SAN ANTONIO – The University of the Incarnate Word softball team was swept in a doubleheader from a Stephen F. Austin team tied atop the Southland Conference standings, 8-3 and 2-1, Friday afternoon from Cardinals Field.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Margarita knocked the Cardinals off their feet in the two games. SFA junior, Margarita Corona, led the Ladyjacks going 2-for-4 with a pair of RBIs and a run scored in game one and had the go-ahead RBI in game two that put SFA ahead for good, 2-1.
Game 1: SFA 8, UIW 3
UIW (12-27 overall, 5-15 SLC) got off to a very shaky start, as SFA (26-17, 14-6) scored four times in an 18-minute, 41-pitch top of the first.
SFA added three more runs in the top of the third before the Cardinals answered in the bottom half, thanks to a Ladyjack error and a pair of bases-loaded walks. SFA added one final run in the top of the sixth to end the scoring.
Marcela Lopez and
Mackenzie Stark each had two hits to lead the Cardinals.
Sarah Leal (8-11) took the loss in the circle, as she allowed six hits, seven runs (five earned), and two walks while striking out a pair in 2.1 innings.
Jessica Rodriguez pitched strongly in relief, giving up just two hits, one unearned run, and four walks while striking out two.
Corona joined Bryana Novegil and Lauren Becker on two-hit games to lead the Ladyjacks. Makayla Sikes pitched effectly, but did not go four innings, so the win went to reliever Callee Guffey, who allowed two hits and two walks while whiffing four in 4.0 innings.
Game 2: SFA 2, UIW 1
Freshman pitcher,
Breanna Hernandez, did it all, but could not get the victory for the Cardinals. After spotting SFA 1-0 lead in the top of the second, Hernandez hit an RBI double in the bottom half of the frame that allowed
Lacie Stevens to score and tie the game at 1-1.
Hernandez retired nine straight Ladyjacks before Taylor Fraccastoro hit a two-out double in the top of the fifth. One batter later, Corona singled home Fraccastoro for a 2-1 SFA advantage.
A key moment occurred in the bottom of the sixth.
Angel Villanueva led off the inning with a single. Two batters later, Stevens hit a grounder to third, who went to second for the fielder's choice and it seemed like the Ladyjack infielder dropped the throw, but the umpire ruled Villanueva out at second on the force out. SFA got a strikeout to end the inning and the Cardinals went down in order in the seventh.
Four different Cardinals registered a hit: Villanueva, Stevens, Stark, and Hernandez, with the latter taking the tough loss in the circle. The freshman (4-11) pitched valiantly, as she allowed seven hits, two runs, and one walk while striking out one.
Novegil and Fraccastoro each had two hits to lead SFA. Sikes (16-6) took home the win in the circle, as she scattered four hits, one run, and one walk while striking out four.
UP NEXT
The Cardinals and Ladyjacks end the three-game series tomorrow, Apr. 21 at noon.
STAY TUNED
The Cardinals play the second of a home-and-home series with UTSA next Wednesday, Apr. 25 at 6 p.m. from Roadrunner Field. UIW defeated UTSA, 4-3, Apr. 11 at home.
