In their first game back at Sullivan Field on practically a month, the UIW baseball team defeated visiting Tarleton State, 12-8, to improve their overall record to 23-8 and extend their current winning streak to five games.
The Cardinals jumped out to an early 5-1 lead in the first inning, connecting on four hits – all singles – and batted through the order in the team's first half-inning at the plate.
For the next few innings, any time Tarleton State (14-17) managed to score a run, the Cardinals would respond with a run (or more) of their own. In the fifth inning, for example, the Texans scored a run with a solo home run to lead off the inning – but UIW responded with three runs in the bottom half of the inning.
Up 11-3 going into the 8th, however, Tarleton got hot and scored four runs to close the gap to 11-7 – all four runs coming after Incarnate Word had gotten the first two TSU batters out. The Cardinals walked two, hit two batters and had a run come home on a passed ball before the inning was ended on a looking strikeout by Alfredo Caballero, who had inherited a 1-2 count from Colin Carmody.
Caballero went the rest of the way and UIW matched Tarleton's last run with a run of their own for the final, 12-8.
Matt Flores was 3-for-4 with three RBIs while Tyler Hicks hit 3-for-5 with an RBI. Matt Roohan, Daniel Qualls and Leroy Urbina each had two RBIs as well for Incarnate Word.
The Cardinals will be back at Sullivan Field on Friday and Saturday, hosting Texas A&M International in a pair of Heartland Conference doubleheaders. Both days will feature two seven-inning games.
