SAN ANTONIO - The University of the Incarnate Word softball team clinched its first conference series win Saturday afternoon after beating Houston Christian 11-7 in 10 innings. The series win, 2-1, shows UIW's momentum is steadily climbing as the team reaches deeper into Southland conference play.  

Game 1 (3-0) 

Annie Gunther went the distance to nab the shutout opening win against the Huskies. Pitching all seven innings, Gunther allowed five hits and struck out one in the 100 pitches she threw. This was the first shutout victory for Gunther this season.  

UIW scored early in the second inning as Aaliyah Garcia ran in on an error by HCU's catcher. The score was 1-0 all the way till the last inning of the game.  

UIW's defense kept the Cardinals in the game. After going cold on the offensive end for a few innings, the Cardinals came back in the seventh to put two more runs on the board. Ryleigh Mata slammed a double to left centerfield for an RBI as Dariane Cram walked home. Right after, McGary hit a sacrifice fly to left field to bring Giselle Villarreal home before the Huskies could grab their third out.  

Game 2 (0-4) 

The second game proved to be a bit of a struggle for UIW. Roles were reversed from game one as the Cardinals were on the opposite end of the shutout.  

Though UIW had six hits they couldn't capitalize, leaving a total of 11 runners on base.   

Garcia also returned to the circle for the first 4.1 innings of the game. In the total of 22 batters she faced, Garcia tallied four strikeouts. Natalie Myers made her first appearance of the series, pitching for 1.2 innings. In a solid performance, Myers didn't allow any hits against the five batters she faced.  

Game 3 (11-7) 

The Cardinals had a dominant start to the last game of the series as they led 7-0 in the top of the fifth inning. Though a bit of miscommunication slowed down their offensive push, HCU tied up the game to force extra innings. The game finally concluded after 10 innings, the longest UIW has played all year.  

Avalon Sanchez had a fantastic game as she not only had the first hit to get the Cardinals on the board, but also scored the go ahead run late in the top of the tenth. In her four at bats, Sanchez had three hits, three runs, and three RBIs. Included in those hits were two home run shots for her first of the season. Sanchez surpassed many of her season highs with her all-out performance. Looking at the Cardinals offense as a whole, five players tallied two or more hits including Sanchez and a season first home run by Maddison Guillen.  

The Cardinals broke some team highs in the win against the Huskies. They totaled a season high of 15 hits including a new team high of three homeruns in one game. In addition, UIW stole a record four bases. On the defensive side, the Cardinals had a season high of 30 putouts and 16 assists. Their three double plays also set another season record.  

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--UIW CARDINALS--