LAKE CHARLES, La. – The University of the Incarnate Word baseball team hit its stride in the fourth and fifth frames, scoring eight runs to lift the Cardinals to a 14-10 victory over Northwestern State University (NSU) in the second round of the Southland Conference Tournament on Friday evening at Joe Miller Ballpark.
 
The Cardinals came out hot with five home runs to open the game. Alec Carr had a monster outing, going 4-for-5 with three home runs and four RBIs. His three homers tied the SLC Tournament home run record.
 
UIW and NSU knotted the game, 1-1, in the first inning as both teams looked to strike first. Ridge Rogers got the Cardinals' bats swinging with a solo home run in the first. Hernan Yanez followed suit with a lead off home run in the bottom of the second, then Carr blasted a two-RBI homer to center field to jump to a 4-1 UIW advantage.
 
NSU doubled down the left field line to bring a Demon home and cut the lead to 4-2 in the third, but another Cardinal home run came from Roberto Gonzalez to extend UIW's edge (5-2) in the bottom of the inning.
 
The Demons closed the gap in the fourth with an RBI single to right field (5-3), but once more, UIW answered, this time with eight runs through the fourth and fifth innings to jump to 13-3 edge. Yanez hit a sacrifice fly to left center before Daniel Calabrese belted a three-RBI double through the six hole to end the fourth (10-3). Carr launched his second homer of the night to lead off the bottom of the fifth frame. Yanez then plated Wilson Ehrhardt before Nixon Brannan brought Gonzalez across home plate (12-3).
 
Carr continued his home run streak with his third in the bottom of the sixth, giving UIW an eleven-run advantage (14-3).
 
NSU scored six runs through the seventh and eighth innings to cut the lead to 14-9. The Demons scored one more run in the ninth, but UIW halted the rally and went on to win the game, 14-10.

UP NEXT
The Cardinals play No. 4 Nicholls at 1 p.m. CT on Saturday, May 21.

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