An extra inning home run by Incarnate Word’s Melanie Padilla propelled the Cardinals to victory in the rubber match of a three-game series over the Wildcats on Saturday at Wells Field. With that win, UIW also took the series from ACU.
This marks the first time in Lone Star Conference play that the Wildcats (20-16, 6-3) have lost a series to a conference foe.
“That was definitely a hard game to swallow. It’s no fun losing a game where we’re up five runs with four innings to play. That shouldn’t happen, and it served as a learning experience for our girls. There’s no excuse for falling apart like that,” Head Coach Bobby Reeves said.
ACU hit the gas pedal early, jumping out to a 2-0 lead in the first before extending it to 3-1 in the third. The team then slammed on the accelerator in the third, giving them a 6-1 lead.
Melissa Mendoza led off the third with a single and moved into scoring position when she stole second. Tiana Tuinei would pick up her only RBI, scoring Mendoza on a single to left field. ACU would pick up their final two runs on back-to-back hits on a double from Sarah Martinez, which scored Tuinei. A Valentina Nabayan single then scored Tuinei.
But the Cardinals mounted a comeback in the last four innings. Padilla would hit the first of her two home runs in the fourth, which tied the game at six.
Both offenses stalled in the seventh before Padilla would end the game on a solo home run.
“It’s definitely a great feeling to start a game like that. We just need to now focus on finishing games better and improving defensively,” freshman Kara Stutesman said.
ACU started off the doubleheader Friday on the right foot, as they trumped UIW 6-3 in the first of the three game series.
With the win, the Wildcats secured their eighth consecutive season of 20 plus wins.
The ACU bats were silent for five innings before coming alive in the sixth, scoring six runs on six hits to take a 6-3 lead and come out on top.
“That was a great win for us. It got us started off on the right foot in the series,” Reeves said.
However, ACU fell 9-3 in the ladder game. A UIW grand slam in the fifth put the Cardinals on top 5-3 before going on to the sixth and seventh while the Cardinals held ACU scoreless through the final four innings.
The ‘Cats offense continues to be the team’s strong point, as they rank first in the LSC in 10 different offensive categories, including batting average, slugging percentage, hits, runs scored and home runs.
“Softball is divided into three parts: hitting, pitching and defense. We need to improve on the latter two and continue swinging the bats, and we’ll be just fine,” Reeves said.
