THIBODAUX, La. – The University of the Incarnate Word baseball team travels to Nicholls in a key Southland Conference matchup. The Colonels (16-23, 11-13 SLC) are currently the eighth-seed in the conference standings, the cutoff for the eight-team Southland Conference postseason.  

The Cardinals (14-23, 10-18 SLC) look to build off their momentum they had against No. 3 Texas on Tuesday to make a run at the postseason picture.  

The four-game series kicks off on Friday, April 30 at 6:30 p.m. at Ben Meyer Diamond at Ray E. Didier Field.   

THE GAMES   
(Watch|LiveStats)   
Friday, April 30, 6:30 p.m.   
Saturday, May 1, 3:00 p.m.   
Saturday, May 1, TBD (45 minutes after game one)   
Sunday, May 2, 2:00 p.m.   

UIW QUICK HITS   

• The Cardinals are hitting .258 as a team and lead the league with 34 home runs. The red and black rank second with a .434 slugging percentage.  
• Lee Thomas leads the team with a .321 average. Thomas also leads the red and black with 42 hits, nine doubles and 32 RBIs.  
• Thomas has rapidly moved up the program record books. Thomas is currently fourth in home runs (26), fifth in doubles (47), sixth in games played (197) and RBIs (155), seventh in most at-bats (691) and total bases (344), and ninth in hits (207). With one more game played, home run and two more doubles, Thomas could move up to fifth in games played, third in home runs and fourth in doubles during this series.  
• Grant Smith is hitting .296 and tied with Thomas for a team-high 42 hits and leads the Cardinals with seven home runs after his three-game home run streak last weekend against Abilene Christian.  
• Ryan Flores ranks second in chances (1,088) and putouts (989) and third in double plays turned (86).  
• UIW's pitching holds a 6.56 ERA and is holding opponents to .298 batting average.  

• Michael McElmeel leads the staff with a 3.68 ERA with 13 appearances and 22 innings pitched.  
• Kayden Cassidy is second in ERA with 4.23 in 27 2/3 innings of work. 

HISTORY vs. NICHOLLS   
UIW is 7-11 in the all-time series against Nicholls. The Cardinals claimed the 2019 three-game series in Thibodaux, winning two-of-three on April 12-14.  

SCOUTING THE COLONELS   

• Nicholls is currently on a five-game slide after dropping the final game at Lamar and being swept by Northwestern State last weekend.   
• The Colonels are hitting a combined .213 on the season, Wes Toups and Austin Cain lead the offense with .261 and .250 batting averages, respectively.  
• Toupes has a team-leading 35 hits and seven doubles as Basiel Williams leads the team with four home runs.  
• The Colonels pitching staff has a 4.24 ERA and holding opponents to a .265 batting average.  
• Chase Gearing has a team-high 54 2/3 innings pitched in 10 starts. Gearing holds a 4.28 ERA and opponent batting average of .288 and 47 strikeouts this season.  
• Joe Taylor ranks second in the league with seven saves in 19 appearances and has a 0.81 ERA.  

ON DECK 
The Cardinals and Colonels continue the four-game series with a double header on Saturday at 3 p.m. and one game Sunday at 2 p.m.  

FAN INVOLVEMENT 
Join Cardinals Club today! Email UIW Baseball Director of Operations, Maddy Jordan (majorda1@uiwtx.edu) for more information.      

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

Follow the team on Twitter and on Instagram @UIWbaseball.