SAN ANTONIO – The University of the Incarnate Word baseball exploded for a 9-run eighth inning as it captured the first win of the season with a 12-1 win over Texas Southern in the first game of the three-game series on Friday night, at Sullivan Field, sponsored by H-E-B.
Jordan McFarland led the Cardinals' offense going 2-4 with a run scored in the season-opener, Zach Limas drove in three runs on a bases clearing triple to start a rally in the eighth inning. Carson Rollins and Michael Garza combined to limit TSU to five hits and one run in the first inning as the Cardinals claimed their first win of the season.
The eighth inning saw 14 Cardinals come to the plate. It started with back-to-back walks, Ron Brown delivered an RBI single to score Lee Thomas and another walk loaded the bases for Limas who delivered with a triple to center field scoring Smith, Brown and Ridge Rogers. Drew Minter scored Limas with a double down the right-field line and scored on a single by Ryan Flores. Smith smacked a two-run single into right field before Brown hit a sac fly to score Thomas for the ninth run of the inning. UIW ripped nine runs on five hits to blow open the game, 12-1.
Texas Southern (0-5 overall) struck first in its first at-bats. The Tigers benefitted from three walks and a bunt single as UIW starter Carson Rollins was working to find the zone. The third walk drove in Tyson Thompson for the Tigers. Rollins then found his zone and was able to work out of the bases-loaded jam with three-straight strikeouts.
UIW (1-0 overall) responded with a run in the home half of both first and second innings. Wilson Ehrhardt drew a leadoff walk and Jordan McFarland dropped a bloop single to advance Ehrhardt. After two outs, Lee Thomas roped an RBI single past the third baseman to score Ehrhardt for the tying run.
With the bottom of the rotation up in the second, the Cardinals got a one-out walk from Rogers and advanced on a stolen base. Rogers motored around the bases on a deep centerfield flyout off the bat of Limas for the 2-1 lead.
The Cardinals tacked on another run in the fifth inning. McFarland started with a single to left and moved around the bases on back-to-back passed ball and wild pitch. He scored on an RBI single as Noah Brewer hit one up the middle.
Rollins settled in after the first inning for the Cardinals as he scattered five hits with six strikeouts through 5.1 innings before being relieved by Michael Garza who cleaned up the final two outs with back-to-back strikeouts.
Garza threw a clean game in 3.2 innings relief with six strikeouts and no hits to earn the save and give the Cardinals their first win of 2021.
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