The Incarnate Word Cardinals finished a three-game, Lone Star Conference sweep on Saturday, defeating Texas A&M University-Kingsville 9-5 and 9-8.
In game one, Jorge Guarneros earned his seventh win of the season, going six innings and striking out seven Hoggies while weathering a comeback bid in the middle innings.
Incarnate Word (27-12 overall, 19-8 Lone Star) scored five runs in the second inning on four hits and taking advantage of two TAMU-Kingsville errors. That surge of offense would be enough for the win, but the Cardinals added a few insurance runs later on.
Matt Roohan went 3-for-3 with 3 RBI to lead UIW at the plate. Mike De La Rosa was the only other Cardinal with multiple hits (2-for-4 with 1 RBI). Six batters had hits for UIW in the game.
In game two, TAUMK jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the top of the first, batting through the order, but UIW responded with three runs (John Zule hit an RBI single to score Derrick Walls; Steven Vidaurri hit a double to score Zule; and De La Rosa scored Vidaurri with a ground-out RBI) and then, when the Javalinas added another run in the third for a 5-3 lead, UIW answered again with a solo home run by Ryan Flowers and an RBI single by Zule to score Leroy Urbina.
The score knotted at 5-5, UIW had to respond in the 4th inning following a two-run homer by TAMUK and tied the score again when Vidaurri hit a 2 RBI double in the Cardinals' half of the inning. But, not done there, UIW added two more runs with an RBI single by Roohan and a throwing error by Kingsville that allowed Vidaurri to score as well.
Up 9-7, the Cardinals survived a late comeback bid in the ninth inning where a Javalina scored on a wild pitch to make it 9-8, but Elroy Urbina ended the game on a strikeout, giving him his 11th save of the season and the UIW record for most saves in a season (previously held by Alfredo Caballero with 10).
Up next for the Cardinals, UIW will play University of Houston-Victoria on Tuesday afternoon at 4 p.m.
