BEAUMONT, Texas – Shelby Henderson had two hits, including a mammoth home run, but the Lamar University Cardinals couldn't hold on to a late-inning lead, dropping a 5-3 decision to the visiting Incarnate Word Cardinals in a Southland Conference softball game Saturday afternoon.
 
LU (28-25, overall, 11-13 Southland) squandered a golden opportunity to reduce its magic number to 1 in the fight for a spot in the Southland Conference Tournament. LU holds a one-game lead over Sam Houston State for the eighth, and final, spot in next month's tourney with three games to play. Sam Houston State was swept by Southeastern Louisiana over the weekend. LU is at conference-leading Nicholls (18-6 SLC) for three games, while Sam Houston State hosts Houston Baptist (6-18 SLC) for three games. A combination of LU wins and Sam Houston State losses adding up to two would put the Cardinals into the tourney for the fifth time in the six seasons since LU revived the softball program.
 
Incarnate Word (13-30, 6-18) took a 2-0 lead in the first inning before LU responded with single runs in each of the first three innings. Henderson plated Savana Guidry with a sacrifice fly in the first inning to put LU on the board. Shelby Hughston's single to center field scored Corina Thornton in the second inning before Henderson's home run in the third gave LU a 3-2 lead. It was Hughston eighth homer of the season, putting her into a tie with Kelly Meeuwsen for the team lead. It also boosted her team-leading total to 42 RBIs, equaling the school record set by Meeuwsen in 2016.
 
LU starter Laura Napoli (13-14), who held UIW hitless from the second through fifth innings after giving up two runs on four hits in the first, left the game in the sixth after hitting the leadoff batter and surrendering an RBI double to tie the game at 3. UIW scored the go-ahead run later in the frame on a dropped tag at the plate. UIW added an insurance run in the seventh on an Emily Castro single.
 
LU's Mackenzie Futrell led off the bottom of the seventh with a pinch-hit single, but the Cardinals couldn't do any further damage.
 
Napoli allowed five hits and four runs, three earned in five-plus innings. She did not issue walk, but hit two batters and struck out one. Amie Cisneros allowed one hit and one earned run in 1 1/3 innings, walking one and striking out one. Taylor Gruell allowed one hit 2/3 of an inning.
 
Brett Coleman (1-1) picked up the win in relief for UIW, allowing one hit in 4 2/3 innings after starter Breanna Hernandez was tagged for five hits and three runs, all earned in 2 1/3 innings.
 
SENIOR DAY: The Cardinals honored their three seniors (Cisneros, Napoli and Thornton) in postgame Senior Day ceremonies. The trio were part of LU's first-ever game at the LU Softball Complex, an 11-0 win over Houston Baptist on March 6, 2015.
 
ON DECK: The Cardinals play a single game at Nicholls at 5 p.m. Friday and a doubleheader at 3 p.m. the following day. The conference tournament is set for May 8-11 at McNeese.