SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS – The University of the Incarnate Word baseball team opens the 2015 season on Friday at 6:30 p.m. at Sullivan Field against Northeastern University.  It is the first of a three-game series with continues on Saturday at 3 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m.

The Cardinals are entering their second season as a member of NCAA Division I and the Southland Conference.  UIW went 18-32 overall last year and finished 11^th in the conference with a 9-15 mark.  The Cardinals have been picked to finish 12^th in the Southland Conference this year by a vote of the league's head coaches and sports information directors.

The Cardinals have 15 returnees from last year on the squad led by junior pitcher Geno Encina (San Antonio/Brandeis HS) and senior left fielder Jesse Hoover (Marion/Marion HS) who were both named to the College Sports Madness Southland Preseason first team.  Encina went 7-7 last year with a 2.64 earned run average in 95.1 innings.  He struck out 62 while walking 15 and also tossed three complete games.  Hoover started all 50 games for UIW and led the team in hits (59), doubles (16), RBI's (36), home runs (2), slugging percentage (.435) and total bases (83).

Other key returners for the Cardinals include Mark Whitehead (San Antonio/Johnson HS), Bryce Shepherd (Coldspring/Coldspring-Oakhurst HS) and Blake Woosley (Corvallis, OR/Philomath HS).  Whitehead hit .266 as a true freshman.  He drove in 20 runs and led the team with 24 walks and 11 stolen bases.  Shepherd was outstanding defensively at shortstop and was a key reason why the team set a school record for best team fielding percentage in the program's history.  Woosley hit .297 in 11 games before suffering a season-ending injury.

The Huskies have been picked to finish fifth in the Colonial Athletic Association.  They finished 2014 with a 26-29 record and a 9-12 mark in the conference.  They return a pair of all-CAA third team members in Michael Foster and Dustin Hunt.  Foster started 52 games at second base and also made 12 relief appearances.  He hit .299 with 10 doubles, three home runs and a team high 36 runs batted in.  He was a 38^th round draft pick of the Houston Astros, but opted to stay in school.  Hunt had a 2.50 ERA in 82.2 innings last year and went 6-1 with 73 strikeouts.

All three games will be broadcast online at www.uiwlive.com.
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