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Email: witt@uiwtx.edu or phone: 210.829.3828.

News

TWO CARDINALS ARE ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT -- posted Thursday, May 8 2008

One Incarnate Word baseball player is on an academic all-district first team and another is on the second team as the College Sports Information Directors of America have announced their annual honor squads based principally on work in the classroom.

Senior Dustin Walls has been voted to the first team by CoSIDA for District 6 and now his name will be included in the upcoming voting for Academic All-America.

Scheduled to receive his bachelor’s degree in history from Incarnate Word on May 10, Walls has compiled a cumulative grade point average of 3.90. Recently he was named the Heartland Conference Player of the Year and earlier he was voted UIW’s Student-Athlete of the Year, the highest honor presented to Cardinals athletes. Heading into the final series of the regular season Walls was batting .444 and leads the team with a school record 75 runs batted in and a team high 13 home runs. This is Walls’ second year to be academic all-district.

Selected for the CoSIDA second district team was junior Josh Hood. He has a 3.87 grade point average while studying business management. On the field this spring Hood, playing second base, has a batting average of .329 which includes six home runs and 49 RBI. In the field his percentage is .972.

JAMNIK’S EFFORT GAINS PLAYER OF WEEK HONOR -- posted Tuesday, May 6 2008

For his complete game effort in an Incarnate Word win over Texas / Permian Basin, senior righthander Jeff Jamnik has been named Heartland Conference pitcher of the week.

In a time when Cardinals pitching in general had been struggling, Jamnik took the hill for the second game of a conference doubleheader. It was the nine-inning game of the pair. Throwing 122 pitches in 90-degree heat, Jamnik shutout the Falcons on just five hits, all singles. He walked no batter and he fanned his season high 11.

In only one inning did UTPB get two runners on base. It was the seventh frame and Jamnik got a strikeout to end that threat and he was on his way to retiring the final seven batters of the game including three strikeouts.

He improved his season mark to 5-1.

FIVE CARDINALS, HEEP GAIN HEARTLAND HONORS -- posted Monday, May 5 2008

Senior Dustin Walls and Coach Danny Heep led a six-person Incarnate Word group which has earned All-Heartland Conference baseball honors for the 2008 season.

In addition to being all-conference, Walls was voted the league’s player of the year. He leads the Heartland in three batting categories—runs batted in (78), home runs (13, tied with teammate Chris Solis), and total bases (151). His batting average of .444 is second in the conference only to teammate Chris Pacheco. He has shown his versatility in the field when in recent days, because of injuries to other players, he has played three of the four infield positions.

Heep garnered the second major individual award presented by the conference. He is the 2008 coach of the year as he has led his team to a 38-14 mark with four games remaining. That record includes 34-11 in the Heartland which is just a game behind leader St. Edward’s which comes to UIW for a four-game set this weekend. Those 38 wins currently are tied for second on the all-time UIW list—the record is 41 in 2004. This is the second time for Heep to win the league’s top coaching honor.

Joining Walls on the Heartland’s first team are Solis at catcher, Pacheco in the outfield and senior righthander Adam Rimlinger as a starting pitcher.

Pacheco tops all conference players in six offensive categories—average, hits, runs, doubles, triples and on-base percentage. And, he is second in stolen bases.

Solis’ batting average of .372 is seventh in the league and his 13 home runs are tied with Walls for the conference lead.

Rimlinger at 13-0 not only is the top winner in the Heartland but that mark also is number one for the whole of Division II across the nation. He also leads the Heartland in innings pitched and shutouts.

Sophomore righthander Nathaniel Ramirez was voted to the conference second team as a starting pitcher. In addition to being 8-3 this spring, he etched his name into the record book with that perfect game at Newman in March.

This is the third time for Solis to be voted All-Heartland Conference while Walls, Pacheco and Rimlinger all three are being recognized for the second time.

INDIVIDUAL AWARDS

Player of the Year, Dustin Walls, Incarnate Word
Pitcher of the Year, Scott Shimek, St. Mary’s
Freshman of the Year, Jonathan Rosfeld, St. Mary’s
Coach of the Year, Danny Heep, Incarnate Word

FIRST TEAM

SP—Adam Rimlinger, Incarnate Word
SP—Danny Frisby, Texas / Permian Basin
SP—Josh Dale, St. Edward’s
SP—Scott Shimek, St. Mary’s
RP—Brent Hardy, Texas / Permian Basin
C—Chris Solis, Incarnate Word
C—Mike Scripture, Newman
Inf—Dustin Walls, Incarnate Word
Inf—Brian Thomas, St. Edward’s
Inf—Ryan Flynn, Texas A&M International
Inf—Jonathan Cisneros, St. Mary’s
OF—Chris Pacheco, Incarnate Word
OF—Bradley Goldsmith, St. Edward’s
OF—Logan Forest, Texas / Permian Basin
OF—Michael Brzezinski, St. Mary’s
DH—Robert Hays, St. Edward’s
Util—Will Basom, Texas / Permian Basin

SECOND TEAM

SP—Flynn Stachowski, Texas / Permian Basin
SP—Kyle Cremers, Oklahoma Panhandle
SP—Nathaniel Ramriez, Incarnate Word
SP—Braxton Watson, St. Mary’s
RP—David Wagner, St. Edward’s
C—Derek Dibbens, Texas / Permian Basin
C—Dan Struemph, Lincoln
Inf—Drew Cross, St. Edward’s
Inf—Mario Barredo, Texas / Permian Basin
Inf—Danny Cantu, St. Mary’s
Inf—Dexter Moreno, St. Edward’s
OF—Mike Roche, Oklahoma Panhandle
OF—Mike Overman, Lincoln
OF—Chris Dinges, St. Edward’s
OF—Jonathan Rosfeld, St. Mary’s
Util—Luke Korum, Oklahoma Panhandle

CARDINALS COMPLETE SWEEP OF UTPB -- posted Saturday, May 3 2008

INCARNATE WORD 7, TEXAS / PERMIAN BASIN 1

Incarnate Word did what was needed Saturday afternoon and in the process continued a weekend-long pattern with a 7-1 Heartland Conference win over Texas / Permian Basin.

With the win the Cardinals swept the three-game series from UTPB and remained right on the heels of league-leading St. Edward’s which was hosting Texas A&M International on Saturday in Austin. SEU was 34-10 prior to Saturday’s game while with their win the Cardinals moved to 34-11 in the Heartland. These two, St. Edward’s and Incarnate Word, have a four-game series on May 9 and 10 at UIW.

In the Incarnate Word doubleheader sweep on Friday pitching dominated as Texas / Permian Basin scored five runs in the first inning of game one and then got shutout by Cardinals pitching for the next 15 frames.

Saturday, UIW starter sophomore righthander Nathaniel Ramirez got three up and three down in the first before allowing a single run in the second on a pair of two-out hits. He then twirled goose eggs for the next five innings before giving way to junior lefthander Chris Armijo for the eighth and junior righthander Paul Brancheau in the ninth. Both had shutout innings. That meant Incarnate Word pitching allowed no runs in 23 of 25 innings over the weekend.

Ramirez (8-3) gave up the one earned run on four hits, one base on balls and five strikeouts.

After the Falcons got their only run in the second, the Cardinals returned the favor plus one as they scored two in the bottom of that frame. The first run came on an RBI single to right by junior designated batter Trey Hogan which plated sophomore left fielder Chad Gregson who had opened with a double down the left field line. The second run was unearned when an infield error allowed Hogan to cross.

Leading 4-1 in the sixth, junior second baseman Josh Hood took the game out of reach with a three-run long fly to left field. Hood for the game was 2-5.

UTPB 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 -- 1 5 2
UIW 0 2 0 0 2 3 0 0 x -- 7 12 0

Frets, Hardy (6) and Dibbens. Ramirez, Armijo (8), Brancheau (9) and Solis. WP—Ramirez (8-3). LP—Frets (6-5). HR—UIW, Hood.

RECORDS:

UTPB 32-30 (27-18)
UIW 38-14 (34-11)

MILESTONE PITCHING LEADS UIW TO SWEEP -- posted Friday, May 2 2008

INCARNATE WORD 8-9, TEXAS / PERMIAN BASIN 5-0

Here was the strategy for Incarnate Word on Friday in Heartland Conference baseball action: we'll give you five runs in the top of the first inning of game one and then we'll close you down for the next 15 straight innings. It worked and the Cardinals swept a doubleheader from Texas / Permian Basin 8-5 and 9-0 at Sullivan Field.

With the pair of wins the Cardinals advance to 37-14 on the season and 33-11 in the Heartland while the Falcons fell to 32-19 and 27-17. The same two clubs will play a single game of nine innings on Saturday with first pitch at noon.

Throw out that initial frame for UTPB and superior pitching won the day for Incarnate Word. In game one, senior righthander Adam Rimlinger not only slammed the door over the next six innings but in doing so became the all-time leader at UIW for wins in a single season. He is now a perfect 13-0 breaking a record of 12 wins set in 2006 by both Jeff Jamnik (see game two) and Blake Weston. And that isn't all. Rimlinger upped by one his position as the nation's leader in victories in the NCAA's Division II.

