SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS – The University of the Incarnate Word softball team will be playing close to home this weekend at the UTSA Tournament.  As part of a three day tournament, the Cardinals will first face Iowa State on Friday at 3 P.M. and the host on Saturday and Sunday with both games at 12:30 P.M.  Also participating in the tournament is Southeastern Louisiana.

The Cardinals (1-9) have participated in the Louisiana Classic and Maverick Invitational to start the season. They won their first game of the year against Tennessee State, but have not been able to find their footing since. UIW has been struggling with the nine straight losses.

Danielle Ramirez is leading the offense with 11 hits and six runs in 30 at-bats. Katie Helm has slammed two home runs and leads the team with four RBI's. On the pitching front, Kristin Hebert has a 5.44 ERA and is the only pitcher with a win. 

Iowa State (6-2) is off to a good start on the season and is a perfect 4-0 at home.  Maddie Reese is the top power hitter on the team with three homers, nine RBI's and a .875 slugging percentage.  Brittany Gomez has been getting on base at a good clip and sports a .483 batting average.  Katie Johnson is the top pitcher on the team with a 5-1 record and 2.33 ERA in 27.0 innings.  She has already tossed a pair of shutouts this year.

The Roadrunners (8-3) are scoring nearly eight runs per game behind a potent offensive attack.  They are hitting .318 as a team with 17 home runs.  Vivian Tijerina is hitting .467 with four homers, 12 RBI's and 14 walks.  Courtney Buchman has also slugged four homers with 16 RBI's and 12 walks.  Randee Crawford leads the team with 19 runs batted in.  Chelsea Parker is 5-1 in the circle with a 3.15 ERA in 26.2 innings of work.
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