NATCHITOCHES, La. – A pair of late game heroics from Wilson Ehrhardt and Josh Lackner and two dominating pitching performances gave the University of the Incarnate Word two wins over Northwestern State in Southland Conference doubleheader action on Saturday at Brown-Stroud Field. The Cardinals took game one, 2-1, in seven innings before claiming a 3-2 victory in the nightcap.
Game one featured an old-fashioned pitcher's duel in the seven-inning outing. UIW's Isaiah Zavala and NSU's Cal Carver were dialed in from the start. Zavala threw the 95-pitch complete game win with eight strikeouts and gave up just three NSU hits and one walk. Carver struck out 10 Cardinals and gave up three hits, but Wilson Ehrhardt was able to get the best of Carver in the top of the seventh inning.
The Cardinals (5-3, 2-1 SLC) threatened to score in the top of the second inning when Noah Brewer drew a leadoff walk that started a string of walks and strikeouts to load the bases, but Carver worked out of the jam with a strikeout to keep UIW off the board.
The Demons (6-7, 1-2 SLC) poked across a run on back-to-back two-out hits in the fourth inning. After quiet fifth and sixth innings, Zach Limas slapped a one-out single to left field in the seventh and led to Ehrhardt crushing a no-doubter two-run homerun over the right field fence and gave the Cardinals a 2-1 lead. Zavala was masterful in the bottom of the seventh with a pair of strikeouts and a fly out to end game one in favor of the Cardinals.
NSU got the quick start in game two with two runs across in the bottom of the first inning. A one-out single and a hit-by-pitch put runners on first and second for Cameron Horton to bring on one run with a single to shallow left field, Marshall Skinner added another run with an RBI groundout in the next at-bat to give the Demons a 2-0 lead.
Michael Garza settled in after the first inning with six scoreless innings, giving up just three more hits and striking out 10 Demons in the second game start.
Limas and Trent Koerner lead off the top of the third inning with back-to-back singles followed up by an Ehrhardt walk to load the bases. McFarland drove in Limas with an RBI sac fly to deep center field to cut NSU's lead in half, 2-1.
The Cardinals tied the game in the top of the eighth inning on a two-out RBI single by Grant Smith who walked to start the inning.
Michael McElmeel and Steve Hayward came in to pitch just one out a piece in the bottom half of the eighth inning and Johnny Foral came in to close the door on Northwestern State and earn the win on the mound.
Ron Brown sparked a two-out rally in the top of the ninth to push the Cardinals ahead. Brown reached on a hard-hit ball to third base that was too hard to handle. Ehrhardt singled to push Shaughan Kelly to second who came in to pinch run for Brown and the Demons intentionally walked Ryan Flores to load the bases. NSU pitcher Drake Smith walked in the leading run as Josh Lackner worked a 4-1 walk and gave the Cardinals the 3-2 lead.
It was all the room Foral needed to get two strikeouts and a long fly ball corralled by Ridge Rogers at the centerfield wall to complete the doubleheader sweep.
UP NEXT
UIW and NSU are back in action on Sunday ay 1 p.m. to wrap up the series in Natchitoches. The Cardinals return to Sullivan Field for the next two four-game series against Southeastern Louisiana on March 19-21, and Central Arkansas, March 26-29, straddling a trip to Texas on Wednesday, March 24.
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