The No. 30 ranked WTAMU Buffalo baseball team traveled to San Antonio for an important four-game series against the Incarnate Word Cardinals from April 20-22. The Buffs were tied with Angelo State for first in the conference and had two series left in the season when they lost three of four to the Cardinals.

WT fell behind 3-0 after the fifth inning of the series opener. The Buffs would get a run on an RBI by junior Justin Henderson in the seventh, but would lose the game 3-1. Junior Ryan Houston (4-3) got the loss pitching seven innings and giving up three runs on six hits.

In the first game of the doubleheader on April 21, WT got off to a 4-2 lead after three innings. Incarnate Word rallied for two runs in the bottom of the seventh to tie the game at four all. The Buffs would get a 6-4 win from a two-run double by senior Jess Cooper, who went two for four at the plate with two doubles and two RBIs. The win was head coach Matt Vanderburg’s one-hundredth win at WT.“It was good to get 100 wins at WT,” Vanderburg said. “I’ve had a lot of good players and a good coaching staff to help along the way.”

WT would be shut out by the Cardinals in the second game on April 21. UIW scored a run in the first, fourth, fifth innings and two in the sixth for the 5-0 win. Junior Billy Gonzalez (5-2) got his second consecutive loss after five wins, going five innings and giving up three runs on eight hits.

The Buffs would come just short of rallying late in the series finale. UIW took a 7-1 lead over WT into the sixth inning. WT put up two runs in the sixth and four in the seventh to come back and tie the game 7-7. The Cardinals would find a way to push a run across after two Buff errors in the bottom of the ninth to get an 8-7 win.

The series was the first Lone Star Conference series the Buffs have dropped all season. Their record stands at 27-15 overall and 14-10 in the LSC heading into the last series against Eastern New Mexico, beginning on April 27. First pitch is set for 7 p.m.