NATCHITOCHES, La –The University of the Incarnate Word baseball team will travel to Natchitoches, La for a three-game Southland Conference series against the Demons on Friday at 6:30 p.m., Saturday at 2 p.m., and Sunday at 1 p.m. at Brown-Stroud Field.
FIRST PITCH
Their last time out, the Cardinals lost a conference series to New Orleans in San Antonio. After dropping the first two games, UIW won the third one in dramatic fashion. After being down 8-3, they came all the way back and won on a walk-off single by
Bryce Shepherd, 10-9.
SCOUTING THE DEMONS
Record: 16-27, 6-15 SLC
Last Game: L 13-3 at Houston Baptist
Head Coach: Bobby Barbier
Leaders:
#1 David Fry, .341 BA, 56 H, 36 R, 17 2B, 9 HR, 38 RBI, 18 BB
#11 Cade Jones, .307 BA, 31 H, 19 R, 7 2B, 2 HR, 18 RBI, 20 BB
#4 Spencer Goodwin, .280 BA, 33 H, 18 R, 6 2B, 15 RBI, 21 BB, 5 SB
#20 Matthew Alford, .237 BA, 32 H, 17 R, 4 2B, 5 HR, 23 RBI, 18 BB
Probable:
#8 RHP Nathan Jones, 3-6, 5.55 ERA, 23 BB, 38 K
#6 RHP Evan Tidwell, 4-5, 5.48, 20 BB, 29 K
TBA
Summary
The Demons have been a home team this season. They are 5-17 on the road, but have a winning record at home, 11-10. They are coming off a conference series loss at Houston Baptist where they only won game two, 9-3. They are hitting .239 as a team, and the pitching staff has an ERA of 6.10.
THE CARDINAL FILE
Record: 18-27, 6-15 SLC
Last Game: W 10-9 vs New Orleans
Head Coach: Danny Heep
Leaders:
#16
Kyler Genenbacher, .349 BA, 45 H, 24 R, 4 2B, 17 RBI, 14 BB
#21
Eddy Gonzalez, .349 BA, 53 H, 35 R, 10 2B, 17 RBI, 18 BB
#11
Mark Whitehead, .320, 57 H, 39 R, 22 RBI, 22 BB, 18 SB
#42
Lee Thomas, .307, 47 H, 22 R, 10 2B, 5 HR, 31 RBI
Probables:
#36 RHP
John Shull, 3-7, 6.84, 15 BB, 28 K
#23 RHP
Bernie Martinez, 3-4, 4.27, 24 BB, 44 K
#26 RHP
Tyler Lesley, 0-4, 9.47, 24 BB, 36 K
Summary:
With the walk-off win on Sunday, the Cardinals snapped a three-game losing streak, and won at home for the first time since April 4.
Lee Thomas has led the way lately, raising his batting average above .300 and driving in nine runs just last week. The offense is hitting .286, and the pitching staff has a 7.32 ERA.
SERIES HISTORY
These two teams have only faced each other three times in the past and haven't met up since 2014. The Demons took two out of three in San Antonio.
UP NEXT
UIW will come back home to host UTSA May 10, originally scheduled for April 11 and postponed due to rain. The game will be at Sullivan Field at 6 p.m.
STAY TUNED
The Cardinals will then host Texas A&M Corpus Christi the following weekend starting on Friday at 6:30 p.m.
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.
