ABILENE, TEXAS – The University of the Incarnate Word baseball team embarks on their inaugural Southland Conference campaign on Friday at 6 p.m. at Abilene Christian University.  UIW and ACU will play a three-game series concluding with a Saturday game at 2 p.m. and a Sunday match at 1 p.m.

The Cardinals (6-15) are coming off a loss to Oral Roberts in Tulsa, 2-0 last Wednesday.  With over a week layoff, the Cardinals hope to shake off the rust quickly.  They are hitting .245 as a team and have three regulars hitting at least .300.  Slade Brown (Keller/Keller HS) tops the team with a .346 batting average, five doubles and 13 RBI's while Mark Whitehead (San Antonio/Johnson HS) is hitting .313 with 17 runs scored and a .427 on-base percentage.

The Cardinals will likely throw Geno Encina (San Antonio/Brandeis HS), Dylan Boss (Boerne/Boerne HS) and Jacob Potts (Tucson, AZ/Browne HS) this weekend.  Encina is 2-4 with a 3.44 ERA and 18 strikeouts in 34.0 innings.  Boss is 0-3 with a 6.45 ERA and leads the team with 20 strikeouts.  Potts has pitched well lately and is 2-1 with a 4.88 ERA.

The Wildcats (10-12) have a strong hitting team with a .308 batting average.  Seth Spivey is hitting .427 with 27 runs, eight doubles and a .552 on-base percentage.  Kyle Giusti is hitting at a .364 clip with a time head 18 RBI's.  Garrett DeMeyere heads up the pitching staff with a 3-2 record and a 2.41 ERA.

The Wildcats will make a return trip to San Antonio in May to close out the season.
####
pr14186smm