LAKE CHARLES, LA. – The University of the Incarnate Word softball team suffered back-to-back close losses on Saturday in a Southland Conference doubleheader with McNeese State University, falling 6-5 in game one of the day and 8-6 in the series finale from Cowgirl Diamond.

Incarnate Word falls to 22-13 overall with a 7-5 SLC mark, while McNeese improves to 23-13 with an identical 7-5 League record.

HOW IT HAPPENED (GAME ONE)

• For the second straight game, senior Victoria Altamirano led off the game with a solo home run to put Incarnate Word ahead 1-0.
• McNeese plated two runs on two hits in the bottom of the second for a 2-1 lead before the Cardinals tied the game at 2-2 in the fifth with Altamirano's second solo home run of the game.
• Sophomore Prisais Quintero put UIW ahead 3-2 with a sac fly in the top of the 6th, while senior Madison Dorrow moved the lead to 4-2 in the same inning with a pinch-hit RBI double to left center.
• Incarnate Word added another run to its total, 5-2, after junior Jaisy Caceres recorded an RBI in the top of the seventh.
• McNeese rallied in the home half of the seventh for four runs on three hits and a Cardinal fielding error, walking off with a one-out, pinch-hit RBI single with the bases loaded to secure the win.

HOW IT HAPPENED (GAME TWO)

• Altamirano flexed her muscle once again in the series finale, hitting a lead-off home run over the center field to give the Cardinals another early lead.
• In the third, Altamirano blasted her second home run of the game and fourth of the day over the center field wall to score two runs and put Incarnate Word ahead 3-0.
• McNeese scratched a run across in the bottom of the third and two more in the fourth to even the score at 3-all.
• After UIW regained the lead at 4-3 in the fifth, the Cowgirls rallied for five runs on four hits in the home half of the fifth to claim an 8-4 advantage with two innings to play.
• The Cardinals looked for their own rally in the top of the sixth as junior Erin Perez hit a solo home run to right center and Dorrow recorded an RBI to bring UIW within two runs.
• Incarnate Word had two runners reach in the top of the seventh but a double play ended the game with McNeese on top.

NOTES

• Altamirano finished the day 4-for-5 with four home runs, five runs scored, and five RBI. The senior outfielder now has 14 home runs on the year, just four long balls shy of her own school record of 18 that she set last season.
• Perez also had a home run during the doubleheader, while Dorrow (2), Caceres, and Fuentes all had at least one RBI on the day.

UP NEXT
Incarnate Word steps out of conference play for its next game on Tuesday, March 31, as the Cardinals travel to Baylor University for a 5:00 p.m. matchup in Waco, Texas.