In that first inning, Rimlinger retired the first two batters he faced before giving up consecutive singles, a walk and then a three-RBI triple. Immediately thereafter UTPB's Dan Merz homered to center field for two more runs, which would be the final tallies of the day for the Falcons.

After that outburst, the Cardinals plated four themselves in the bottom of the first and one more in the second to tie the contest after two. Incarnate Word's winners came in the fourth when senior shortstop Dustin Walls singled home junior second baseman Josh Hood who had singled. And for good measure senior catcher Chris Solis hit a sacrifice fly to send Walls across the dish with the insurance run. In the game, Walls was a perfect 4-4.

In his seven innings of work, Rimlinger gave up six hits and the five runs while walking four and striking out five.

Then came game two and the bulldog-like effort from Jamnik, who went the full nine innings. In upping his season mark to 5-1, Jamnik allowed but five hits, all singles, and he walked nary a batter. He fanned his season high 11.

In support of Jamnik's effort, the Cardinals got five tallies in the bottom of the first when the first six batters reached. A key blow in the middle of all that activity was a two-run single to left by sophomore left fielder Chad Gregson. Incarnate Word tacked on two more in the fifth and a single run in the eighth but the damage was done back in the first.

The 11 Cardinal hits in game two were spread up and down the order but sophomore right fielder Drew Hamilton led the way with a 3-3 game and three RBI.

GAME ONE

UTPB 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 -- 5 6 1
UIW 4 1 0 2 1 0 x -- 8 10 0

Stachowski, Strode (5) and Leigh. Rimlinger and Solis. WP--Rimlinger (13-0). LP--Stachowski (7-3). HR--UTPB, Merz.

GAME TWO

UTPB 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 -- 0 5 2
UIW 5 0 1 0 2 0 0 1 X -- 9 11 0

Frisby, Kloesel (6) and Dibbens. Jamnik and Rodriguez. WP--Jamnik (5-1). LP--Frisby (8-3).

RECORDS:

UTPB 32-19 (27-17)
UIW 37-14 (33-11)

HE’S NUMBER ONE, RIMLINGER IS -- posted Tuesday, April 29 2008

Incarnate Word senior righthander Adam Rimlinger can honestly say he’s number one and be completely truthful about it for a few more days anyway.

The latest NCAA Division II baseball statistics have been posted and Rimlinger leads the nation in victories with his 12. He got his 12th last weekend with a win at arch rival St. Mary’s. And, that win tied him for the all-time single-season lead at UIW. Plus, his 12-0 record is the best ever start for a Cardinals hurler.

On the offensive side of the Division II statistics, there are 25 categories. Incarnate Word junior centerfielder Chris Pacheco is listed in 19 of those. His best showing was being number five in triples (8) and number10 in the nation with his .459 batting average. Pacheco is top 20 in six listings.

Senior Dustin Walls had a good showing in this week’s statistics by being ranked in 17 of the 25 areas. He is 11th across the country in runs batted in (72).

The Cardinals return to action this weekend with a three-game set against Texas / Permian Basin. Friday a doubleheader begins at 1 p.m. while a single game on Saturday is at noon. All three will be played out at UIW’s Sullivan Field.

WALLS IS TOP UIW STUDENT-ATHLETE FOR THE YEAR -- posted Monday, April 28 2008

He has hit enough home runs on the baseball field that he currently is number 21 among 500 ranked players in the NCAA Division II, and he has hit enough home runs in the classroom to post a career 3.90 grade point average and that potent combination has earned Dustin Walls the honor of Incarnate Word Student-Athlete of the Year for 2007-2008.

A criterion for this annual presentation at UIW says that to be eligible any athlete must maintain a 3.50 or better on the University’s 4.00 scale. The athlete must have achieved junior or senior year status and must have been in residence at UIW for at least one academic year. The award is presented each spring to an undergraduate student-athlete.

In the classroom as a history major, Walls has accumulated an impressive list of academic achievements. He is UIW Dean’s List, he is Alpha Chi National Honor Society and he is Heartland Conference President’s Honor Roll.

He is vice president of the UIW History Club and he is a member of both Phi Alpha Theta History Honor Society and Sigma Tau Delta English Honor Society.

Outside, on the baseball diamond, he has performed at the highest level with his .452 batting average and his .986 fielding average at first base. Once in the 2008 season he was honored as a weekly Ping!Baseball National Outstanding Performer. He also has been Heartland Conference Hitter of the Week as he leads the conference in average, home runs, runs batted in and total bases. In the Heartland he is in the top seven players in six additional categories.

At UIW this season, he already has set a new single season record for runs batted in, breaking his own mark established back in 2006. And, with time remaining in the current season, he is second on the list for home runs in a single season.

With balloting yet to come, he is a nominee for Daktronics South Central all-region and for CoSIDA’s Academic All-District.

Currently a resident of San Antonio, Walls played his high school baseball at Kingwood in the Houston area before competing at McLennan College near Waco.

After the 2006 season at Incarnate Word, he was named NCBWA All-America honorable mention and was South Central All-Region as well as South Central All-Tournament. He also was ABCA All-Region and was CoSIDA Academic All-Region.

Walls will receive his baccalaureate degree in history at Incarnate Word’s spring commencement in early May.

JAMNIK GIVES UIW COMPLETE GAME WIN IN SATURDAY'S SPLIT -- posted Saturday, April 26 2008

INCARNATE WORD 12-6, ST. MARY'S 3-15

It was eerie Saturday afternoon as Incarnate Word visited cross town rival St. Mary's for a Heartland Conference baseball doubleheader. The two split the games by methods that were strangely reminiscent of what occurred one day prior.

Saturday in game one, the Cardinals (35-13; 31-11) got out early to a big lead and then fell onto the right arm of senior Jeff Jamnik for a 12-3 win. Friday, UIW got off early also and then gave enough support to senior righthander Adam Rimlinger who went the distance for the win.

The Cardinals opened the Saturday game number one with their first eight batters reaching base with six of those coming home before the Rattlers (32-16; 28-13) could record a single out. All-in-all in the top of the first, Incarnate Word got eight runs on four hits combined with two St. Mary's errors. Rattlers starter Tyler Cales also walked a pair and plunked two UIW batters.

That outburst would prove to be enough in the long run but for good measure the Cardinals added on a pair in the third and single tallies in both the fourth and sixth.

In going the distance and giving the UIW bullpen a needed breather, Jamnik gave up three earned runs on 10 hits while walking two and whiffing six. Pitching out the stretch all game as he continues to rehabilitate a left knee problem, Jamnik upped his season mark to 4-1.

At the top of the batting order, junior center fielder Chris Pacheco was 3-5 including a two-run triple. Senior catcher Chris Solis send one yard in the sixth as the UIW leadoff batter.

Game two was a throw back to Friday also. After getting those complete game performances from Rimlinger and Jamnik, the Cardinals stood around as a procession of pitchers got lit up by the Rattler bats. Six different Incarnate Word throwers paraded to the mound to give up 21 hits, six bases on balls and one hit batsman.

Friday saw the same scenario. In that 9-0 game two loss five Cardinals saw action on the mound allowing 10 hits, nine walks, two wild pitches and two hit batters.

Saturday the Cardinals got out to a two-run lead in the top of the first when Pacheco led off with a single then stole second and rode home on a single from junior second baseman Josh Hood. Two walks and a fielder's choice brought home the next run. However, St. Mary's got the two back in the bottom of the inning on four base hits.

Incarnate Word then plated two more in the second when senior third baseman Dustin Walls doubled to the left centerfield wall. In a lineup change, Walls was playing third base for the first time this year. He would move over to play shortstop in the second to play his third infield position of the series. All that was precipitated when regular shortstop Tyler Jett took a pitch on his left hand in game one and was forced to withdraw.

That basically would be it for UIW as the Rattlers scored in all six of their innings including five-spots in both the second and fourth.

While these two were taking turns hammering each other, they both lost a game in the Heartland standings to St. Edward's which won three of four from Oklahoma Panhandle this weekend. St. Edward's is first in the league at 32-10 followed by UIW's 31-11 and St. Mary's at 28-13.

GAME ONE

UIW 8 0 2 1 0 1 0 -- 12 12 0
StM 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 -- 3 10 2

Jamnik and Solis. Cales, Flores (1), Tarango (7) and Morrow. WP--Jamnik (4-1). LP--Cales (3-3). HR--UIW, Solis.

GAME TWO

UIW 2 2 0 0 2 0 0 -- 6 10 2
StM 2 5 1 5 1 1 x -- 15 21 2

Armijo, Brancheau (2), Ramirez (4), Smith (4), Johnson (5), McAnelly (6) and Solis. Odom, Villarreal (5) and Soto. WP--Odom (5-3). LP--Armijo (7-6).

