HAMMOND, LOUISIANA – The University of the Incarnate Word baseball team is back in action this weekend for a three-game series at Southland Conference rival Southeastern Louisiana.  They will play at 6 p.m. on Friday, 2 p.m. on Saturday and 1 p.m. on Sunday.

The Cardinals (10-20, 3-3) have won three of their last four games, including a series win over SLC rival New Orleans last weekend.  The team is hitting .246 led by senior Slade Brown (Keller/Keller HS) and junior Jesse Hoover (Marion/Marion HS).  Brown leads the team with a .319 average, seven doubles and 21 RBI's.  Hoover has pushed his average back over .300 to .301 for the season.  Freshman Mark Whitehead (San Antonio/Johnson HS) is riding an 11-game hitting streak and has hit safely in 23-of-24 games.

The UIW pitching rotation for the weekend will be Geno Encina (San Antonio/Brandeis HS), Dylan Boss (Boerne/Boerne HS) and Jacob Potts (Glendale, AZ/Browne HS).  Encina is 4-4 with a 2.82 ERA and is coming off his first career shutout.  Boss is 1-3 with a 4.58 ERA and has struck out 28 in 35.1 innings.  Potts is 2-2 with a 5.62 ERA.  Alex Shaffer (Seattle/Nathan Hale HS) has been the top relief pitcher on the club with a 2.92 ERA and two saves in 24.2 innings.

Southeastern Louisiana enters the weekend with a 20-12 record and 7-5 mark in the Southland Conference.  Jameson Fisher and Andrew Godbold lead the offense.  Fisher is hitting .359 with seven doubles and 22 RBI's while Godbold has a .339 average with three homers and 29 driven in. Overall, the team is hitting .278 and has outscored their opponents, 188-125.

The Lions own a strong pitching staff with depth all around. Andro Cutura and Tate Scioneaux each have five wins and below a 2.50 ERA as starters. Matt Pittari, Mason Klotz and Dylan Hills are strong relievers who each hold opponents to under a .200 batting average.
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