HOUSTON, Texas - The University of the Incarnate Word softball team lost a pair of contests on Saturday, falling to Michigan 20-2 and Pittsburgh 8-7. The Cardinals suffered their first defeats of the season and saw their record drop to 8-2.
 
Michigan 20, UIW 2
 
The Wolverines struck early and often. Michigan scored two runs in the top of the first inning and followed that up with three in the second. The Wolverines got one more in the third and put up six in the fourth, claiming a 12-0 lead through three and a half frames.
 
UIW got on the board in the bottom of the fourth. Jaisy Caceres hit a solo home run with two outs, the junior's second of the season and sixth of her career. It was Caceres' 10th RBI of the year, joining Victoria Altamirano as the only Cardinals with double-digit RBI through nine games.
 
Eight more runs crossed in the fifth for Michigan. UIW managed one more run on another solo shot in the bottom of the fifth, this one off the bat of sophomore Prisais Quintero. It was her first of the season. The Wolverines closed out the game in five innings, and the Cardinals suffered their first loss of the season. 
 
Pitt 8, UIW 7
 
Altamirano led off the Cardinals' second game with a double and came around to score on a Caceres RBI single two batters later, giving UIW an early 1-0 lead. Pitt tied the score in the bottom of the first, but the Cardinals struck right back.
 
Dominique Guerra started the inning with an infield single and, after an out, Ayla Gonzales walked. That set up Altamirano, who blasted her fifth home run of the season, a three-run shot to center field which gave UIW a 4-1 lead and boosted her RBI total to a team-high 15. 
 
Pitt made a pitching change to begin the third, but the Cardinals' bats remained hot. Bryanna Fuentes started the frame with a solo home run over the left field fence and Erin Perez added a solo shot of her own later in the inning. The Cardinals extended their advantage to 6-1. 
 
The Panthers came alive in the bottom of the third, exploding for six runs and turning a 6-1 deficit into a 7-6 lead. They added one more in the fifth and went ahead 8-6.
 
UIW got one back in the top of the sixth. Sydney Zenon hit the Cardinals' fourth home run of the game and made their deficit 8-7. It was Zenon's second late-game long ball in as many days, along with her tying shot in the seventh inning against Penn State on Friday. 
 
Walks by Caceres and Fuentes gave UIW two on with one out, but the Cardinals could not take advantage. Three UIW ground outs in the seventh then sealed the victory for Pitt.
 
UIW (8-2, 0-0) returns to action and closes out the weekend with a 2:30 p.m. matchup against tournament host Houston on Sunday.