RIMLINGER GETS UIW RECORD WIN -- posted Friday, April 25 2008

INCARNATE WORD 9-0, ST. MARY'S 6-9

It was exact opposites Friday afternoon in Heartland Conference baseball action as Incarnate Word and St. Mary's split a doubleheader and a pitcher on each side kept his season mark spotless.

In game one, the Cardinals rallied in the first extra inning to earn a hard-fought 9-6 decision as senior righthander Adam Rimlinger got the win. In doing so, he advanced his season mark to 12-0 which tied the school mark for victories in a single season. Current UIW pitcher Jeff Jamnik (12-3) and Blake Weston (12-4) established the existing mark in 2006. Also, Rimlinger has set a school record for the best start in a season.

He worked seven innings giving up six runs (one earned) on eight hits while walking but one and fanning five. At the end of seven the score was knotted at six. With Rimlinger still the pitcher of record in the top of the eighth, his mates plated a trio of runs and then watched as senior righthander Paul Brancheau came on for the eighth to earn his first save of the year.

In that decisive extra inning, junior centerfielder Chris Pacheco got a one-out single which was followed immediately by a single from junior second baseman Josh Hood. After a fly ball out advancing Pacheco to third, senior catcher Chris Solis worked a four-pitch walk to jam the sacks. That set up sophomore left fielder Chad Gregson to be the hero. He laced a single to left to send Pacheco and Hood homeward.

Still in the eighth, freshman Josiah Rodriguez pinch hit for Rimlinger and singled and when Solis rounded third by too wide a margin the throw was made to the hot corner but Solis continued toward the plate where the throw hit him in the back and he scored the final run. Back in the top of the third Solis lofted a towering fly ball to left which continued to carry until it cleared the wall for three RBI. In the game he was 3-4 with three runs scored and four driven in.

Game two--consider these facts. Starter Nathaniel Ramirez lasted one and two-thirds innings. The 9-0 loss was the first time this year, 47 games total, that UIW has been shutout. Until a meaningless single in the top of the seventh the Cardinals has as many errors as they did safe hits, two each. Incarnate Word had but five base runners total, three hits and two bases on balls and one of those got erased on a doubleplay. Four were stranded.

Like Rimlinger in game one, St. Mary's Scott Shimek kept his season mark unblemished at 10-0.

The two teams go at it again on Saturday in another doubleheader with first pitch at 1 p.m. at St. Mary's.

Incarnate Word began the day tied for first in the Heartland with St. Edward's at 29-9. St. Mary's was two back in the loss column. That does not change and UIW now awaits results from St. Edward's double dip at Oklahoma Panhandle to see if it will remain in the lead.

GAME ONE

UIW 0 0 3 1 1 1 0 3 -- 9 11 3
STM 0 0 1 0 0 4 1 0 -- 6 9 2

Rimlinger, Brancheau (8) and Solis. Watson, Borges (6), Villarreal (8) and Morrow. WP--Rimlinger (12-0). LP--Borges (0-1). Save--Brancheau (1). HR--UIW, Solis.

GAME TWO

UIW 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 -- 0 3 2
STM 0 3 0 1 2 3 X -- 9 10 1

Ramirez, Brancheau (2), Johnson (5), Smith (5), McAnelly (6) and Rodriguez. Shimek and Soto. WP--Shimek. LP--Ramirez (7-3).

RECORDS:

Incarnate Word 34-13 (30-10)
St. Mary's 31-15 (27-12)

UIW SIGNS FOUR AREA BASEBALL PLAYERS -- posted Thursday, April 24 2008

Four high school baseball players from the San Antonio area have signed to play at Incarnate Word beginning the fall of 2008 and the quartet is impressive with earned run averages under 2.00 and batting averages above .350.

Cardinals Coach Danny Heep said the four to ink their national letters-of-intent are shortstop John Zule of San Antonio Stevens, right handed pitcher Ethan Lutz of Bandera, left handed pitcher Kirk Jewasko of East Central and right handed pitcher Justin Kanas of New Braunfels Canyon.

At Canyon, Kanas has a mark of 8-1 on a team which is atop its district with a season mark of 24-3. Kanas’ ERA is 1.54 and he has 61 strikeouts in 69.2 innings.

Jewasko’s season mark is 5-2 with a 1.96 ERA for East Central. The southpaw
fireballer has fanned 94 batters in 57 innings. At the plate he has an average of .348 with six home runs and 28 runs batted in.

Bandera has wrapped up its district title and Lutz is a perfect 8-0 to date. His ERA is a miniscule 0.94 as he has struck out 95 in 51.2 innings. Added on to those numbers is his .493 batting average which includes six home runs and 24 RBI.

Over at Stevens, the leader in District 28-5A, Zule playing shortstop has posted a
batting mark of .426. His slugging percentage is .912 as he has nine home runs and 18 RBI. He is 17 of 20 on stolen bases.

These four are coming to a Cardinals team which this spring to date is 33-12 and is tied for the top spot in the Heartland Conference.


NOTE: The individual statistics were current at the time of writing.

UIW DROPS NON-LEAGUE GAME -- posted Tuesday, April 22 2008

ABILENE CHRISTIAN 14, INCARNATE WORD 4

Incarnate Word Tuesday stepped out of the Heartland Conference for a game at Abilene Christian and in the process ran into perhaps the hottest team in the South Central Region as the Cardinals dropped a 14-4, run-rule decision to the Wildcats.

Abilene Christian, ranked fourth in the region and 10th nationally in Division II, won its 12th consecutive game to go to 37-13 on the year. Last weekend the Wildcats won the Lone Star Conference regular season title and earned the right to host that league's post-season tournament in early May. Incarnate Word is now 33-12 on the year including a 4-3 mark against teams outside the Heartland.

It was a contest through three innings. ACU got off early with four in the first followed by two more in the second. Meanwhile Incarnate Word posted two in each of the second and third innings to trail 6-4. Then, the bottom fell out for the Cardinals as Abilene Christian tallied eight unanswered runs for the final margin.

UIW junior lefthander Chris Armijo began the day on the hill for the Cardinals only to see his recent woes continue. In losing his third consecutive game, Armijo survived just an inning and two-thirds while allowing five hits and six runs, five earned. In his previous outing, in relief, he worked two-thirds of an inning and suffered a loss. Before that, he started against Oklahoma Panhandle and retired just one batter before departing with a loss. On the year he is now 7-5.

Incarnate Word paraded out four more pitchers with no more success as ACU gained the necessary 10-run margin after seven innings to end the game prematurely. It was scheduled for nine.

After the four-run start by the Wildcats in the first, UIW plated a pair in the top of the second. The first came on a double play ground ball and the second on a single to right field by junior shortstop Tyler Jett.

The Cardinals got another pair in the third when senior first baseman Dustin Walls lined a one-out single to left followed by a left field home run from senior designated hitter Chris Solis. That would be it for the day as Incarnate Word got no runs and just four hits over the final three frames.

UIW's final 11 games of the season all will be Heartland contests and those begin this weekend with a four-game set at St. Mary's. A Friday doubleheader has a first pitch at 3 p.m. with the Saturday double dip starting at 1 p.m.

UIW 0 2 2 0 0 0 0 -- 4 11 2
ACU 4 2 0 4 3 1 x -- 14 13 1

Armijo, Brancheau (2), Roohan (5), Smith (5), McAnelly (6) and Rodriguez. Maynard, Wiman (4) and Schmitt. WP--Wiman (9-2). LP--Armijo (7-5). HR--UIW, Solis.

RECORDS:

UIW 33-12
ACU 37-13

UIW REMAINS ON TOP OF THE HEARTLAND -- posted Saturday, April 19 2008

INCARNATE WORD 14, OKLAHOMA PANHANDLE 4 (8)

Incarnate Word run-ruled Oklahoma Panhandle Saturday afternoon 14-4 which means the Cardinals at the end of the day can be no worse than tied for the lead in the Heartland Conference baseball chase.

With the win UIW moves to 33-11 overall on the year and to 29-9 in Heartland action. St. Edward’s began the day at 27-9 in the conference and was hosting Texas / Permian Basin in a doubleheader. If the Hilltoppers sweep St. Edward’s and Incarnate Word will be tied at the top.

As they have done so often this year, the Cardinals exploded with a big inning early and that proved to be enough for the win. In the bottom of the second in a scoreless game until then, UIW got six runs home on six hits. One of the big blows was a right field single from senior first baseman Dustin Walls to plate two. Those two driven home gives Walls a school record 70 RBI for a single season breaking his own mark of 68 from 2006.

In that same frame, the second, freshman third baseman Richard Torres sent a towering ball to right field for his first home run of the year and in the process he collected three RBI.

The Cardinals got those six and then added on over the next three innings before ending the game in the eighth with a pair. That decisive bottom half of the eighth inning opened with a Trey Hogan double to left. With one out, Torres struck again with a double to left plating Hogan. Torres then rode home with the decider on a single to left by junior shortstop Tyler Jett.

For the day’s action, Jett led the way with four safe hits in six tries with three runs scored and two driven in. Torres finished with a 3-5 day with three scored and the four RBI. Hogan was 3-5 and junior second baseman Josh Hood was 2-4 with three RBI.

