MADEIRA BEACH, Fla. –  The first game of March brought better fortunes for the University of the Incarnate Word softball team as they beat St. Bonaventure by a score of 9-1. The second game of the day didn't go quite as well as the Cardinals fell to Middle Tennessee State University, 4-1.

NOTABLES

• Junior Tori Alvarez-Lopez hit the first home run of the season for the Cardinals in their 9-1 win over St. Bonaventure.
• It was a perfect game at the plate vs. the Bonnies for junior Hailey Goins as she went 3-3 with three RBI and a run scored. This was the first three-hit performance of her career, as well as her first three-RBI game. It was her fifth multi-hit effort of the season; she has a hit in 14 of the 19 games played.
• Freshman Abby Frank went 2-4 including a triple and a run scored in the win.
• In the circle, freshman Madison Floyd pitched four innings in the win. She only allowed one earned run and struck out six to earn her third win of the season. Sophomore Ashley Trapp pitched a scoreless inning of relief while striking out all three of the outs.

 
HOW IT HAPPENED
GAME 1
vs. St. Bonaventure
It was all Cardinals in this one as they pulled past the Bonnies in the five-inning game to win their first contest of the Spring Games, 9-1.

The Bonnies scored their one and only run in the top of the first to take an early lead, but that was the only lead they would hold. Floyd and Trapp controlled the game the rest of the way.

UIW responded with four runs of its own in the bottom half of the first inning, led by a one-out triple for Frank. Frank was then driven home with an RBI double to left field by Renee Hoffman before Goins followed suit with an RBI single up the middle to give the Cardinals a 2-1 lead.

The Cardinals tacked on two more with RBIs from Alvarez-Lopez and Savannah Behabetz to take a 4-1 advantage after the first frame.

The fireworks came in the bottom of the third when Alvarez-Lopez hit a deep shot to left center for the Cardinals' first home run of the season.

Freshman Maddie Boldt then followed up with a two-run single down the right field line. Goins added her second run-scoring single, this time for two RBI, to give the Cardinals an eight-run lead (9-1).

The pitching staff held the lead the rest of the way and gave the Cardinals the six outs they needed to secure the win in five innings.

GAME 2
vs. Middle Tennessee
The second game of the day and the final of the Spring Games for the Cardinals wasn't as offensively filled as the first.

The Cardinals took a 1-0 lead in the third inning on an RBI groundout by Kendall McGary, but the Blue Raiders responded with a home run in the bottom half of the inning to tie it up. MTSU scored three more in the bottom of the fourth on a three-run home run to take the lead.

The two long balls proved too much to overcome as the score remained 4-1 the rest of the way.

UP NEXT
The Cardinals come home to H-E-B Field after being on the road the past two weekends to face crosstown rival UTSA on Wednesday at 6 p.m. (CT).

TICKETS
Buy season tickets for all home games at H-E-B Field here. To purchase tickets for Wednesday's contest against UTSA, click here.

STAY TUNED 
For the most up-to-date information on UIW Athletics, visit uiwcardinals.com, follow the Cardinals on Twitter @UIWAthletics and like UIW Athletics on Facebook. 

The UIW softball team is on Twitter at @UIWSoftball and Instagram at @uiwsoftball.