SAN ANTONIO – The University of the Incarnate Word baseball team welcomes Houston to town for a mid-week game against the Cougars on Wednesday, March 10. First pitch at Sullivan Field, sponsored by H-E-B is set for 6:30 p.m. (CT).  

The Cardinals (3-1 overall) look to get back into the win column after falling to Texas A&M, 6-4, on March 3.  

The matchup marks the first time UIW head coach Ryan Shotzberger is going against his former team, coaching at Houston for eight seasons before taking over the UIW program last season.  

THE GAMES  

(Watch|LiveStats)

Wednesday, March 10, 6:30 p.m. (CT)  

UIW QUICK HITS  

• The Cardinals went 9-7 in the shortened 2020 season.  
• UIW placed three student-athletes on the Southland Conference Preseason All-Conference teams. Ryan Flores earned first-team honors for the second year in a row, while Lee Thomas and Grant Smith were selected for the second team.   
• UIW ranks eighth in the country with a .453 on-base percentage.  
• Flores leads the team with a.500 batting average and ranks seventh in the nation in RBIs per game (2.75).  
• Wilson Ehrhardt and Zach Limas are both tied for the nation's 21st- best mark averaging 1.75 runs scored per game.  
• UIW's 11.3 strikeouts per nine innings are the 30th-best mark in the country.  
• Michael Garza and Carson Rollins are leading the pitching rotation this season. In 7.1 innings pitched, Garza has a 3.52 ERA with 10 strikeouts and giving up just three hits. Rollins pitched 7.1 innings with a 2.45 ERA and a team-high 11 Ks.  

HISTORY vs. HOUSTON  

• UIW and Houston have just one prior meeting in program history.  
• The last time out, the Cougars won, 8-1, on March 28, 2017.  

SCOUTING THE COUGARS  

• Houston is (7-4 overall) this season and coming off an 8-2 loss to wrap up a three-game series against No. 19 Texas.  
• The Cougars have hit 12 home runs entering Wednesday night's contest.  
• Tyler Bielamowicz leads Houston's offense with a .432 batting average. Bielamowicz has 16 hits, two doubles and four home runs, accounting for 11 RBIs and six runs scored coming into Wednesday night's matchup.  
• Steven Rivas ranks fourth in the nation with six home runs this season.  
• Robert Gasser leads the pitching staff with a 1.06 ERA in 17 innings pitched. He has thrown 15 strikeouts and given up just eight hits in the starts.  
• Ben Sears, Blake Schultz and Jaycob Deese have all pitched more than 10 innings this season.  

ON DECK

The Cardinals open Southland Conference play with a four-game series at Northwestern State starting Friday, March 12 at 6:30 p.m. The Cardinals and Demons are scheduled to play a doubleheader on Saturday, March 13 starting at 2 p.m. and wrap up the series on Sunday, March 14 at 1 p.m.

FAN INVOLVEMENT 

Click HERE to support the UIW baseball program through Dollars for Dingers and Kash for K's.   

**Due to COVID-19 safety guidelines, all home UIW baseball events are sold out and tickets will not be available for purchase.

FOLLOW ALONG

For the most up-to-date information on UIW Athletics, visit uiwathletics.com, follow the Cardinals on Twitter @UIWAthletics and like UIW Athletics on Facebook. 

Follow the team on Twitter and on Instagram @UIWbaseball.