SAN ANTONIO, Texas – The University of the Incarnate Word baseball team will open the 2017 season this weekend in the Alamo Irish Classic, hosted by Notre Dame at Nelson Wolff Stadium, for the fourth consecutive year.
The Cardinals' season opener will be against St. Louis on Friday at 7 p.m. Then they will play a doubleheader on Saturday, starting with Notre Dame at 3 p.m. and then Lafayette College at 7 p.m. The championship game and consolation game will be played on Sunday at 11 a.m. One will be at Wolff Stadium, and the other will be at Sullivan field. This will be determined after the results from the first three matches.
The Cardinals finished the 2016 season with a 13-38 overall record and 5-22 in conference for a 13
th place finish in the Southland Conference. This year, the coaching staff brought in 17 new players. From the returners, starting left fielder,
Eddy Gonzalez had the highest batting average in 2016, .256, and played in 43 of the 51 games. He drove in 13 runs and scored 15. The Cardinals also return their middle infield in shortstop
Bryce Shepherd, and second baseman
Ryan Gonzalez.
Mark Whitehead missed most of the 2016 season with an injury after only five games, but he is back for the Cardinals in 2017. Before his injury, Whitehead was hitting .305 and served as UIW's starting centerfielder.
The four probable starters for UIW this weekend are returners. Saturday, game 1 starter,
John Shull led the starters in 2016 with a 5.52 ERA in 75.0 innings pitched. As a staff, the Cardinals had a 7.28 ERA and opponents hit .331 against them.
St. Louis finished 2016 with a 25-31 overall record and 1-10 in the Atlantic 10 Conference. The team hit .275 last year and averaged 5.3 runs per game. Their probable starter against UIW on Friday night, Jackson Wark, finished last year with a 12.84 ERA in 20.1 innings, most of which were as a reliever. He started two games and lost both outings. One of their top offensive returners is outfielder Parker Sniatynski. He hit .321 and was second on the team with 67 hits. He also drove in 29 runs and stole eight bases. This will be the first matchup between these two teams.
Notre Dame wrapped up the 2016 season with a 27-27 record overall and 11-17 in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Their probable starter against UIW, Peter Solomon, was selected as a preseason All-American. In 2016, he led the team with 71 strikeouts with a 4.68 ERA and 3-6 record in 18 appearances. The offense hit .260 and 28 homeruns as a team. One player returning in 2017 is outfielder Matt Vierling. He hit .258, scored 26 runs, drove in 29, and hit six homeruns. The season is series is in favor of the Irish 2-4. Their last meeting was in the same tournament last year, when Notre Dame beat UIW 13-2.
Lafayette College ended 2016 with an overall record of 14-29 and 7-13 in Patriot League play. They hit .264 as a team and stole 53 bases. Steven Cohen was second on the team with a .327 batting average. He hit 14 doubles, scored 29 runs and drove in a team-high 32. His nine stolen bases were second on the team. Their probable starter against the Cardinals on Saturday, Brett Kreyer, is a freshman out of Ashburn, Va., and will be making his first collegiate start against UIW. This will also be the first meeting between these two teams.
For the most up-to-date information on UIW Athletics visit uiwcardinals.com. Be sure to follow UIW Athletics on Twitter @UIWAthletics and like UIW Athletics on Facebook at UIW Athletics.
Probable Pitching Matchups
St. Louis vs UIW
RHP Jackson Wark vs RHP
Tyler Lesley
Notre Dame vs UIW
RHP Peter Solomon vs RHP
John Shull
UIW vs Lafayette College
RHP
Bernie Martinez vs LHP Brett Kreyer
UIW vs TBA
RHP
Cody Richey vs TBA
