SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS – The University of the Incarnate Word softball team dropped a pair of close games on Sunday afternoon to visiting Southland Conference rival Lamar University, 11-7 and 4-3 at Cardinals Field.
In the first game, UIW (3-23, 0-9) fell behind 9-0 after three innings and it looked like it would be a run-rule win for Lamar (16-11, 9-0). However, the Cardinals battled back in the fourth inning. After the first nine batters of the game were set down,
Taylor Johnson (Schertz/Clemens HS) and
Danielle Ramirez (San Antonio/Marshall HS) opened up the inning with back-to-back infield singles.
Lindsey Hood (San Antonio/Smithson Valley HS) followed with a double to score one run. An error allowed the next run to score and two more singles followed to give the team five tallies.
Lamar tacked on two runs in the sixth inning to give them some breathing room. The last gasp for UIW came in the bottom of the seventh inning when
Mikaela Flores (Lockhart/Lockhart HS) hit a pinch-hit two-run homer.
LU finished with 11 hits and drew five walks. Shannon Sain was 3-for-4 with three runs and two RBI's while Stephanie Meeuwsen and Jenna Holland each had two hits and drove in three runs. Laura Napoli earned the win after tossing a complete game allowing eight hits, five earned runs and one walk while striking out two.
UIW tallied eight hits with only Hood recording more than one safety.
Brooke DuBois (Pearland/Pearland HS) was handed the loss after allowing nine runs in 2.2 innings of work. Freshman
Sarah Leal (Kyle/Hays HS) pitched well in relief allowing four hits and two runs in 4.1 innings.
In the second game, the Lady Cardinals scored on a sacrifice fly in the top of the second inning, but that was it until the fifth. Casey Cromwell hit her sixth home run of the season in the top of the fifth and then Marissa LeJune came through with a two-run single in the sixth inning to make it 4-0 Lamar.
UIW responded with two runs in the bottom of the sixth inning.
Monique Miller (Hewitt/Midway HS) reached via an error and then Hood followed with a triple.
Alex Alonzo (San Antonio/Smithson Valley HS) cut the lead in half with a run-scoring single. In the bottom of the seventh inning, DuBois and
Natali Duron (Pasadena/Pasadena Memorial HS) hit back-to-back pinch hit doubles to make it a one run game. UIW would put runners on first and third with two outs. The Cardinals tried to score on a wild pitch, but Brynn Baca was able to get the ball to Napoli who was covering home for the final out.
Kristin Hebert (Humble/Atascocita HS) took the loss for UIW despite pitching a solid complete game. She allowed eight hits and four runs without a walk. Lauren Dannelley picked up with win for Lamar with 6.1 strong innings in the circle. She allowed six hits, two earned runs and a walk. Napoli recorded the final two outs to earn the save.
The Cardinals are back in action on Friday when they travel to Southland rival Houston Baptist for a three-game series starting with a 2 p.m. doubleheader.
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