INCARNATE WORD 3-14-11, ST. MARY'S 7-12-6
Rattlers Field at St. Mary's called to mind a term from days gone by, bandbox, as Incarnate Word won two of three Heartland Conference games from St. Mary's when the two squads combined for 14 home runs over the weekend.
The two Cardinals wins made things more interesting in the conference. St. Mary's entered the set on top of the standings having not lost a league game. The Rattlers emerged in second at 13-2 as up in Austin Texas A&M International was sweeping St. Edward's to take the lead at 14-1. SEU remains third at 11-3 and UIW has gained ground and is now 10-4.
Lea Padilla slammed four home runs in the three games.
These four teams continue to play each other. April 16 and 17 will find Incarnate Word in Laredo for three against TAMUI while St. Mary's goes to Austin the same two days for three games at St. Edward's. What's at stake here are seedings for the yearend conference championship tournament.
Meanwhile back at the bandbox--by definition a small ball park allowing balls to be hit over the fences. Game one on Friday saw the two combine for 10 runs, all coming from home runs. UIW got long balls from Alex Carraman and Lea Padilla while the Rattlers hit three out including a grand slam by Katie Nichols.
The nightcap was a donnybrook. In the top of the first UIW's Lea Padilla hit her second long one of the day. In the bottom of the frame the Rattlers got three on a home run and added three more for the first tallies of the day not driven home by a big fly.
Down 12-5 after five innings, the Cardinals got it going again. UIW rang up six runs; Lea Padilla, three-run homer, Melanie Padilla, home run, and finally Monica Acuna, home run. It was now 12-11. In the top of the seventh, Carraman hit her second of the day before UIW scored the winning and insurance runs on a single by Kaylen Skinner and an infield Rattlers error.
Did resting over night change anything on Saturday in the series-deciding game. No.
Alex Carraman hit three out of the park in the three games.
Down 1-0, Incarnate Word got two on a Lea Padilla double and another on a Melanie Padilla single. Then, guess what? Acuna hit her second of the series for three RBI. And UIW wasn't done. After St. Mary's closed to within 9-6 after six, Incarnate Word got back-to-back bombs from Carraman and Lea Padilla. Game over.
There was another unusual side to the three games. Incarnate Word's Briana Sanchez got all three decisions, winning two and losing one to reach 18-6 on the year. Over on the other side Taryn Munoz took all three decisions for the Rattlers, winning one and losing two. She is now 17-8 for the season.
GAME ONE
UIW 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 -- 3 3 2
StM 0 0 0 0 4 3 x -- 7 8 1
Sanchez, Surface (6) and Skinner. Munoz and Baker. WP--Munoz (17-6). LP--Sanchez (16-6). HR--UIW, Carraman, L. Padilla. StM, Nichols, Wenske, Perez.
GAME TWO
UIW 2 3 0 0 0 6 3 -- 14 13 0
St.M 6 0 0 4 2 0 0 -- 12 15 3
Surface, L. Padilla (1), Gonzales (5), Sanchez (6), and Holub, Skinner. Keller, Munoz (6), Flores (7), and Rodriguez. WP--Sanchez (17-6). LP--Munoz (17-8). HR--UIW, Carraman, L. Padilla 2, M. Padilla, Acuna. St.M--Perez.
GAME THREE
UIW 0 0 6 2 1 0 2 -- 11 10 0
StM 0 1 2 3 0 0 0 -- 6 10 5
Sanchez and Skinner. Munoz, Keller (4), Flores (7), and Baker. WP--Sanchez (18-6). LP--Munoz (17-9). HR--UIW, Carraman, L. Padilla, Acuna. StM--Rodriguez.
RECORDS
Incarnate Word 22-18 (10-4)
St. Mary's 28-15 (13-2)