SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS – The University of the Incarnate Word baseball team will play a key regional contest on Tuesday at 6 p.m. at Sullivan Field against St. Edward's.

This will be the third meeting between the two teams with each winning by one run at home.  The Cardinals (21-14) are coming off a tough weekend where they went 1-3 at Tarleton State.  However, they are 16-3 at home this season.

The Cardinals are hitting .313 as a team and have outscored the opposition by 79 runs this year.  Derrick Walls (San Antonio/Reagan HS) is hitting .383 from his leadoff spot and is among the national leaders in runs (44), walks (36) and stolen bases (29).  Second baseman John Zule (San Antonio/Stevens HS) is having a fine season hitting .393 with eight doubles and 28 RBI's.

The pitching staff is led by junior Alexis Garza (McAllen/McAllen HS) who boasts a 4-0 record and a 1.17 earned run average.  Overall, the team has a 4.30 ERA and has struck out 247 batters in 278.2 innings.

The Hilltoppers (24-11) do not match up to the Cardinals on offense, but they have an outstanding pitching staff.  Taylor Johnson leads the team with a .375 batting average, 32 runs and 20 stolen bases while CJ Manning is hitting .350 with 29 RBI's.  As a team, they have a 3.00 earned run average. Brannon Easterling leads the way with a 7-2 record and a 2.31 ERA.
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