On the hill, sophomore righthander Nathaniel Ramirez worked the first five innings and earned the win to reach 7-2 for the year. He gave up seven hits, four runs (one earned) while walking three and fanning six. Three more righthanders followed Ramirez to the hill and allowed nothing but three hits, one apiece. Senior Jeff Jamnik worked the sixth followed by the junior Jeff Langston in the seventh and freshman Matthew Roohan in the eighth.

OPSU 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 -- 4 10 1
UIW 0 6 2 1 3 0 0 2 -- 14 17 2

Staudt, Minor (5) and Meek. Ramirez, Jamnik (6), Langston (7), Roohan (8) and Solis. WP—Ramirez (7-2). LP—Staudt. HR—UIW, Torres (1).

RECORDS:

OPSU 12-32 (10-29)
UIW 33-11 (29-9)

RIMLINGER TOSSES A JEWEL FOR FRIDAY SPLIT -- posted Friday, April 18 2008

INCARNATE WORD 7-8, OKLAHOMA PANHANDLE 8-2

One more time senior righthander Adam Rimlinger saved Incarnate Word's bacon as the Cardinals struggled to a doubleheader split with Oklahoma Panhandle in Heartland Conference action at UIW's Sullivan Field.

Nursing the narrowest of leads in Heartland play, a one-half game margin over St. Edward's beginning the day, Incarnate Word (32-11; 28-9) got into trouble early in game one and eventually lost an 8-7 decision. But in the second game, Rimlinger mounted his white horse and rode to the rescue with a complete game of nine innings as the Cardinals rallied to claim an 8-2 decision for the day's split.

This was the fourth time this year Rimlinger has won a game after his team had lost one. And two of those victories have now been complete games. And in being a winner Friday, the Waco native kept his season mark a perfect 11-0 and that is but the second time in 21 years of Incarnate Word baseball that a hurler has been perfect after 11 games. The first time was way back in 1990 when Bill Marion finished his season at 11-0.

The UIW school mark for wins in a season has come twice, both in 2006 when Blake Weston went 12-2 and current pitcher Jeff Jamnik was 12-3. That was the year Incarnate Word came with one out of advancing to the NCAA Division II World Series.

But back to Friday and Rimlinger's effort. He and OPSU's Hayden Patton matched pitches through four scoreless innings. Then in the top of the fifth Rimlinger got the side out before the Cardinals plated a pair on an RBI double from sophomore designated hitter Chad Gregson and an RBI single by sophomore rightfielder Drew Hamilton.

The Aggies (12-31; 10-28) matched those two in the top of the sixth only to see the Cardinals get two more in the bottom followed by a decisive foursome in the seventh. In the game, senior first baseman Dustin Walls, senior catcher Chris Solis and junior left fielder Trey Hogan all had a pair of safe hits. Hogan produced three RBI.

In twirling his gem, Rimlinger gave up eight hits with the two unearned runs. He issued no free passes while fanning seven OPSU batters.

Game one went south in a hurry for the Cardinals. Oklahoma Panhandle plated seven runs in the top of the first inning and for most purposes the game was over. UIW starter, junior lefty Chris Armijo, could retire only one Aggie before giving up six of the seven runs on a pair of hits, three bases on balls and one hit batsman.

Incarnate Word chipped away with single runs in the first and second and a trio in the third. The Cardinals did manage to get it to 8-7 in the seventh when junior second baseman Josh Hood went deep with junior shortstop Tyler Jett on base ahead of him. But that would be it as a doubleplay ended the game.

In the first game both Walls and Solis had three hits and both had doubles among those.

The two clubs will match up on Saturday in a single game of nine innings with first pitch at noon at Sullivan Field.

GAME ONE

OPSU 7 0 0 1 0 0 0 -- 8 9 1
UIW 1 1 3 0 0 0 2 -- 7 11 3

Cremers, Rapp (7) and Meek. Armijo, Brancheau (1), Jamnik (6) and Rodriguez. WP--Cremers. LP--Armijo (7-4). HR--UIW, Hood.

GAME TWO

OPSU 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 -- 2 8 0
UIW 0 0 0 0 2 2 4 0 x -- 8 11 4

Patton, Minor (6), McClellan (6), Clinton (7) and Meek. Rimlinger and Solis. WP--Rimlinger (11-0). LP--Minor.

RECORDS:

OPSU 12-31 (10-28)
UIW 32-11 (28-9)

PACHECO GETS HEARTLAND WEEKLY AWARD -- posted Wednesday, April 16 2008

He hit .529 at the plate over last week and now Incarnate Word junior Chris Pacheco has been named Heartland Conference hitter of the week.

For the seven-day span of April 7 to April 13, a time when the Cardinals were 5-0 and vaulted themselves into first place in the conference chase, Pacheco had a double and two triples among his nine safe hits in 17 attempts. Additionally he stole three bases.

In center field, he was errorless for the week and recorded three assists by throwing out opposition runners attempting to take an extra base.

THINGS GO BAD LATE IN UIW LOSS -- posted Tuesday, April 15 2008

TARLETON STATE 14, INCARNATE WORD 12

It seldom is a good thing to give up 11 runs in the final three innings of a game and that is what happened to Incarnate Word Tuesday afternoon at Sullivan Field and as a result the Cardinals saw their winning string come to an abrupt halt.

Trailing 12-3 heading into the top of the seventh, the Texans pounded three UIW pitchers for eight hits including three home runs on the way to a comeback 14-12 non-conference victory. Also, three bases on balls didn’t help the Incarnate Word cause in that time frame.

With the defeat, UIW saw its 13-game winning string came to an abrupt halt and the Cardinals now are 31-10 on the year while Tarleton State improves to 22-26.

Incarnate Word had piled up what seemed to be a lead that would withstand any assault by scoring runs in five of the first six innings including a six-run outburst in the sixth. The bats were smoking for the 12 scores on 16 hits. The ball was flying all over the park for UIW as junior centerfielder Chris Pacheco had a double, senior first baseman Dustin Walls laced a pair of two-baggers, and then there were the home runs.

Junior designated batter Trey Hogan started the Cardinals parade in the fifth with a leadoff homer to left field. Then in the big sixth, senior catcher Chris Solis hit a no-doubter to left center for three runs. The crowd had hardly stopped buzzing over that one before sophomore leftfielder Chad Gregson sent one some 400 feet to right center for another two runs.

But that would be the last peep from the Cardinals. Not only did the pitching not hold up over the final third of the game but the bats went silent as UIW managed but a pair of safeties over the last three innings.

On offense, early, Walls led the way with his 4-6 day and three RBI. Pacheco was 3-6 as was Solis who had the three RBI. Hogan was 3-4 with three driven in.

On the hill, Incarnate Word was forced to bring in senior righthander Paul Brancheau in the third inning, perhaps earlier than expected. He worked five effective frames before giving way in the eighth. When Tarleton began putting on the pressure, the Cardinals came with junior lefthander Chris Armijo, normally the number two starter. It didn’t work as the Texans were not to be stopped before five runs had crossed the plate.

For Tarleton, Heath Herron was a pain to the Cardinals with his 3-5 afternoon including two homers and six RBI while right fielder Chris Desmarias went out of the yard twice also and collected four RBI. It was Herron’s three-run blast to left in the ninth that let all the air out of the UIW balloon.

The Cardinals now have two days to regroup before hosting Oklahoma Panhandle in a weekend series of four Heartland Conference games. It gets underway on Friday with a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m.

TSU 2 0 0 0 0 1 2 4 5 – 14 12 2
UIW 1 0 2 2 1 6 0 0 0 – 12 18 2

Morris, Brown (4), Stierwalt (6), Wilson (8) and Peacock. Langston, Brancheau (3), Roohan (8), Armijo (9) and Solis. WP—Wilson (1-1). LP—Armijo (7-3). HR—TSU, Herron 2, Desmarias 2; UIW, Solis, Hogan, Gregson.

RECORDS:

Tarleton State 22-26
Incarnate Word 31-10

CARDINALS TOUCH THE RIGHT BASES -- posted Saturday, April 12 2008

INCARNATE WORD 10-11, TEXAS A&M INTERNATIONAL 1-2

It was important Saturday that Incarnate Word take care of business and that is just what the Cardinals did with a doubleheader sweep of Texas A&M International in Heartland Conference baseball.

With the 10-1, 11-2 sweep, UIW can do no worse than maintain its narrow lead in the chase for the Heartland title. At 27-8 in league play, 31-9 overall, Incarnate Word will have a lead over St. Edward’s and St. Mary’s who were playing each other in an Austin doubleheader on Saturday. St. Edward’s began the day 24-8 in the Heartland while St. Mary’s was 23-8.

The Cardinals took the suspense out of game one with six runs in the first two innings in support of sophomore righthander Nathaniel Ramirez who worked a complete seven-inning game for his sixth win of the year against two losses. Ramirez, a week ago at Newman, tossed a perfect game. This time he allowed six hits but just a lone earned run while walking none and fanning five.

