HUNTSVILLE, TEXAS – For the final time, the University of Incarnate Word softball team will hit the road for their final Southland Conference road trip of the season as they face off against Sam Houston State in a three game series starting with a doubleheader on Friday at 1 p.m. (Please note time change) at the Bearkat Softball Complex.
         
The Cardinals (17-29, 6-15) are looking for their first conference road win of the season and they will enter the series on a two game winning streak after sweeping the midweek doubleheader against Prairie View A&M on Tuesday.
         
Danielle Ramirez (San Antonio/Marshall HS) continued her great season against Prairie View A&M by going 4-for-4 at the plate and scoring three runs while also stealing three bases.  Ramirez is now batting .385 for the season and she has a team high 15 stolen bases.  Mikaela Flores (Lockhart/Lockhart HS) has anchored the lineup the last several weeks and she is batting .321 at the plate with 11 RBI's and a .500 slugging percentage. Alex Alonzo (San Antonio/Smithson Valley HS) leads the team with 28 driven in and six homers while hitting .290 at the plate.  The Cardinals are batting .262 as a team and they are averaging 3.3 runs per game.
         
Going in the series head coach Amanda Gamboa will have many options in the pitching circle as several players have pitched well in recent appearances.  Bridget Stein (Brenham/Brenham HS) leads the staff with a 6-7 record in 13 starts and Sarah Leal (Kyle/Hays HS) is 5-9 with a 4.13 ERA in 81.1 innings.  Jessica Rodriguez (Conroe/Oak Ridge HS) is coming a three hit shutout on Tuesday and Darrianne Hale (Mesquite/Bishop Lynch HS) 2-4 in nine starts with a 4.57 ERA.

Sam Houston State enters this weekend's series 1-4 in their last five games. The Bearkats have scored less than two runs in 19 of the team's 46 games this season. Sam Houston State is 9-10 at home and they currently sit seventh in the Southland Conference standings.

The Bearkats (16-30, 8-13) are led at the plate by Dani Allen who is batting .390 with two homeruns and 18 RBI's.  Breanna Homer is also a player to keep an eye on as she is hitting .353 with eight homeruns, a team high 35 RBI's and .619 slugging percentage. The Bearkats average 3.7 runs per game and they are batting .281 as a team with a .396 slugging percentage.

Lindsey McLeod anchors the Bearkat pitching staff with an 8-10 record and a 4.30 ERA in 109.0 innings.  McLeod has seven complete games in 12 starts and she also has two saves.  Taylor Atkinson leads the Bearkats with 18 starts and she is 7-11 on the year with a 5.52 ERA in 96.1 innings of work. The Sam Houston State staff has a 5.31 ERA and opponents are hitting .305 off Bearkat pitching.
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