LAKE CHARLES, La. – The University of the Incarnate Word baseball team fell, 2-1, to Northwestern State University in the first round of the Southland Conference Tournament on Wednesday afternoon. The Cardinals now face single elimination as they and are set to face the loser between No. 1 Nicholls and No. 6 McNeese on Thursday, May 25, at 11 a.m.

Hernan Yanez, Jimmy De Leon, and Alec Carr all notched two hits apiece on the day. Kayden Cassidy pitched nearly a complete game, striking out four batters and allowing seven hits through eight innings. Ryan Schlotzhauer finished out the game, retiring all three batters faced. 
 
Grant Randall led off with a double to right field for the Cardinals. Yanez then dropped the ball in shallow right field to take first. Rey Mendoza smacked a sacrifice fly to the wall, plating Randall as UIW took a 1-0 lead.
 
Back-to-back Northwestern State doubles followed by a base hit to open the second inning tied the game at one and put another Demon in scoring position. The Cardinal defense then stranded two runners to head into the bottom of the inning, but UIW went scoreless to end the second, even at 1-1.

Neither the Demons nor the Cardinals scored in the third, but a solo Demon homer in the fourth handed Northwestern State its first lead (2-1).

Yanez threw out a runner stealing to end the top of the fifth and Cassidy put the Demons down in order to start the sixth. In the bottom of the inning, Mendoza singled through the left side and DeLeon was walked but NSU left both on base with the score still 2-1 heading into the seventh.

Cassidy went three up, three down once more to shut the Demons out in the top of the seventh. The Demons' pitching staff hit Wilson Ehrhardt before he stole second and reached third on a sacrifice fly but was later left on base to close out the inning.

Schlotzhauer came in for Cassidy in the ninth, putting down all three Demons he faced to head into the bottom of the inning. Carr singled to third and stole second before reaching third on a ground out from Ehrhardt. Warren Laster was then walked, and Randall stepped to the plate with two outs but was unable to bring Carr home as Northwestern State took the game, 2-1.

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