AUSTIN, Texas - The University of the Incarnate Word softball team split a pair of contests on the final day of the Longhorn Invitational on Sunday. UIW took down St. Bonaventure 21-1 in a five-inning affair shortened by run rule in the morning and fell to No. 3 Texas 8-0 (six innings) in the afternoon. UIW's season record moved to 14-7.
 
The Cardinals finished the weekend 3-2 with a pair of wins over St. Bonaventure and one against Prairie View A&M.
 
UIW 21, St. Bonaventure 1; 5 Innings
 
The Cardinals loaded the bases with nobody out in the top of the first inning courtesy of a lead-off triple by Victoria Altamirano and walks by Sydney Zenon and Bryanna Fuentes. Like they did twice against UIW on Saturday, the Bonnies retired two straight batters after allowing the first three to reach in an inning. However, the Cardinals managed to score with two outs, as they did on both occasions in the two squads' first meeting of the weekend. 
 
A single to right field by Aynsli Lawson plated Altamirano and Zenon. Fuentes also came around on the play due to a St. Bonaventure error. The next batter, Ayla Gonzales, drove Lawson home with a single, giving UIW a 4-0 lead.
 
After a one-two-three bottom of the first by Cardinals starter Elly Eckrich, UIW added on in the second. The first two hitters were retired, but Zenon began a rally by reaching on an error. She scored on a Fuentes double. Erin Perez then launched a two-run home run to left field, ballooning the Cardinals' advantage to 7-0. It was the junior's second long ball of the season.
 
St. Bonaventure clawed one back in the bottom of the second, scoring their first run of the weekend against UIW and making it 7-1 through a pair of frames.
 
The Cardinals got six more in the third. They once again loaded the bases with nobody out. Altamirano cleared them with a double. Later in the inning, she scored on a wild pitch to make it 11-1. Two more runs crossed in the frame, one on a Perez double and another on a Lawson single. UIW held a 13-1 advantage going into the bottom of the third.
 
The Cardinals plated eight more in the top of the fifth and Eckrich shut the door in the bottom half, securing a run rule shortened 21-1 win. Eight different Cardinals drove in at least one run, led by Perez's four RBI. Altamirano, Zenon, Lawson and Gonzalez each had two. Eckrich earned the win, allowing one run on five hits over five innings. She struck out seven and walked none.
 
UIW's total of 21 runs was its largest in a game since defeating Prairie View A&M 23-11 in March 2016.
 
Texas 8, UIW 0; 6 Innings

UIW got the lead-off runner on in the top of the first inning when Altamirano was hit by a pitch. The Cardinals were unable to get her in, however, and the Longhorns posted two runs in the bottom half of the frame. They grabbed two more in the second and went up 4-0 going into the third.
 
UIW held Texas scoreless in the third, but the Longhorns plated three in the fourth and claimed a 7-0 advantage. They then finished off the game with a run in the sixth and secured an 8-0 run rule victory.
 
UIW did not manage a hit in the contest against Texas pitcher Teagan Kavan. The junior allowed just one base runner, Altamirano's hit by pitch to start the game, and retired the final 18 batters she faced. The former All-American entered the day with a 2.44 ERA this season.
 
UIW (14-7, 0-0) returns home for a 5 p.m. matchup against Houston at HEB Field on Wednesday. It will be the third contest of the season between the Cardinals and the Cougars, and UIW's first home game since Feb. 12.