LAKE CHARLES, La. -- The University of the Incarnate Word baseball team battled and won, 6-5, in extra innings against McNeese on Saturday afternoon in Lake Charles, Louisiana.
Down 5-4 heading into the final frame of regulation,
Ryan Gonzalez blasted a home run to left field, ultimately forcing extra innings. In the 10th inning,
Lee Thomas then stepped up to the plate and hit a solo bomb to right field to give the Cardinals a 6-5 victory.
NOTABLES
- Gonzalez hit the game-tying home run in the top of the ninth. R. Gonzalez went 2-for-5 with two runs, an RBI, a double and a home run.
- Thomas hit the game-winning home run in the top of the tenth. Thomas had a 1-for-2 outing with an RBI.
- Bernie Martinez earned the win, striking out three batters and holding the Cowboys to one run in 5.0 innings pitched.
- With Ridge Rogers' sacrifice fly, the Cardinals have amassed 18 sacrifice flies on the season. Coming into the weekend, UIW ranked second in the nation in sacrifice flies.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Cardinals opened scoring in the top of the second when
Kendall Achilles hit a solo home run to left field, his first as a Cardinal, to give UIW a 1-0 lead. In the top of the third, Gonzalez scored when
Jordan Thompson was hit by pitch with the bases loaded and
Antonio Valdez scored when Achilles was walked with the bases loaded, extending the Cardinals' lead to 3-0.
McNeese then scored a run in the bottom of the third to make the score 3-1, in favor of UIW.
After a quiet fifth inning,
Shea Gutierrez came home on a Rogers sacrifice fly in the top of the sixth to further UIW's lead to 4-1. The Cowboys responded in the bottom of the frame, plating four runs to take a 5-4 lead over the Cardinals.
After two more scoreless innings, Gonzalez's home run tied the game at 5-5 in the top of the ninth. Thomas then hit the game-winning home run in the top of the tenth. Martinez secured the 6-5 victory for the Cardinals in the bottom of the frame, striking out a batter on three pitches and forcing two ground outs.
RECORDS UPDATE
UIW: 14-9, 4-4 SLC
McNeese: 13-10, 2-3 SLC
UP NEXT
The Cardinals close out their three-game series against McNeese on Sunday. First pitch is set for 1 p.m. (CT) at Joe Miller Ballpark.
FOLLOW ALONG
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