ABILENE, TEXAS – The University of Incarnate Word softball team dropped both games of Friday's Southland Conference doubleheader against Abilene Christian snapping the Cardinals three game winning streak. UIW fell 5-2 in the opening game of the series and followed it up with a 6-3 loss in the nightcap.
Abilene Christian (15-17, 9-5) jumped out to an early lead in game one mainly due to the Cardinals struggles on defense. The Wildcats scored two runs in the bottom of the second inning after Miranda Herron doubled up the middle scoring Brianna Barnhill, who was hit by a pitch to start the inning. Herron would score later in the inning after a fielding error by the Cardinals giving the Wildcats a 2-0 lead. ACU scored another run in the third inning on a solo homerun by Peyton Hedrick to right center field and they would add two more runs in the fourth inning on a two-run double by Hedrick making the score 5-0.
The Cardinals (14-22, 5-9) got on the board in the top of the fifth inning after
Kristin Hebert (Humble/Atascocita HS) singled to right field scoring
Danielle Ramirez (San Antonio/Marshall HS) and
Katie Helm (New Braunfels/Canyon HS), but that's all the scoring UIW could do for the game making the final score 5-2.
UIW had five hits for the contest and Ramirez led the team with two hits and a run scored.
Mikaela Flores (Lockhart/Lockhart HS) hit her first triple of the season. The Wildcats had six hits as a team and Hendrick, who had two hits and three RBI's, led them at the plate.
Bridget Stein (Brenham/Brenham HS) started the game in the pitching circle for UIW. She went 3.2 innings and allowed five runs, four earned, on four hits while also walking three.
Sarah Leal (Kyle/ Hays HS) finished the final 2.1 innings and she only allowed two hits. Stein took the loss, which is her eighth of the season, and Hannah Hull got the victory for the Wildcats after going 7.0 innings and only giving up one earned run on five hits.
In the second game, the Wildcats would once again jump out to an early lead. They scored two runs in the first inning after Barnhill hit a two run shot to left center field. Abilene Christian scored another run in the bottom of the second inning after Demi McNulty singled to shortstop making the score 3-0.
UIW would answer in the third inning when Hebert reached on an error scoring Ramirez to cut the deficit to 3-1. However, the Wildcats would keep adding to their lead scoring one run in the third, fifth, and sixth innings while the Cardinals did score runs in the fourth and fifth innings on two RBI singles. The final score of the game was 6-3, as the Cardinals had a seventh inning rally come up short.
Shelbi Swenson (Elgin/Elgin HS) led the Cardinals at the plate with two of the team's nine hits while also collecting an RBI. Hebert also had two hits and
Alex Alonzo (San Antonio/Smithson Valley HS) had a pinch-hit RBI single. Barnhill led the Wildcats with two RBI's and the homerun.
Leal made the start in game two and she went the full 6.0 innings giving up five earned runs on seven hits. Casey-May Huff picked up the victory for Abilene Christian after going 4.2 innings while allowing two earned runs on eight hits.
The series will conclude tomorrow at 1 p.m. as the Cardinals will try to avoid the series sweep.
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