At the bat, eight of nine Cardinals in the lineup had at least one base hit with leadoff batter Chris Pacheco leading the way with a 3-4 day with a run scored and a triple.

The big UIW inning was the second when five runners touched home plate. Two came on a Tyler Jett single, two on a single from catcher Chris Solis and two more on Chad Gregson’s single.

The single from the bat of Jett was the first of his two in the game. He also singled in game two to continue a time when his bat is smoking. In April, eight games, he is 19-32 at the plate for a .594 mark. His season mark is up to .349 which is 81 points more than it was when the month began.

Incarnate Word used another large inning to put game two on ice. In the bottom of the fourth, with the score knotted at one, the Cardinals sent nine runners home on eight hits. First baseman Dustin Walls opened the frame with a double down the third base line for what turned out to be the only extra base knock of the game for UIW. After that a series of singles plated the runs with second baseman Josh Hood getting two and catcher Chris Solis another pair.

Among the three Cardinals with multiple safe hits was freshman third baseman Richard Torres. In game two Friday senior Chris Mojica slid home for a UIW run and fractured a bone in his left wrist sending Torres to the hot corner as Saturday’s starter. In the two games he went 3-7 and scored three times and knocking home three teammates.

All of the offensive action was in support of senior righthander Jeff Jamnik who went five innings for his third win of the year against one loss. he allowed six hits, on earned run while walking one and striking out five.

GAME ONE

TAMUI 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 -- 1 6 1
UIW 1 5 0 0 3 1 X -- 10 12 0

Lopez, Gonzalez (5) and R. Sanchez. Ramirez and Rodriguez. WP—Ramirez (6-2). LP—Lopez (1-8).

GAME TWO

TAMUI 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 -- 2 7 2
UIW 0 0 1 9 0 1 x -- 11 11 1

Routos, Gonzalez (4) and R. Sanchez. Jamnik, Brancheau (6) and Solis. WP—Jamnik (3-1). LP—Routos (1-3).

CARDINALS JUMP INTO FIRST PLACE WITH WINS -- posted Friday, April 11 2008

INCARNATE WORD 21-9, TEXAS A&M INTERNATIONAL 6-0

Incarnate Word Friday swept a doubleheader from Texas A&M International and in the process the Cardinals swept themselves right into first place in the Heartland Conference.

Based on the 21-6 and 9-0 victories at Sullivan Field, UIW is now 25-8 in league play (29-9 overall). Beginning the weekend Incarnate Word trailed both St. Edward’s and St. Mary’s but with those teams splitting a doubleheader in Austin the Cardinals vaulted over both squads. St. Edward’s is now 24-8 and St. Mary’s is 23-8. Those two play two more games on Saturday while UIW and TAMUI have a doubleheader set for noon at Sullivan.

In sweeping the Friday twinbill, Incarnate Word now has won its last 11 games in a row surpassing a 9-0 run to open the season back in February. And on Saturday, another win would give the Cardinals 30 for the year and that would be seven seasons in a row for at least 30 victories.

On Friday, after the big UIW bats beat up on Dustdevils (12-27; 11-22) pitching in game one, senior righthander Adam Rimlinger worked a complete game in the nightcap to run his season mark to a perfect 10-0. He allowed only three hits over seven while fanning seven. He issued no bases on balls.

His support came seven different Cardinals who hit safely but the two extra base knocks were a two-RBI double in the first inning from designated batter Chad Gregson and a left field home run by second baseman Josh Hood in the fifth.

Game one saw Incarnate Word score runs in five of six times at bat including an eight-run outburst in the bottom of the sixth. UIW pounded out 16 hits and eight were of the extra base variety.

Shortstop Tyler Jett went 3-5 with four RBI and a double. Centerfielder Chris Pacheco was 2-2 and his hits were a double and a triple. Hood hit one out of the park to set the stage for his roundtripper in game two. Catcher Chris Solis and 2-4 with a three-RBI dinger.

All of that came in support of junior southpaw Chris Armijo who went six innings in running his season mark to 7-2. He allowed two hits, one earned run while walking two and whiffing eight.

GAME ONE

TAMUI 0 1 0 0 0 0 5 -- 6 8 4
UIW 4 0 3 3 3 8 x -- 21 16 0

Encinas, Perez (4), H. Sanchez (6) and R. Sanchez, Mainhart. Armijo, McAnelly (7), Johnson (7), and Rodriguez. WP—Armijo (7-2). LP—Encinas (5-3). HR—TAMUI, Cornejo; UIW, Hood, Solis.

GAME TWO

TAMUI 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 -- 0 3 2
UIW 4 0 4 0 1 0 x -- 9 9 1

Bonugli, Z. Gonzales (6) and R. Sanchez. Rimlinger and Solis. WP—Rimlinger (10-0). LP—Bonugli (3-6). HR—UIW, Hood.

WALLS NAMED HEARTLAND HITTER OF WEEK -- posted Wednesday, April 9 2008

Following a time when Incarnate Word swept a Heartland Conference weekend series, senior Dustin Walls has received the league’s top award for his performance at the plate.

In leading UIW to a four-game sweep at Newman in Kansas, Walls was named the hitter of the seven-day period from March 31 to April 6.

In his 10 plate appearances in Kansas, Walls had seven safe hits. Among those seven safeties were three home runs which moved him to the top of the Heartland statistical categories in home runs (12), runs batted in (58) and total bases (. And, he is now second in average among regular position players.

In addition to his power display, Walls scored six times himself to go with 10 RBI. He also drew two bases on balls and was hit twice by pitches.

CARDINALS RUN-RULE KINGSVILLE IN TUESDAY WIN -- posted Tuesday, April 8 2008

INCARNATE WORD 10, TEXAS A&M / KINGSVILLE 0

Incarnate Word combined pitching and hitting Tuesday in a mid-week, non-conference 10-0 victory over Texas A&M / Kingsville of the Lone Star Conference in a game scheduled for nine frames but lasted but seven on the run rule.

In winning their ninth game in a row and getting their season mark to 27-9 the Cardinals had four hurlers combine to limit the Javelinas to just one lone single in the second inning while the big bats produced runs in five of the six innings UIW came to the plate.

In the decisive second inning, a five-run explosion, the large blows were a double off the left field wall by senior first baseman Dustin Walls followed immediately by a three-run blast to left center by senior catcher Chris Solis. Included in that rally was a single from junior shortstop Tyler Jett who went 3-4 for the game with one RBI. Over the last four UIW games, Jett has gone off to the tune of 12-18 with seven RBI.

Over in the bottom of the fourth, Walls hit one on top of a storage shed behind left center field for two runs after junior second baseman Josh Hood had led off with a double, one of his two hits for the day. Four Cardinals had multiple hits led by Jett's three and Walls' three.

Meanwhile on the hill, senior righthander Jeff Jamnik worked the first three innings for his third win against one loss. He gave up the lone TAMUK hit while walking one and fanning five. After Jamnik was finished with his turn, sophomore righty Jeff Langston, freshman Matthew Roohan and senior Paul Brancheau, both righties, combined to give Kingsville nothing over its final four at-bats.

The Cardinals now prepare for a weekend Heartland Conference series against Texas A&M International. Game times for a doubleheader on Friday and another twinbill on Saturday are 3 p.m. and noon respectively at Sullivan Field.

TAMUK 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 -- 0 1 4
UIW 1 5 0 2 1 1 X -- 10 13 1

Winters, Gonsoulin (3), Mettlach (5), Weaver (6) and Crowson. Jamnik, Langston (4), Roohan (6), Brancheau (7) and Solis. WP--Jamnik (3-1). LP--Winters (0-2). HR--UIW, Solis, Walls.

RECORDS:

TAMUK 23-20
UIW 27-9

RAMIREZ GETS HEARTLAND WEEKLY HONOR -- posted Tuesday, April 1 2008

If there was any suspense at all it didn’t linger as Incarnate Word’s Nathaniel Ramirez has been named Heartland Conference pitcher of the week.

The Cardinals and Ramirez went off to Missouri to play a conference set against Lincoln. UIW ended up winning all four games.

It was in game one on Saturday that Ramirez slammed the door on any other pitcher of the week contenders. He threw a perfect game at the Blue Tigers and Incarnate Word won 4-0.

His outing was not only a no-hitter it was perfect as no Lincoln batter reached first base. He got 14 outs on ground balls, three more on popups and three on fly balls to the outfield. The other out among the 21 recorded was a strikeout. In fact, it was the fifth frame before any Lincoln player got the ball out of the infield.

Ramirez’ gem was just the fourth no-hitter in Incarnate Word’s 21 years of baseball history.

RAMIREZ IS PERFECT IN UIW WEEKEND SWEEP -- posted Saturday, March 29 2008

Chris Armijo, Adam Rimlinger and Jeff Jamnik gave Incarnate Word really good pitching over the weekend, but Nathanial Ramirez was perfect as the Cardinals swept a four-game set at Lincoln in Heartland Conference action.

