HOUSTON – A home run from Grant Smith tied the game up heading into the ninth inning, but the University of the Incarnate Word baseball team fell to Houston Baptist University (HBU), 10-9, on Saturday afternoon at Husky Field. 
 
HBU scored four in the second inning, but UIW answered with five straight runs in the third (5-4) to jump ahead. Smith was walked with the bases loaded to kick off the run streak. Then, Roberto Gonzalez had an RBI sacrifice fly, Alec Carr belted a two-RBI triple and Nixon Brannan finished off the inning with a sacrifice fly to plate Carr.
 
The Huskies leveled the game, 5-5, in the fifth inning, then scored three more runs in the sixth to take an 8-5 lead.
 
UIW's Gonzalez tallied another RBI off a fielder's choice and Jimmy De Leon stole home as the Cardinals cut the Husky edge to one (8-7) in the seventh. In the bottom of the inning, HBU extended its lead to 9-7.
 
A huge two-RBI homer from Smith tied the game (9-9) in the top of the ninth, but an HBU run in the bottom of the inning closed out game two.
 
UP NEXT
The series finale is set for 2 p.m. CT on Sunday, May 1, at Husky Field.
 
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