SAN ANTONIO – The University of the Incarnate Word baseball dropped the first game of the two-game midweek series against New Mexico, 8-4.

NOTABLES

• Kyle Bergeron reached base in all four plate appearances as he went 2-2 with a walk and a hit by pitch. He also clubbed his first home run of the season.
• Landon Etzel increased his hit streak to nine games and five straight games of reaching base at least twice as he went 2-4 with a walk.
• Grant Smith added another multi-hit performance for his team leading sixth of the season after going 2-5 in the game including an RBI single.
• It was the longest outing of Johnny Foral's career as he pitched 3.2 innings of relief while striking out a career-high four batters.

HOW IT HAPPENED
After a 1-2-3 inning from Michael Garza to start the game, the Cardinals put the pressure on in the bottom of the first inning. Landon Etzel and Grant Smith singled back-to-back to start off the inning. But the Lobos buckled down and got out of the inning unharmed.

Garza's second inning wasn't as smooth as the Lobos scored two runs off of two hits.

After falling down 0-2 in the count, Kyle Bergeron battled back to bring it to a full count. On the eighth pitch of the at bat, he hit a deep shot to left field for his first home run of the season.

Ridge Rogers then followed with a walk and stole second. After a wild pitch and a passed ball, Rogers was able to score to tie the game back up at 2-2 in the bottom of the second.

After his three innings of work, Garza tied his career-high in strikeouts at five after setting it last week in a win against Stephen F. Austin.

The Lobos added one run in the top of the fourth and two more in the fifth to take a 5-2 lead. That score stayed the same until the bottom of the seventh when a Grant Smith RBI single cut the deficit to 5-3.

Relief pitcher Johnny Foral proved to be highly effective as he held the Lobos to one run in 3.2 innings of work while striking out a career-high four hitters.

In the bottom of the eighth, the Cardinals chipped away another run after Bergeron reached on an in-between play at first where nobody covered the base. He eventually came around to score on a throwing error after an infield single from Grady Davenport to cut into the lead at 6-4.

Two more runs crossed the plate for the Lobos in the top of the ninth to take a four-run lead at 8-4. Quest Mock recorded the final three outs for the Cardinals with two of the outs coming by the form of strikeout.

RECORDS UPDATE
UIW: 9-6
UNM: 13-4
 
ON DECK
The Cardinals look to even it up tomorrow as they wrap up the two-game midweek series against the Lobos tomorrow at 6:30 p.m. (CT).
 
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