LAKE CHARLES, LOUISIANA – The University of the Incarnate Word baseball team travels to Southland Conference rival McNeese State University for a three-game series starting on Friday at 6 p.m.

The Cardinals (7-10, 1-2) dropped two of three games in their conference opening series against Southeastern Louisiana last weekend.  They are hitting .245 as a team and have a 5.99 earned run average.  Coach Danny Heep will send Garret Cooper (Round Rock/McNeil HS), Brandon Anderson (Cheyenne, WY/Cheyenne Central HS) and Kris Looper (Wharton/Wharton HS) out as the starting rotation for the weekend.  Cooper is 3-1 with a 1.73 ERA, Anderson is 1-1 with a 4.30 ERA and Looper is 0-1 with a 12.10 ERA.

The UIW lineup was stymied on Tuesday by #16 Texas, but they have scored at least 10 runs three times this year.  Christian Divelbiss (Yuba City, CA/Yuba City HS) has been the hottest hitter lately going 7-of-15 in his last four games.  He is hitting .306 for the season with nine RBI's.  Matt Morris (Scottsdale, AZ/Saguaro HS) is hitting .286 with a .423 on-base percentage and .476 slugging percentage.  Austin Hoffman (Goodyear, AZ/Millenium HS) is second in the conference with 16 runs batted in.

McNeese State is 11-6 this year with a 7-4 record at home.  They took 2-of-3 from Houston Baptist last week and swept a three-game series from UTSA, the only common opponent for the two teams this year.

The Cowboys are hitting .280 as a team while holding the opposition to a .222 average.  Andrew Guillotte has been the top hitter on the team with a .375 batting average, 13 runs scored and nine stolen bases.  Connor Crane has been dangerous at the plate with a .324 average, nine doubles and two home runs.

The pitching rotation for the Cowboys will be Kaleb Fontenot, Bryce Kingsley and Trent Fontenot.  Each has an ERA under 3.30.  The strength of the staff is in the bullpen where Steven O'Bryant, Cory LaPeze and Collin Kober have combined to pitch 39.2 innings while allowing five runs and striking out 36.

After Friday night's game, the teams will meet on Saturday at 3 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m.
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