HOUSTON, TEXAS – The University of the Incarnate Word softball team split a pair of games on Saturday at the Hilton Houston Plaza Classic.  They lost to Texas Southern, 4-3 in the morning and then defeated the host, University of Houston, 4-3 in the afternoon.
           
In the first game of the day against Texas Southern (5-7), the Cardinals were able to strike first after a quiet first inning for both teams.  Bridget Gauvin (Winnipeg, B.C./College Louis-Riel) led off the top of the second inning with a single to center field and she would later end up on third base after two errors by the Tiger outfield.  Kristin Hebert (Humble/Atascocita HS) followed with a double to center field scoring Gauvin for the first run of the game.  Later in the inning, Hebert scored on a sacrifice fly by Shelbi Swenson (Elgin/Elgin HS) to make it 2-0.
           
Texas Southern got on the board in the bottom of the third inning when Brianna Simpson hit a solo homerun over the center field fence reducing the UIW lead to 2-1. However, UIW would respond in the top of the fourth when Natali Duron (Pasadena/Pasadena Memorial HS) also hit a solo homerun to center field bringing the UIW advantage back to two runs.  In the bottom of the fifth inning, the Tigers took a 4-3 lead after scoring three runs in the inning highlighted by a two run homerun by Simpson, which was her second homer of the game. The Cardinals had a chance to tie the ballgame in the top of the seventh inning when they loaded the bases with one out, but the game ended on a fielder's choice.
           
Hebert made the start in the pitching circle for the Cardinals and she allowed three runs, all earned, on five hits while going four innings. Jessica Rodriguez (Conroe/Oak Ridge HS) replaced Hebert in the pitching circle after Simpson's second homer of the day.  She gave up one earned run on two hits and she was charged with the loss, which is her third of the season. Tyra Williams picked up the victory for the Tigers giving her three wins on the season.
           
Victoria Bratcher (Colleyville, TX/ Colleyville Heritage HS) led the Cardinals offense going 3-for-4 from the leadoff spot.  For the Tigers, Simpson led the team with three RBI and two homeruns.
           
In the second game of the day, the Cardinals used a late inning rally to overtake the University of Houston.  The Cougars started the scoring in the bottom of the second inning getting a pair of runs.  The Cardinals tied the ball game in the fifth inning after Swenson hit her first homerun of the season to make the score 2-1.
In the seventh inning, UIW put together a three-run rally starting with a two-out, bases loaded walk by Darianne Hale (Mesquite/Bishop Lynch HS) that scored Duron to tie the game.  The next batter, Alex Alonzo (San Antonio/Smithson Valley), delivered a two-out single to left center that scored two more runs for UIW and gave them a 4-2 lead.
           
The Cougars (9-9) added one run in the bottom of the seventh inning making the score 4-3, but the Cardinals were able to hold on for the victory.  Sarah Leal (Kyle/Hays HS) made her third start of the season and she went the full seven innings allowing three earned runs on nine hits. Leal earned her second win of the season while Savannah Heebner is charged with the loss.

The Cardinals (6-12) totaled six hits in the game as both Alonzo and Duron had two hits each.  The Cardinals will return to action on Tuesday when they take on Texas Southern at 2:00 P.M. in Houston, TX.
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