BEAUMONT, Texas – Lamar University senior pitchers Laura Napoli and Amie Cisneros both tossed shutouts Friday night as the Cardinals swept a Southland Conference softball doubleheader to move back into eighth place in the SLC standings.
 
Napoli (13-13) tossed a one-hitter as LU won the opener 6-0 before Cisneros (4-2) scattered three hits over five innings as LU cruised to a 10-0 win in a game that was halted after the top of the fifth because of the run rule.
 
LU goes for the series sweep at 3 p.m. Saturday, in what will be the final home game of the season for Big Red. Napoli, Cisneros and outfielder Corina Thornton will be honored in Senior Day ceremonies after the game.
 
"This is our final weekend at home, and this was an amazing way to get it started," said Napoli, who picked up her 52^nd career win. "Everything came together today. We had great defense and our offense came through."
 
LU (28-24 overall, 11-12 Southland) moved one game ahead of Sam Houston State for the final spot in next month's Southland Conference Tournament. The Bearkats fell to 10-13 in conference play after dropping a doubleheader to visiting Southeastern Louisiana on Friday. UIW (12-30, 5-18) was officially eliminated from tournament contention.
 
Game 1: LU 6, UIW 0
 
Monica Flores' weak infield bouncer with two outs in the second inning was the only hit UIW could muster of Napoli. That would be the last batter to reach base for UIW, as Napoli retired the final 16 batters she faced.
 
LU took a 1-0 lead in the third on an RBI grounder by Taylor Davis before breaking it open with five runs in the bottom of the sixth as Savana Guidry, Kelly Meeuwsen and Shelby Hughston all had RBIs in the frame.
 
"I knew our offense was eventually going to come through," Napoli said. "We had runners all game, it was just a matter of time."
 
Breanna Hernandez (4-13) took the loss for UIW, allowing 11 hits and six runs, five earned. Guidry had three hits for LU, while Meeuwsen and Kendall Talley had two hits apiece.
 
Game 2: LU 10, UIW 0
 
The Cardinals wasted no time giving Cisneros some run support, scoring four runs in the first and five more in the second.
 
Shelby Henderson had three RBIs in the game for LU, while Talley, Elizabeth Castillo and Maddy Myers drove in two runs apiece.
 
"Having a lead like that gives me a lot of confidence to throw any pitch I need," said Cisneros, who now has a career-best four wins this season. "I knew my defense would back me up, and for sure, the hitting as well."
 
Klaus and Talley had two hits apiece in the nightcap for the Cardinals, who had nine hits in 18 at-bats for the contest.
 
UIW starter Sarah Leal (8-12) took the loss, allowing four hits and seven runs, six earned in 1 1/3 innings.
 
ON DECK: LU and UIW wrap up the series with a single game at 3 p.m. Saturday. LU concludes the regular season with a three-game SLC series at Nicholls next weekend.
 
WALK THIS WAY: Davis drew two walks on Friday, giving her 34 for the season, breaking the previous single-season LU mark of 32 set by Brynn Baca in 2016.
 
FIRING BLANKS: LU has posted four straight shutouts at home over UIW. LU blanked UIW 8-0 on March 25, 2016, and 3-0 the following day. The Last time the Cardinals blanked an opponent in both games of a doubleheader was on April 25, 2016, in a pair of 5-0 victories over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.
 
TICKETS: For tickets to Saturday's game, please CLICK HERE. The ticket window at the LU Softball Complex will open one hour prior to first pitch. LU students receive free admission to home games with their Cardinal One card, while Junior Cardinal Club members are admitted for free when they present their membership badge.