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SAN ANTONIO, Texas – Fresh off a doubleheader sweep at Texas Southern on Tuesday, the University of the Incarnate Word softball team resumes Southland Conference play to host Northwestern State in a three-game series Friday and Saturday, Apr. 6-7 at Cardinals Field.
 
FIRST PITCH
 
Friday's doubleheader is scheduled for 5 and 7 p.m., while Saturday's finale is set for noon.
 
NWST leads the all-time series, 10-5. Last season in Natchitoches, La., after dropping the first game, 8-2, the Cardinals tied the weekend series with a 9-6 game two victory, but lost game three by a score of 4-1.
 
SCOUTING THE NORTHWESTERN STATE LADY DEMONS
 
2018: 22-11 overall, 9-3 SLC
Last Game: W 5-0 at Stephen F. Austin (4/4)
Head Coach: Donald Pickett
Offensive Leaders:
#2 Cayla Jones – 33 GP, .430 BA, 37 H, 31 R, 7 2B, 8 HR, 30 RBIs, 8 SB
#16 Madelyn Matt – 27 GP, .313 BA, 26 H, 17 R, 3 2B, 2 3B, 9 RBIs, 10 SB
#1 Hayley Barbazon – 33 GP, .286 BA, 28 H, 21 R, 4 2B, 3 3B, 1 HR, 14 RBIs, 5 SB
Pitching Leader:
#99 Micaela Bouvier – 17 GP, 10-5, 2.51 ERA, 7 CG, 3/2 SHO, 1 SV, 73 SO
Summary: Northwestern State played a non-conference game at Stephen F. Austin on Wednesday and shut out the Ladyjacks, 5-0. Prior to that game, the Lady Demons dropped two of three at home to McNeese by scores of 3-5, 6-2, and 1-5.
 
Cayla Jones leads NWST in nearly every offensive category: batting average (.409), hits (37), runs (31), doubles (7), home runs (8), and RBIs (30). Hayley Barbazon has a team-best three triples, while Madelyn Matt is 10-for-11 in stolen bases. In the circle, redshirt-senior Micaela Bouvier is 10-5 with a 2.51 ERA, seven complete games, five shutouts (two combined), one save, and 73 strikeouts. As a team, the Lady Demons lead the Southland Conference in batting average (.302) and are second in team ERA (2.85).
 
THE CARDINAL FILE
 
2018: 10-19 overall, 4-8 SLC
Last Game: W 9-3 at Texas Southern (4/3)
Head Coach: Joe DiPietro (1^st season)
Offensive Leaders:
#10 Hope Sobolewski – 28 GP, .288 BA, 23 H, 4 R, 2 2B, 3 HR, 15 RBIs
#22 Angel Villanueva – 18 GP, .406 BA, 13 H, 10 R, 2 HR, 6 RBIs
#32 Delaney Guzman – 25 GP, .235 BA, 15 H, 9 R, 4 2B, 4 HR, 6 RBIs
Pitching Leader:
#Breanna Hernandez – 11 GP, 3-6, 4.31 ERA, 6 CG, 1/0 SHO, 24 SO
Summary: After being swept at McNeese Mar. 23-24, UIW has now won four of its last five games, with the most recent being a doubleheader sweep at Texas Southern Tuesday afternoon by scores of 8-7 and 9-3. Sarah Leal struck out a career-high seven batters, Brett Coleman registered her first-collegiate save, and the Cardinals as a team posted a season-high 14 hits in the game one win. Mackenzie Stark's perfect debut for UIW highlighted game two, as the junior transfer went 3-for-3 with two runs and one RBI.
 
On the season, Hope Sobolewski leads the Cardinals in batting average (.288), hits (23), and RBIs (15), while her three home runs trail leader Delaney Guzman (4), who smacked two in the series win over HBU and was named Honorable Mention Southland Conference Hitter of the Week for her efforts in the series against the Huskies. Sobolewski is batting .441 (15-for-34) in SLC play. Monica Flores is batting .275 with 14 hits, a team-best five doubles, and four RBIs. Marcela Lopez is second on the team in hits (20) and is batting .274 with one double, five RBIs and has three of the Cardinals' five stolen bases. Her seven runs scored tie her for the team lead with Shelby Neatherlin and Victoria Bratcher. Breanna Hernandez, who had another strong outing in the circle in game two against TSU, leads the pitching staff with a 4.31 ERA, as she is 3-6 with 24 strikeouts. In the last three weeks, Hernandez is 3-1 with a 2.07 ERA, four complete games, one shutout, and 15 strikeouts. Sarah Leal has a 4.51 ERA and is 7-8 with nine complete games and 50 strikeouts. As a team, UIW ranks 10th in the SLC in batting average (.231) and 11th in ERA (4.82).
 
UP NEXT

UIW plays the first of a home-and-home with UTSA, hosting the Roadrunners on Wednesday, Apr. 11 at 6 p.m. from Cardinals Field.

STAY TUNED

The Cardinals hits the road for a three-game series at Abilene Christian next weekend, Apr. 13-14.

To purchase tickets, contact UIW Ticket Sales Coordinator Alma Lara at 210-805-3012.
 
For the most up-to-date information on Incarnate Word Athletics visit uiwcardinals.com. Be sure to follow Incarnate Word Athletics on Twitter @UIWAthletics and like Incarnate Word Athletics on Facebook at UIW Athletics.