On Friday Incarnate Word swept the Blue Tigers 6-4 and 5-0 before coming back on Saturday for another pair of victories by 4-0 and 6-2. The Cardinals are now 23-9 on the year with a 20-8 mark in the Heartland.

It was game one on Saturday when Ramirez mystified Lincoln. In the bottom of the first, after junior second baseman Josh Hood homered to give the sophomore righty all he would ultimately need, the first three Lincoln batters grounded out. That set the tone as over the seven innings Ramirez induced 14 ground ball outs to go with three popups and three fly ball outs. It wasn't until the bottom of the fifth before he allowed a ball out of the infield. On the day, he walked none and fanned one.

His perfect performance was just the fourth no-hitter in Incarnate Word's 21 years of baseball history. His season mark advances to 4-2.

Back to Friday, UIW got complete game performances from junior lefthander Chris Armijo (5-2) and senior righthander Adam Rimlinger (8-0).

In game one Friday, Armijo allowed four runs on seven hits while striking out seven and walking seven. Behind him, the Cardinals posted runs in the first four innings with a threesome coming in the fourth when junior centerfielder Chris Pacheco doubled home a pair and Hood singled home the third.

Rimlinger (8-0) duplicated the seven-inning performance in game two Friday by shutting out the Blue Tigers on four hits. He fanned five and walked one. His support all came in two middle innings, the third when senior first baseman Dustin Walls doubled home three and the fourth when junior shortstop Tyler Jett doubled in two more.

Not wanting to be lost in Ramirez' shadow on Saturday, senior righthander Jeff Jamnik started and won his first game in nearly two years. After battling back from a series of injuries which cost him the entire 2007 season and the first half of this one, Jamnik worked five and one-third frames in getting his season mark to 1-1. He whiffed nine LU batters and walked two. He gave up the two runs on four hits.

Once again it was Walls at the plate as the difference for UIW. He homered in the first before driving home another in the fifth on a sacrifice fly to left. Then in the sixth when UIW plated four to ice it, he got another RBI on a fly ball after Hood had doubled home a pair.

FRIDAY, MARCH 28

GAME ONE

UIW 1 1 1 3 0 0 0 -- 6 10 0
LU 0 0 0 3 1 0 0 -- 4 7 2

Armijo and Rodriguez. Scanio, MaCormic (6), and Turner, Costa (4). WP--Armijo (5-2). LP--Scanio (1-6).

GAME TWO

UIW 0 0 3 2 0 0 0 -- 5 4 1
LU 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 -- 0 4 1

Rimlinger and Solis. Moss and Struemph. WP--Rimlinger (8-0). LP--Moss (1-4).

SATURDAY, MARCH 29

GAME ONE

UIW 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 -- 4 8 0
LU 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 -- 0 0 1

Ramirez and Rodriguez. Bess, Buersmeyer (6), Bolzenius (6) and Struemph. WP--Ramirez (4-2). LP--Bess (1-4). HR--UIW, Hood.

GAME TWO

UIW 1 0 0 0 1 4 0 -- 6 9 1
LU 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 -- 2 4 1

Jamnik, Brancheau (6), and Solis. Neuner, MaCormnic (5), Bolzenius (6) and Costa. WP--Jamnik (1-1). LP--Bolzenius (1-2). HR--UIW, Walls.

RECORDS:

Incarnate Word 23-9 (20-8)
Lincoln 7-23 (7-22)

BATTING POWER GAINS SPLIT IN AUSTIN -- posted Saturday, March 22 2008

INCARNATE WORD 5-10, ST. EDWARD'S 7-7

Sheer power in the middle of the Incarnate Word batting order propelled the Cardinals to a win in game two of a Friday doubleheader at St. Edward's and prevented the Hilltoppers from sweeping the three-game Heartland Conference series.

As it was, by winning two of the three games played in Austin, St. Edward's (21-7; 19-4) put a severe crimp in Cardinals' (19-9; 16-8) hopes for a conference title come the middle of May. The positive factor is the conference schedule is just reaching the halfway mark and these two teams will get together again in May for a four-game series at UIW.

Game two Friday, the nine-inning affair, saw a pair of senior sluggers at Incarnate Word join up to carry the team to the 10-7 win. In the top of the first inning first baseman Dustin Walls sent a two-run shot over the left field wall. In the fourth, Walls led off with a single and the next hitter, catcher Chris Solis, homered to left for two more runs. And then in the fifth, Solis homered again, this time to right field, to plate a pair giving the Cardinals what would prove to be insurance runs.

In the game, Walls and Solis were a combined 6-10 with four runs scored, six driven in, a double and the three home runs.

On the day, their total numbers were even more impressive. In two games they were 9-17 and those nine hits included four home runs, a double and 10 RBI.

The game two beneficiary of the middle order outburst was senior righthander Adam Rimlinger. He worked 7.2 innings for his seventh win of the year against nary a loss. He allowed nine hits, seven runs all earned while walking seven and fanning six.

In game one, the Cardinals got off early with a pair in the top of the initial inning. Walls singled home one and Solis doubled in the other. But St. Edward's returned the favor in the first with four across followed by a single run in the second and would never trail thereafter. Walls hit a two-run blast over the center field wall in the seventh but it was not enough to overcome the Hilltopper lead.

GAME ONE

UIW 2 0 0 0 0 1 2 -- 5 7 1
SEU 4 1 0 0 0 2 X -- 7 8 4

Ramirez, Langston (6) and Solis. Dale, Wagner (6) and Wolotira. WP--Dale (2-0). LP--Ramirez (3-2). HR--UIW, Walls; SEU, Moreno.

GAME TWO

UIW 2 0 1 3 2 0 0 2 0 -- 10 14 0
SEU 1 0 1 2 0 0 1 2 0 -- 7 11 0

Rimlinger, Jamnik (8) and Rodriguez. Henry, Freimel (5), Sharp (6), Wagner (7) and Wolotira, Shufelt. WP--Rimlinger (7-0). LP--Henry (6-2). HR--UIW, Walls, Solis 2; SEU, Cross.

RECORDS:

UIW 19-9 (16-8)
SEU 21-7 (19-4)

UIW DROPS SERIES' FIRST GAME IN AUSTIN -- posted Thursday, March 20 2008

ST. EDWARD’S 7, INCARNATE WORD 2

Heartland Conference-leading St. Edward’s put a spiked shoe in the face of Incarnate Word Thursday afternoon and pushed the Cardinals another notch down the hill with a 7-2 win in a series-opening game played in Austin.

St. Edward’s sits atop the Heartland standings, now, with an 18-3 league mark. Incarnate Word drops to three and one-half games behind with a 15-7 Heartland record.

The two will complete this particular series with a doubleheader on Friday, again in Austin. First pitch will be at 1 p.m.

The Hilltoppers jumped on UIW starter Chris Armijo immediately. With just one out, a sacrifice bunt, Sean Hilbe singled home a run in the bottom of the first. After a ground ball out and a base on balls, Robert Hays doubled with the sacks full to drive home three and at the end of one inning it was 4-0.

That would be a margin good enough for the ultimate victory as Incarnate Word could manage only two runs in the top of the third.

Opening that frame junior shortstop Tyler Jett singled to center field. Junior centerfielder Chris Pacheco doubled to center before senior third baseman Chris Mojica grounded out to score Jett. Sophomore leftfielder Chad Gregson hit a sacrifice fly and Pacheco touched home plate with the final UIW run of the game.

St. Edward’s got three more in the bottom of the fifth to ice the contest.

Armijo, in seeing his season mark go to 4-2, gave up nine hits and seven earned runs. He walked five and fanned three. He departed with one out in the seventh after throwing more than 140 pitches. Senior righty Paul Brancheau worked the final 1.1 innings allowing nothing while striking out one.

Offensively, Pacheco and Jett were the only Cardinals to hit safely twice. Pacheco was 2-4 and both safeties were doubles. Jett was 2-3.

UIW 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 – 2 7 0
SEU 4 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 x – 7 9 1

Armijo, Brancheau (7) and Solis. Davis, Sharp (9) and Wolotira. WP—Davis (3-1). LP—Armijo (4-2).

RECORDS:

UIW 18-8 (15-7)
SEU 20-6 (18-3)

TUESDAY BASEBALL GAME POSTPONED -- posted Monday, March 17 2008

Tuesday's baseball game between Incarnate Word and Tarleton State has been postponed to a date to be determined.

With both teams involved heavily in their respective conference races and with a shaky-at-best weather forecast for Tuesday the two clubs reached an agreement to play at a later date.

The next Cardinals' action will come Thursday and Friday when they travel to Austin for a three-game Heartland Conference set with league-leading St. Edward's.

UIW SPLITS TWINBILL IN A REPEAT PERFORMANCE -- posted Sunday, March 16 2008

INCARNATE WORD 6-7, TEXAS / PERMIAN BASIN 11-6

In a near replay from the day before, Incarnate Word had to come back in game two for a doubleheader split with Texas / Permian Basin in a pair of Heartland Conference games played in Odessa Sunday.

