University of the Incarnate Word Athletics

GENO ENCINA
 
He was exactly the tonic needed by Incarnate Word’s baseball Cardinals and consequently Geno Encina is the male athlete of the week for March 31 to April 6.
 
What the righthander did was throw a nine-inning complete-game shutout in the first of three Southland Conference contests against the University of New Orleans.  Along the way he allowed but five safe hits to go with a pair of base on balls and seven strikeouts.
 
Why he came up big was that the Cardinals were trying to stop a four-game losing skid, which they did, and they needed a tone-setter for the weekend series, which they got.
 
The victory moved Encina’s season mark to even at 4-4.  He has won his last two starts.
 
Encina is a sophomore from San Antonio’s Brandeis High School.  He is studying journalism at UIW.  He will be on the ballot at year’s end when UIW coaches and athletic administrators name a male athlete of the year.