game's lone score.
But the bounces and the inches wouldn't be on the Cardinals' side in the second game of the double dip, as STMU jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first inning and held on to that lead until Incarnate Word was able to tie things up in the bottom of the 7th thanks to an RBI single by Steven Vidaurri.
That run, UIW's last of the game, could have been where the Cardinals took the lead, however a key play in the fourth inning – a tag out at the plate on Reno Malay – eliminated that possible run and the score after 7 innings was 4-4.
St. Mary's responded by scoring a run in the 8th inning with good situational hitting – a single to get on base, a bunt to move the runner over and a sacrifice fly to bring the runner home – and then fended off the Cardinals the rest of the way for the 5-4 victory.
The loss puts UIW's overall record at 14-3 and 14-1 in the Heartland Conference. St, Mary's now has a 9-6 record overall and in-conference as both teams will play another game on Saturday at 1 p.m.