Saturday the Cardinals (18-7; 15-6) saw a 10-run inning go for naught as a UIW pitching staff in game one yielded a bushel of late runs in a loss before a stellar mound performance from junior lefthander Chris Armijo gained a split for the day.

Sunday it was the same script. Incarnate Word got three runs in the top of the first of game one only to see ineffective hurling allow the Falcons (17-9; 13-9) to cross the plate five times before a single out was recorded. The Cardinals could never recover and Texas / Permian Basin won the game 11-6.

Then game two saw sophomore righthander Nathaniel Ramirez subdue UTPB for five innings on the way to the 7-6 UIW victory. In his time on the mound, Ramirez upped his season mark to 3-1 by allowing three runs, all earned, on six hits while walking three and whiffing three. Freshman righthander Matthew Roohan worked the final two innings to pick up his first save of the season.

Ramirez gave up a pair of runs in the bottom of the first before UIW came back with three in the top of the second. Junior shortstop Tyler Jett singled home a pair and then scored on a single off the bat of junior centerfielder Chris Pacheco. For the day Pacheco was 4-8 with a double and the RBI, extending his series to a 10-17 showing in the four games.

Pacheco, as he was all weekend, was the instigator in the seventh inning when the Cardinals would plate a twosome for the winning margin. He reached on a bunt single to leadoff the frame. Senior third baseman Chris Mojica also bunted and was safe on a throwing error. Sophomore leftfielder Chad Gregson singled home a run before senior first baseman Dustin Walls doubled home two more.

UTPB scored three times in the bottom of the seventh but it wasn't enough to overcome the Cardinals lead.

GAME ONE

UIW 3 0 0 1 0 0 2 -- 6 9 0
UTPB 6 0 0 1 0 4 X -- 11 14 3

Langston, Brancheau (1), McAnelly (6) and Solis. Frets, Strode (5) and Leigh. WP--Frets. LP--Langston (1-2). Save--Strode. HR--UTPB, Bourdeau.

GAME TWO

UIW 0 3 0 0 2 0 2 -- 7 9 0
UTPB 2 0 1 0 0 0 3 -- 6 9 3

Ramirez, Roohan (6) and Rodriguez. Hardy, Roberson (6), Gilliland (7) and Dibbens. WP--Ramirez (3-1). LP--Hardy. Save--Roohan (1). HR--UTPB, Bourdeau.

RECORDS:

UIW 18-7 (15-6)
UTPB 17-9 (`13-9)

PITCHING FALTERS, PACHECO DOES NOT IN SPLIT -- posted Saturday, March 15 2008

INCARNATE WORD 12-3, TEXAS / PERMIAN BASIN 15-2

Incarnate Word and Texas / Permian Basin split a Heartland Conference doubleheader Saturday in Odessa and the two games could hardly have been farther apart in the way they played out.

The Cardinals (17-6; 14-5) scored in a bunch in game one but the pitching staff could not protect the lead while game two provided all the pitching UIW would need for the split.

Junior lefthander Chris Armijo gave the Cardinals exactly what they needed in game two as he went the full seven innings, slamming the door on what had been a UTPB (16-8; 12-8) hitting machine in the first game. Armijo in upping his season mark to 4-1 gave up five hits with two runs, only one earned. In walking five and fanning five, he faced serious trouble only once when the Falcons plated a run in the bottom of the first and left the sacks jammed when Armijo induced a ground ball third out.

Meanwhile, UIW got a run in the top of the first when sophomore leftfielder Chad Gregson singled home senior third baseman Chris Mojica who had doubled and advanced to third on an error. The second run came in the second when junior centerfielder Chris Pacheco doubled home a run.

In the fourth, Armijo got a third and final tally and that would be all he needed. Sophomore rightfielder Drew Hamilton singled and later scored on a wild pitch.

In the game, Pacheco was 3-4 in a followup to what he did in the opener. In game one he was 3-5, scored twice and drove home four with an RBI double and a three-run home run. All of his RBI came in a 10-run UIW third inning.

Down 8-0 after two, Incarnate Word erupted for 10 scores in the third on seven hits to go up 10-8. In addition to Pacheco's four driven in, the inning saw senior first baseman Dustin Walls get a pair home with a single and Hamilton plated two more with a double.

UIW starter, senior righthander Adam Rimlinger, was in trouble from the get-go. In his four innings of work he allowed 11 hits, 10 earned runs while issuing one walk and striking out three. But he did depart after the fourth in front 11-10.

Coming on in relief, senior righthander Jeff Jamnik found tough sledding. He could record but one out before allowing five earned runs on three hits and that was a hill the Cardinals could not climb. The loss was his first decision of the season.

On the day, Pacheco was a combined 6-9 with two runs scored and five RBI. His six hits included three doubles and the big blast.

These same two teams go at it again on Sunday with a doubleheader starting at noon.

GAME ONE

UIW 0 0 (10) 1 0 1 -- 12 15 3
UTPB 3 5 1 1 5 0 x -- 15 16 1

Rimlinger, Jamnik (4), Brancheau (4), Johnson (6), and Solis. Stachowski, Roberson (3), Gilliland (5), Strode (5) and Leigh. WP--Strode. LP--Jamnik (0-1). HR--UIW, Pacheco, Solis.

GAME TWO

UIW 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 -- 3 8 2
UTPB 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 -- 2 5 2

Armijo and Rodriguez. Frisby and Dibbens. WP--Armijo (4-1). LP--Frisby.

RECORDS:

UIW 17-6 (14-5)
UTPB 16-8 (12-8)

WIND PUSHES BASEBALL SERIES BACK -- posted Thursday, March 13 2008

Anticipated winds beyond normal in West Texas have pushed a weekend baseball series back a day for Incarnate Word and Texas / Permian Basin.

The Heartland Conference four-game series now will be contested on Saturday, March 15, with first pitch at 1 p.m. with another doubleheader on Sunday, March 16, beginning at noon in Odessa.

While the wind blows constantly in West Texas forecasters say the breezes on Friday will be beyond normal making baseball extremely difficult.

Heading into the headwinds, the Cardinals are 16-5 on the year and 13-4 in Heartland action while UTPB is 15-7 including 11-7 in league play.

WALLS GETS WEEKLY PING!BASEBALL RECOGNITION -- posted Tuesday, March 11 2008

Senior first baseman Dustin Walls at Incarnate Word has gained national attention as a Ping!Baseball Spotlight Performer of the Week.

Walls is featured on the website www.pingbaseball.com after his four-game performance during the period March 3 to March 9.

In the four games, he batted 8-15 for .533. He scored seven times himself and drove in nine teammates. Included in his eight hits were home runs in three consecutive games against St. Mary’s in Heartland Conference action.

Those hits combined with three bases-on-balls and being hit three times gave him an on-base percentage of .650.

Walls was one of three players receiving this week's recognition. The others were from Rice and Coastal Carolina, both NCAA Division I schools.

ANOTHER OUTBURST DOOMS UIW -- posted Saturday, March 8 2008

ST. MARY’S 18, INCARNATE WORD 11

It was game three of a three-game weekend Heartland Conference series and just like the two contests played the day before this one came down to a big inning, actually two big innings, and Saturday it was St. Mary’s outburst that decided the outcome as the Rattlers won at Incarnate Word 18-11.

Incarnate Word drops to 16-4 for the year and to 13-3 in the league while the Rattlers are now 14-6 and 12-4 in the Heartland.

On Friday UIW got eight runs in one inning on the way to victory while in game two St. Mary’s turned the tables with a seven-spot in one frame for its win and a split of the twinbill.

Saturday, after Incarnate Word had taken a 4-3 lead in the bottom of the seventh on a two-run triple to right centerfield from junior second baseman Josh Hood who then scored himself the ensuing overthrow at third, Cardinals starter Chris Armijo ran into trouble after allowing three runs in the first two innings and then throwing blanks for the next five.

In the top of the eighth, after UIW had scored the three times to take the lead, the first two St. Mary’s reached before Armijo got an out on a fielder’s choice. A double steal moved the runners to second and third.

That is when the Cardinals’ bullpen sprung into action and produced bad results for UIW and an amazing nine-run inning for St. Mary’s. All-in-all, five UIW throwers worked two innings allowing a cumulative 13 runs (12 earned) on 11 hits while walking three, two wild pitches, two hit batsmen, and striking out two. Armijo suffered the loss as the tying run and the go-ahead tally were his responsibility although he had no control over the results after he departed. He is now 3-1 for the year.

After that 16-run, two-inning deluge, Incarnate Word managed to send seven across the dish in the bottom of the ninth but it was far too little and way to late in the day.

Ryan Morrow who took the hill for the Rattlers in the fifth was the beneficiary of the Rattlers’ splurge. He is now 2-0 for the year.

On the day, senior first baseman Dustin Walls continued his torrid hitting string by blasting his third home run in three straight games. His left centerfield line blast was part of that last inning production for UIW. Walls now has the team lead with eight long balls and 33 RBI. His season average, after going 2-4 Saturday, is now. .476.

