SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS – The University of the Incarnate Word baseball team is back home for a seven-game home stand starting with a three-game Southland Conference series against third-place Central Arkansas at Sullivan Field, Friday at 6:30 p.m., Saturday at 3:00 p.m. and Sunday at 1:00 p.m.
The Cardinals (15-27, 6-15 SLC) won their first ever Southland Conference road series last week at Lamar. They won 2-out-of-3 against Lamar last weekend and are looking to continue the winning baseball.
Geno Encina (San Antonio/Brandeis HS) has been the catalyst for the Cardinals since returning from injury. He is 2-4 on the year, but has a team-best 2.22 ERA. In his last two outings he has pitched 16.1 innings, allowing only one earned run, walking three and striking out 15.
Garret Cooper (Round Rock/McNeil HS) is 5-5 on the year and has a 3.88 ERA, while
Brandon Anderson (Cheyenne, WY/Cheyenne Central HS) is 1-4 with a 5.23 ERA. The pitching staff has a 5.52 ERA and opponents are hitting .305 against them.
Christian Divelbiss (Yuba City, CA/Yuba City HS) leads the team in hitting with a .308 average, while adding 11 runs and 17 runs batted in.
Matt Morris (Scottsdale, AZ/Saguaro HS) leads the team in runs (22), hits (45), doubles (13) and walks (22).
Austin Hoffman (Goodyear, AZ/Millenium HS) has a team-high 21 RBI's and
Colton Besett (Cedar Park/Vista Ridge HS) leads with four home runs and is on an 8-game hitting streak. As a team, the Cardinals are hitting .246 and scoring 4.0 runs per game.
Central Arkansas (23-15, 13-8 SLC) ranks third in the conference, trailing only Southeastern Louisiana and Northwestern State. They are 10-10 on the road, but they are on a current four-game winning streak. The Bears are coming off a conference sweep of New Orleans in which they allowed only one run in 27 innings, outscoring the Privateers, 19-1.
The Bears have three regulars over the .300 mark. Matt Anderson leads the team among qualifying hitters with a .328 batting average. Tyler Langley has a .312 batting average and leads the team in hits (44), runs (33), doubles (10), total bases (68), slugging percentage (.482) and stolen bases (9). Logan Preston is tied for the conference lead in home runs with seven, and leads the team in RBI's with 26. As a team they are hitting .271 and scoring 5.6 runs per game.
The pitching staff has a 3.80 ERA and is led by Connor Gilmore who has a 2.02 ERA and is 7-2. He has issued 23 walks, struck out 44 and has four complete games in 80.1 innings. Riley Echols is 3-2 with a 3.00 ERA in seven starts on the year and Brandon Hagerla is 5-2 with a 3.31 in 68 innings.
All three games will be broadcast online at
www.uiwlive.com with Greg Sherman on the call.
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