SAN ANTONIO — UTSA will visit Sullivan Field on the campus of the University of the Incarnate Word for the first time since the 1997 season when the Roadrunners face off with the Cardinals at 6 p.m. on Wednesday.
Wednesday's contest will be a makeup from the April 11 rainout at Roadrunner Field. In the last meeting back on April 18, UTSA shut out the Cardinals, 16-0, and held UIW to just four hits.
UTSA (25-21) heads into the week following last weekend's sweep of Middle Tennessee and it now is tied for fifth in the Conference USA standings. The next two series will be crucial for the Roadrunners to earn a spot at this year's C-USA Tournament in Biloxi, Miss.
Offensively, the Roadrunners are hitting .300 on the season, which ranks fourth in the league. UTSA is also in the middle of the pack in conference in team ERA at 4.68.
First baseman Ben Brookover continues to lead the charge for the Roadrunners with his .371 average. Brookover now has recorded at least one hit in 24 of his last 27 games and tops the team with a .440 on base percentage.
Incarnate Word (19-29) has won of two of its last five games and three of its last 10 overall. The Cardinals head into the midweek contest off a road series at Northwestern State where they took one from the Demons in the series opener Friday, 2-0.
As a team, the Cardinals are batting at a .280 clip, while opponents are hitting .333. UIW also has a team ERA of 7.29.
Eddy Gonzalez leads the Cardinals offense with a .346 batting average. He has 56 hits, including 13 for extra bases. Meanwhile, Mark Whitehead boasts a .309 average with team bests in hits (58), runs scored (40), triples (3) and stolen bases (18).
On the mound, starter Bernie Martinez owns a staff-best 4.29 ERA in 12 appearances and 71.1 innings worked. Martinez is 3-4 on the season, has pitched a complete game and leads the pitching staff with 49 strikeouts.
UTSA leads the all-time series, 12-10.
