SAN ANTONIO - The University of the Incarnate Word softball team hosted the McNeese Cowgirls for the conference home opener this past weekend and went 0-3 on the series. Almost all six pitchers saw play in the series. This was the second conference series the Cardinals have played after facing Nicholls last weekend.  

Game 1 (0-9) 

The Cardinals took a bit to warm up for the series as the first game ended in five innings. The Cowgirls came out hot getting their first run in the opening inning of the game and applied pressure from then.  

Ryleigh Mata collected the only hit for the Cardinals with a dropped single into right center field in the bottom of the fourth.  

The Cardinals saw only two different pitching changes throughout the game. Aaliyah Garcia, who was credited with the loss, pitched for the first 1.2 innings. Garcia nabbed a strikeout and walked two. Natalie Myers closed out the game for the last 3.1 innings and struck out one as well. Myers finished walking three of the total 19 batters she faced.  

Game 2 (1-5) 

In a much closer full game matchup, the Cardinals fell to the Cowgirls 1-5. Annie Gunther started and stayed in the circle for all seven innings of play. She tabbed two strikeouts and walked six between the 34 batters she faced on the day.  

Two UIW student-athletes left with hits in the second game. In the bottom of the fifth Avalon Sanchez struck a single over to third base advancing Dominique Guerra to second. In that same inning, Jasmine Sierra reached on a fielder's choice to place two Cardinals on base. Off a play from Dariane Cram, Guerra scored for the only UIW run of the game. 

The second hit came late in the bottom of the seventh. Victoria Altamirano singled over to left field after falling behind in a 1-2 count. The single was Altamirano's 17th hit of the season which puts her in the top four with the most on the team. The freshman has been one of the Cardinals' most consistent players this season.  

Game 3 (0-10) 

UIW started the game with senior pitcher Madison Floyd making her first appearance in the series. In the three innings she pitched, Floyd struck out three and allowed three hits. In the top of the fourth, Gunther made her second appearance of the series after a solid showing the day before. In the last 0.4 innings UIW brought two more changes to the circle as Maddy Blake closed out the game.  

McNeese struck first after holding a two-run lead to end the top of the first. The Cardinals struggled to find their offensive groove throughout the game but did tally more hits than the first two games of the series combined. The Cardinals recorded a total of five hits from five different batters and only suffered three strikeouts. Capitalizing on those hits is what got the Cardinals.  

UIW suffered a season high five errors on the defensive end. The defensive tempo was rushed from start to finish as McNeese set the tone early on. The quick pace showed UIW a different style of play that they hadn't faced before.  

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