Friday's loss to Cameron University, 13-0, in the second game of a doubleheader was a nightmare for the Incarnate Word baseball team. The Cardinals were in the middle of a fight for first place in the Lone Star Conference and a 3-hit, shutout loss was not something they needed to put out in the field.
So, on Saturday, the No. 25 team in Division II went back to work and hit got just as many hits (20) as they did runs in a 20-6 victory over the Aggies in a game stopped in the seventh inning.
It was a serious flip in production and energy from the loss on Friday, as UIW improved its overall record to 18-9 and is still in the middle of the fight for first place in the LSC with a 15-6 record.
The Cardinals had multiple hits from every player in the lineup except one and batted through the order twice in the first three innings. Of the 20 hits by UIW, nine were for extra bases (eight doubles and one triple) and Incarnate Word scored eight runs in the first inning, two in the second, and nine in the third.
Leading the production at the plate were Jackson Woodruff (4-for-4 with a HBP and a double), Hector Flores (4-for-5 with a double) and Derrick Walls (3-for-5 with a double and a walk). Steven Vidaurri, Matt Roohan, Mike De La Rosa, Leroy Urbina and Josiah Rodriguez all had two hits.
On the mound for the Cardinals, Keith Vasquez pitched his way to his fourth victory (4-2 on the year). Ethan Lutz pitched cleanup from the fifth inning on, striking out a pair and allowing just three hits in 13 batters faced.
Cameron hit two home runs and two doubles in their 12 hits, but even after the Aggies closed the gap to 10-3 in the top of the third, all hopes for a CU comeback were dashed by Incarnate Word's nine-run onslaught in the third.
Up next for the Cardinals, UIW will be on the road facing the Jaguars from the University of Houston-Victory on Tuesday. UHV is a NAIA program coached by Terry Puhl and the Jaguars will make a return trip to UIW on April 19th.
