SAN ANTONIO, Texas – The University of the Incarnate Word baseball team dropped an 11-9 decision in game one on Saturday at Daniel Sullivan Field, but surged in game two for a 6-5, walk-off win over Northwestern State.
 
GAME ONE
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
 
Two defensive errors on the first two at bats set the tone for a disastrous first inning on Saturday as the Cardinals fell into a 4-0 hole.
 
Kyle Bergeron cut the lead in half in the bottom of the inning with a two-run, no-doubter over the wall in left. Three batters later, Ryan Gonzalez drove in David Anaya with a single to right field and a throwing error allowed Eddy Gonzalez to tie things up. Ryan Flores ground out on the next at bat, but R. Gonzalez scored on the play to give UIW a 5-4 advantage.
 
E. Gonzalez plated Ridge Rogers with a sac bunt in the second, before an R. Gonzalez single through the left side brought Anaya in and gave the Cardinals a 7-4 lead.
 
The Demons threatened in the fourth, loading the bases with only one out. Starter Tyler Miller handed the ball to Bernie Martinez, who recorded a ground out and a strikeout to escape the inning with just one run allowed.
 
UIW scored a pair in the bottom of the inning, taking advantage of aggressive base running by Rogers and R. Gonzalez' hot bat.
 
NWST flipped the script with a four-run seventh inning, tying the game at nine apiece.
 
In the top of the ninth, Kelsey Richard snuck a solo home run over the wall in left that gave the Demons the lead. An RBI-double three batters later put NSWT ahead, 11-9.
 
NOTEABLES

• R. Gonzalez paced the Cardinals with a 4-for-5 outing, 3 RBIs and 1 run scored.
• Bergeron finished 1-for-3 with 2 RBIs, 2 walks and 1 run.
• B. Martinez (6-3) took the loss, surrendering 6 runs on 9 hits. He tossed 6 strikeouts and walked 2.

GAME TWO
 
HOW IT WAS WON
 
UIW took advantage of sloppy play from NWST to secure a second-inning advantage. After a leadoff single from Sean Arnold and a sac bunt by Sam Gutierrez, the Cardinals capitalized on two walks, a passed ball, a hit batter and a wild pitch to go ahead 1-0.
 
The Demons notched things up in the fourth with an RBI single just over the head of Sam Gutierrez at first base, before pouring in three additional runs to take a 4-1 lead.
 
An RBI single from Bergeron in the seventh sent whitehead in and made it a 4-2 contest.
 
NWST recaptured a three-run lead with a sac fly in the ninth.
 
UIW loaded the bases with one out in the ninth, before an E. Gonzalez singled through the right side, scoring one. On the next at bat, Anaya struck out swinging, but a passed ball allowed the runners to advance and Rogers came home. With runners on second a third, R. Gonzalez notched a walk-off, two-RBI single to center as the Cardinals stormed the field as the melody of the Walmart Yodeling Kid Remix resonated over the sound system.
 
NOTEABLES

• Bergeron paced UIW with a 2-for-4 effort, 1 RBI and 1 run.
• R. Gonzalez finished 1-for-5 and registered his third walk-off hit of the season.
• Aaron Celestino (1-0) earned the win, tossing the final hitless, scoreless inning. 

RECORDS UPDATE
 
UIW: 29-19, 13-10 SLC
NWST: 26-20, 12-11 SLC
 
UP NEXT
 
The Cardinals and Demons reconvene tomorrow for a 12 p.m. series finale.
 
STAY TUNED
 
UIW heads south for a coastal series against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, beginning at 6 p.m. on Friday.
 
To purchase tickets to any UIW Athletics home event, contact Ticket Sales Coordinator Alma Lara at 210-805-3012.
 
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