HOUSTON – The University of the Incarnate Word baseball team's bats exploded on a night full of offense to take game two, 13-8. The Cardinals scored a season-high 13 runs on 15 hits with three of them leaving the yard to snap the University of Houston's (UH) six-game win streak. 

Eight of the Cardinals' 15 hits were for extra bases. Ridge Rogers and Roberto Gonzalez each notched three hits on the night. Gonzalez and Joey Baran led the team in RBIs with three apiece. 

UIW sent all nine to the plate, scoring five runs on five hits in the opening frame. After two quick outs, UIW used a walk of Hernan Yanez to put a runner on base. Gonzalez hit his first home run as a Cardinal to start the UIW offense and put them up 2-0 before ending the first inning with a 5-3 edge. 

In the top of the second, Grant Smith doubled to left center and advanced to third on a Cougar error. Yanez singled to right field to bring home Smith and give the Cardinals a 6-3 cushion. UH answered with two runs to cut the lead to one (6-5).

Keaton Grady homered to left field, his first at UIW, for a solo RBI in the fourth inning. Gonzalez hit an RBI single that gave UIW an 8-5 edge. Once more, the Cougars answered by adding two runs to the board, but they still came up shy as UIW held on to a one run advantage (8-7). 

Smith smacked the ball out of the field in the sixth for the Cardinals' third home run of the night. Smith and Grady crossed home plate to jump to a 10-7 UIW lead. Later in the inning, Rogers was walked with bases loaded to score Gonzalez. Baran reached first on a fielder's choice, bringing in Nixon Brannan. Alex Carr scored on a wild pitch next at bat. The Cardinals ended the inning with a 13-7 edge. 

UH tallied one run in the eighth inning and the Cardinals took the game, 13-8, forcing a rubber match tomorrow afternoon. For head coach Ryan Shotzberger, this was his first win over his former school and mentor.

UP NEXT  
The Cardinals match up against the Cougars for the last game of the series on Sunday, March 5, at 1 p.m. CT. 

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