SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS – The University of the Incarnate Word baseball team trailed on three separate occasions, but managed to come back each time in a 10-9 win over visiting St. Edward's University on Tuesday night at Sullivan Field. (Box Score)

The #15 Cardinals (10-1) picked up their eighth straight win behind a 15-hit offensive attack.  John Zule (San Antonio/Stevens HS) went 4-for-4 with three runs, a double and a triple to lead the offense.  The #24 Hilltoppers (9-5) were led by catcher CJ Manning and center fielder AJ Hermanson who each drove in three runs.

The Cardinals got the game started on the right foot scoring four times in the bottom of the first inning.  The first five batters reached base and Ryan Pudwell (Lodi, CA/Lodi HS) capped off the proceeding with a two-run single.  After chasing St. Edward's starting pitcher Max McDonald after just one-third of an inning, the Cards left the bases loaded.  They added another run in the bottom of the second after Zule tripled to lead off the inning and scored on an error.

The Hilltoppers exploded for five runs in the top of the fourth inning.  A pair of walks and a single loaded the bases with one out when Hermanson came through with a bases-clearing double.  He would eventually score on Manning's two-out, two-run single to give St. Ed's a 6-5 lead.

The Cardinals tied the score in the bottom of the fourth inning and both teams added a run in the seventh inning.

The Hilltoppers grabbed a two-run lead in the top of the eighth inning.  They loaded the bases with no outs.  UIW reliever Joe Mills (Allen/Allen HS) was in his fourth inning of work and was able to get one batter out, but then Ransom LaLonde brought in two runs with a single.  Mills came out and Alex Shaffer (Seattle, WA/Everett CC) came on for the Cardinals.  He got Manning to fly out to right field and then Jason Stone (Georgetown/Georgetown HS) gunned down Taylor Johnson trying to score on the fly ball.

Derrick Walls (San Antonio/Reagan HS) led off the bottom of the eighth with a single and promptly stole second.  A walk to Blake Woosley (Corvallis, OR/Corvallis HS) put two runners on and Adam Pena (Mission/Sharyland HS) bunted the runners over and Walls was able to come around and score after a collision at first base jarred the ball loose after Pena had been called out. 

At this point, SEU head coach Rob Penders was ejected from the game for arguing a call leaving the Cards with a runner on third with one out and trailing by one run.  Jordan Littlefield (Marion/Marion HS) came through with a game-tying triple on a 1-2 count.  After another out was recorded, Stone delivered the biggest hit of the game, a line drive single to left field to put the Cardinals back on top, 10-9.

In the top of the ninth, Shaffer walked the first batter, but then retired the next three, including the final two by strikeout to pick up his second win of the season.  He went 1.2 innings without allowing a hit or run. 

On offense, every player in the UIW starting lineup had at least one hit.  In addition to Zule, Walls was 2-for-5 with two runs scored and Littlefield was 2-for-5 with two runs and an RBI.

The Hilltoppers managed 11 hits in the game.  Manning was 3-for-5 with a run and three RBI's while Hermanson was 2-for-3 with two runs and three RBI's.  Dylan Watts added two hits, two runs and a double.  Matt Davis was handed the loss in relief after allowing three runs in 1.1 innings of work.

The Cardinals are back in action on Thursday at UH-Victoria for a doubleheader starting at 3 p.m.