SAN ANTONIO – The University of the Incarnate Word softball team got back to its winning ways on Thursday afternoon with a 13-0 shutout of SLC foe Houston Christian University in just five innings from Cardinals Field.

Incarnate Word moves its overall record to 23-14 with an 8-5 record in Southland play, while Houston Christian falls to 5-28 on the year with a 2-11 League mark.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Incarnate Word home run queen did it again on Thursday, as senior Victoria Altamirano hit a lead-off home run over the center field fence in the first inning to give UIW a 1-0 lead.
• Sophomores Kennedy Hill and Prisais Quintero each drew bases-loaded walks in the same inning as UIW opened a 3–0 advantage.
• In the second inning, junior Bryanna Fuentes sent an RBI triple down the right field line before fellow junior Jaisy Caceres and Sydney Zenon hit back-to-back RBI doubles to build the Incarnate Word lead to 6-0.
• The Cardinals added three more runs on three hits in the third inning, and Altamirano brought two runs home with an RBI double to right, and Caceres added another RBI to her total with a run-scoring single in the frame.
• Fuentes hit a double down the left field line with the bases loaded to score three more runs before Caceres hit another RBI double to center to put UIW up 13-0 and enact the run rule.
• Incarnate Word starter Bella Mitchell kept the Houston Christian in check in the top of the fifth to preserve the win for the home team.

NOTES

• Mitchell (8-4) picked up her team-leading eighth win of the season after holding HCU to just two hits with three strikeouts across five innings in the circle.
• Altamirano finished the day 2-for-2 with two walks, four runs, and three RBI, hitting a double and her team-high 15th home run of the year.
• Fuentes was 3-for-4 at the plate with a double, a triple, three runs, and four RBI, while Caceres was a perfect 3-for-3 with two doubles, two runs, and three RBI of her own.

UP NEXT
Incarnate Word and Houston Christian conclude the three-game series with a doubleheader tomorrow, with game one scheduled to begin at 4:00 p.m.