SAN ANTONIO, Texas – After going head-to-head with No. 8 Texas A&M on Wednesday in College Station, the University of the Incarnate Word baseball team will return to Military City for a four-game series against Northern Illinois at Daniel Sullivan Field.
The Cardinals and Huskies will meet at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, before squaring off in a 1 p.m. doubleheader on Saturday. The teams close out the weekend with an 11 a.m. series finale on Sunday.
FIRST PITCH
UIW enters the weekend having already faced a number of challenging opponents early in the 2018 season. Battle-tested, the Cardinals will look to continue their stellar play at home against Northern Illinois, while continuing to improve under first-year Head Coach
Patrick Hallmark.
SCOUTING THE HUSKIES
Record: 3-4 Overall, 0-0 MAC
Head Coach: Mike Kunigonis
Leaders:
No. 4 So. C Jake Dunham – .357 AVG, 10 H, 4 RBI, 2 R
No. 9 Sr. INF Samuel Vega – .333 AVG, 9 H, 4 R, 3 RBI
No. 13 Sr. INF Brad Wood – .333 AVG, 8 H, 7 RBI, 4 R
Probable Starters:
No. 21 Fr. RHP Michael Lasiewicz (2-0) – 0.00 ERA, 13.0 IP, 14 SO, 4 BB
No. 6 So. RHP Nate Thomas (0-0) – 2.00 ERA, 9.0 IP, 2 SO, 6 BB
No. 28 Sr. LHP George Faue (0-2) – 5.73 ERA, 11.0 IP, 8 SO, 0 BB
No. 31 Jr. RHP Tanner Foster (0-1) – 1.59 ERA, 5.2 IP, 4 SO, 2 BB
Summary: The Huskies head to San Antonio with a full week of rest after not facing a midweek opponent. Northern Illinois opened the year with a 2-1 series win over Central Arkansas, but dropped 3-of-4 games to Western Kentucky last weekend.
THE CARDINAL FILE
Record: 5-4 Overall, 0-0 SLC
Head Coach: Patrick Hallmark
Leaders:
No. 24 So. C
Kyle Bergeron – .406 AVG, 13 H, 11 RBI, 5 R, 3 SB, 2 HR
No. 21 Jr. OF
Eddy Gonzalez – .276 AVG, 8 H, 5 R, 3 SB, 2 RBI
No. 5 Fr. OF
Ridge Rogers – .263 AVG, 5 H, 2 R, 1 RBI
Probable Starters:
No. 23 Jr. RHP
Bernie Martinez (0-1) – 5.11 ERA, 12.1 IP, 11 SO, 3 BB
No. 38 So. RHP
Luke Taggart (1-0) – 2.13 ERA, 12.2 IP, 11 SO, 2 BB
No. 35 Sr. RHP
Tyler Miller (1-0) – 1.86 ERA, 9.2 IP, 13 SO, 2 BB
No. 45 Fr. RHP
Jake Zatopek (0-0) – 1.35 ERA, 6.2 IP, 6 SO, 3 BB
Summary: The Cardinals split a season-opening four-game series with North Dakota State, before earning arguably the biggest win in school history over No. 30 Notre Dame. UIW dropped a 5-4 decision to Purdue on a walk-off single in the 10
th, before responding with back-to-back wins over Saint Louis. The Cardinals are coming off of a 9-7 loss to No. 8 Texas A&M on the road, but
Kyle Bergeron's 9th-inning grand slam is sure to send UIW into the weekend with both confidence and momentum.
SERIES HISTORY
UIW and Northern Illinois will meet for the first time in program history this weekend.
UP NEXT
The Cardinals head to Manhattan, Kan., for a two-game series against Kansas State March 6-7. Tuesday's game is set for 3 p.m., while Wednesday's contest starts at noon.
STAY TUNED
UIW opens Southland Conference play at home against rival Abilene Christian, Mar. 9-11. The teams will meet at 6:30 p.m. on Friday and 2 p.m. on Saturday, before closing out the weekend with a 1 p.m. finale on Sunday.
To purchase tickets to any UIW Athletics home event, contact Ticket Sales Coordinator
Alma Lara at 210-805-3012.
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.
