The names sounded familiar late Friday afternoon as Incarnate Word used almost duplicate innings to upend St. Mary's and move on to the championship round of the Heartland Conference softball tournament.
Playing in the winner's portion of the double-elimination bracket UIW lost to St. Edward's earlier in the day and fell back to the play-back portion of the tournament. Facing St. Mary's for the second time in two days, Incarnate Word got clutch hitting in the first two innings to eliminate the Rattlers 5-3 and set up Saturday's championship series against unbeaten St. Edward's.
Saturday's game is set for noon at St. Mary's. If the Cardinals win the title game will follow immediately. If St. Edward's wins the title and the NCAA automatic regional bid goes to the Hilltoppers.
In the top half of the first inning, and Cardinals fans should remember this sequence, UIW got three runs. Chelsea Muskopf opened the frame with a single to left center field. On a sacrifice bunt attempt Caroline Flores ended up with a safe hit. With no outs Alex Carraman sent a towering shot over the center field wall for the three tallies.
But St. Mary's came right back with a threesome of its own in the bottom of the inning.
Michelle Luna got into the Muskopf-Flores-Carraman act by leading off the second with a single down the left field line. Jordan Mattison sacrificed Luna to second before, and here comes the familiar, Muskopf singled to right. Right behind that Flores laid down another perfect bunt for a hit and Luna came home to break the tie. Then, Carraman hit a sacrifice fly to center to plate Muskopf with the insurance run.
From there, while the Cardinals were silent the rest of the way, Lea Padilla put zeros on the Rattlers to move her season mark to 11-18. She allowed the three runs, all earned, on five hits. She walked three and fanned four.
Wielding the big aluminum, Carraman was 2-3 with the four RBI. Luna was perfect at the plate going 3-3.