SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS – The University of the Incarnate Word baseball team will start the 2016 season hosting a three-game series against LIU Brooklyn this weekend. Games are set for Friday at 6:30 p.m., Saturday at 3:00 p.m. and Sunday at 11:00 a.m. all at Sullivan Field.
Last year, the Cardinals finished the season in 12
th place in the Southland Conference with a conference record of 11-19 and 21-33 overall. This year, the 2016 pre-season polls picked UIW to finish in 12
th place only in front of New Orleans.
The Cardinals lost some key players for the 2016 season, but also return some familiar faces that will bring experience to a very young team. On the offensive side, some of the key contributors last year who are back are
Matt Morris (Scottsdale, AZ/Saguaro HS),
Austin Hoffman (Goodyear, AZ/Millenium HS),
Mark Whitehead (San Antonio/Johnson HS),
Christian Divelbiss (Yuba City/Yuba City HS),
Brance Kahle (Colleyville/Grapevine Faith HS) and
Trey Rodriguez (Corpus Christi/Carroll HS).
Morris played five different positions for the Cardinals last year and led the team in doubles (15), total bases (85), walks (23), was tied for the team-lead in hits (54) and also had the team's second highest RBI's (26). Hoffman was another big part of UIW's offense. He was tied for the team lead in hits (54) and had a team-high 36 RBI's. He finished the year hitting .251 with 11 doubles and four homeruns. Whitehead served as the everyday centerfielder, but moved to right field occasionally. He led the team in runs scored (28) and was second on the team in stolen bases (11). He hit .230 and also walked 16 times. Rodriguez had the highest batting average from all the returners (.293). He hit six doubles, 14 RBI's and had an OBP of .383. Divelbiss is back for UIW after hitting .292 in 2015 as the team's designated hitter and also starting 10 games behind the plate. He scored 16 runs, drove in 18 and hit five doubles, two triples and a homerun.
The Cardinals pitching youth will be in full display this weekend as they will start three freshmen on the mound.
Bernie Martinez out of United High School in Laredo is scheduled to start Friday's game, San Antonio native and Churchill High School grad,
Denson Hull is set for Saturday and
Jake Bedevian from Second Baptist School in Houston will get the ball on Sunday.
They will face an LIU Brooklyn that finished the 2015 season with an overall record of 16-35 and 9-15 in the Northeast Conference. This year, the Blackbirds were picked to finish fifth in the conference and have a great deal of talent returning in 2016. They are returning eight position players, five starting pitchers and 19 overall players from last year's squad. Their biggest contributor to return is redshirt junior Tommy Jakuboski who led the team in average (.337), runs (37), hits (60), doubles (13), triples (6), total bases (94) and slugging (.528). Mark Hernandez is also back for the Blackbirds after leading the team in RBI's (39) and homeruns (6). Their top returning pitcher is Junior Bobby Maxwell. Maxwell finished with a 5-3 record in 10 games started and complied a 3.69 ERA, which was sixth best in the Northeast Conference. He had six complete games, including a shutout.
The Blackbirds will give the nod to Brian Drapeau (Gr), Evan Flood (Jr) and Baylor LaPointe (So) for the starting rotation this weekend.
All three games will be streamed online at portal.stretchinternet.com/uiw/ and the audio broadcast can be found at TSRNsports.com and can be heard on a phone or mobile device.
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