That sensational mark falls short of the team leader however. Saturday junior Chris Pacheco went 3-4 with two doubles. His yearlong average is now .505.

The other UIW multiple hit guys were junior leftfielder Trey Hogan who was 2-4 and junior shortstop Tyler Jett who went 3-5 with two RBI.

St. Mary’s got a home run from Collin Stock who was 2-5 with four RBI in the game.

StM 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 9 6 -- 18 14 2
UIW 0 0 1 0 0 0 3 0 7 -- 11 14 4

Cales, Morrow (5), Flores (9), Villarreal (9) and Soto. Armijo, Jamnik (8), Langston (8), Johnson (8), McAnelly (9), Roohan (9), and Rodriguez. WP—Morrow (2-0). LP—Armijo (3-1). HR—StM, Stock. UIW-Walls.

RECORDS:

StM 14-6 (12-4)
UIW 16-5 (13-4)

CARDINALS AND RATTLERS SPLIT FRIDAY'S PAIR -- posted Saturday, March 8 2008

INCARNATE WORD 16-6, ST. MARY'S 7-14

Two bitter rivals got together Friday for a baseball doubleheader and after they exchanged big-production innings Incarnate Word and St. Mary's had split a Heartland Conference pair of games played at UIW's Sullivan Field.

Incarnate Word is now 16-4 on the year including 13-3 in Heartland action putting them in second place in league play. St. Mary's is 13-6 overall and third in the conference at 11-4. St. Edward's top the league with an 11-2 mark.

In the first game of seven innings, the Cardinals piled on eight runs in the third frame to win 16-7 before the Rattlers came back with seven in the fourth inning of game two to win 14-6 and earn the split.

For the Cardinals, senior first baseman Dustin Walls put on a hitting show for the day. In the two games he was a combined 5-9 with the bat and had a home run in each contest. For the day he drove in six teammates.

The first game got to the last of the third with UIW leading 2-1 when the bottom dropped out for St. Mary's. Walls batted twice and both times singled to give him an RBI and one scored himself. The big blow however came from junior centerfielder Chris Pacheco who tripled with the sacks jammed. In the game Pacheco was 3-3 with four scored and the three RBI.

When the dust settled, UIW had plated eight runs on four hits and two Rattler errors. Senior catcher Chris Solis added to the St. Mary's woes with a triple and then scoring on a single from sophomore rightfielder Drew Hamilton. In the game Hamilton was 4-5, scored twice and drove in two teammates.

The beneficiary of the assault was senior righthander Adam Rimlinger who worked five innings to earn his sixth victory of the year against zero losses.

Game two saw the Rattlers turn the tables. The contest was deadlocked 2-2 heading into the visitor's half of the fourth. Sophomore righthander Jeff Langston ran into immediate trouble as the first five Rattler batters reached. Junior righthander Nathaniel Ramirez came on for Langston and two more St. Mary's batter reached. Before Ramirez could induce a ground ball double play five runs were across. When it was done the Rattlers plated seven and UIW could not catch up the remainder of the game.

Walls was the lone Cardinal to have multiple hits in game two going 2-5 with a home run and three RBI.

On the hill, Langston took the loss to even his season mark at 1-1.

The two will go at it again on Saturday in a single game of nine-innings with first pitch coming at 1 p.m. at Sullivan Field.

GAME ONE

StM 0 1 0 2 2 1 1 -- 7 9 4
UIW 1 1 8 0 3 3 x -- 16 15 3

Watson, Odom (3), Borges (6) and Morrow. Rimlinger, Jamnik (6) and Solis. WP--Rimlinger (6-0). LP--Watson (3-2). HR--St. M, Brzezinski, Cisneros. UIW, Walls.

GAME TWO

StM 2 0 0 7 0 0 3 1 1 -- 14 12 0
UIW 0 2 0 1 0 0 3 0 0 -- 6 6 5

Shimek, Villarreal (7), Flores (9) and Soto. Brancheau, Langston (3), Ramirez (4), Smith (8), Johnson (8), and Solis. WP--Shimik (3-0). LP--Langston (1-1). HR--StM, Vaio. UIW, Walls.

RECORDS:

StM 13-6 (11-4)
UIW 16-4 (13-3)

PACHECO BLAST FUELS UIW WIN -- posted Tuesday, March 4 2008

INCARNATE WORD 14, ANGELO STATE 8

Two bunts and a bloop got it started Tuesday evening but a grand slam finished it off as Incarnate Word staged a big inning on the way to a 14-8 win over ranked Angelo State in a non-conference game played at Sullivan Field.

The 20th-ranked Rams (15-6) were out 6-4 after four and one-half innings when Incarnate Word (15-3) plated a pair to tie at 6-6. Then came the big seven-run sixth to put UIW on top to stay.

Senior third baseman Chris Mojica got it started with a bunt single down the third base line. Batting next, sophomore leftfielder Chad Gregson was watching from the on-deck circle. He did the same thing, bunting down the third base line and he too was safe at first. Senior first baseman Dustin Walls came to bat and looped a short shot to short center field sending Mojica homeward.

After one out was recorded, junior designated batter Trey Hogan singled home Gregson. An intentional walk to sophomore rightfielder Drew Hamilton and a fielder’s choice RBI from junior second baseman Josh Hood brought in another one. Junior shortstop Tyler Jett took one on the arm to load the sacks. Junior centerfielder Chris Pacheco put the finishing touches on the inning by lofting a two-strike pitch into the darker reaches of right field for the grand slam.

The sixth produced seven runs on five hits and the Cardinals were on their way to the important regional victory.

Pacheco finished the day with a 2-6 mark with two scored and the four driven in. Not too far back was Hogan who went 3-4 with two scored and three RBI. Mojica, Gregson, Solis and Hood all collected a pair of safe hits each.

On the mound, the Cardinals got in some work for their front liners, guys who will likely work in the upcoming weekend Heartland Conference series against St. Mary’s.

Junior lefty Chris Armijo worked the first three innings allowing five hits, five runs four of which were earned to go with three walks and three strikeouts. Senior righthander Jeff Jamnik came on in the fourth to work two innings. He gave up two hits, one earned run while walking one and fanning two.

Sophomore Nathan Ramirez put in his three frames, the sixth through the eighth. His numbers were one hit, two runs both unearned, two walks and four strikeouts. Senior Adam Rimlinger, normally the Cardinals number one, pitched the ninth without incident. He fanned one.

ASU 2 0 3 0 1 0 0 2 0 -- 8 8 1
UIW 3 1 0 0 2 7 0 1 X -- 14 14 4

Key, McKellar (4), Tietze (6) and Carter. Armijo, Jamnik (4), Ramirez (6), Rimlinger (9) and Solis. WP—Ramirez (2-1). LP—McKELLAR (0-4). HR—PACHECO

RECORDS:

ASU 15-6
UIW 15-3

LATE ERUPTION FUELS UIW SWEEP -- posted Saturday, March 1 2008

INCARNATE WORD 9-16, OKLAHOMA 6-1

Fast forward to the top of the seventh of game one and watch Incarnate Word correct its ills Friday on the way to a Heartland Conference doubleheader sweep at Oklahoma Panhandle.

With the pair of wins, 9-6 and 16-1, UIW upped its season mark to 13-2 including 9-1 in the Heartland. Oklahoma Panhandle falls to 4-10 and 3-8.

Down 5-0 and having managed just five scattered hits, the Cardinals exploded for nine runs and established a pattern for the remainder of the day in that seventh frame.

OPSU's Kyle Cremers was mystifying Incarnate Word and had recorded the first out in the seventh when things took a turn for the worse for the Aggie hurler. A hit batsman, a walk, a single, an RBI sacrifice, an RBI single and another RBI single produced three runs. Next came a three-run blast from senior first baseman Dustin Walls and the Cardinals were on top 6-5.

But Incarnate Word was not done with that inning. Following Walls' big fly, there came another single, a base on balls, and then the game-clinching home run off the stick of sophomore rightfielder Drew Hamilton. All-in-all it was nine runs on seven hits with one left on base.

All of that came in support of senior righty Adam Rimlinger who worked a complete game to run his season mark to a perfect 4-0. He gave up nine hits with six earned runs while walking two and fanning six.

That late outburst propelled the Cardinals into game two where they scored runs in six of seven innings on the way to a nightcap 16-1 victory.

The run production came from throughout the lineup as four Cardinals each collected a pair of safe hits and six had two or more RBI paced by three from senior third baseman Chris Mojica who had a double and a single in the game.

This time the run support benefited junior righthander Chris Armijo who went six innings for his third win against no losses.
He gave up four hits, one earned run and walked three while striking out a pair.

These same two clubs meet again Saturday in another doubleheader in Goodwell, Okla.

GAME ONE

UIW 0 0 0 0 0 0 9 -- 9 12 0
OPSU 0 0 0 4 1 0 1 -- 6 9 0

Rimlinger and Solis. Cremers, Rapp (7) and Jameson. WP--Rimlinger (4-0). LP--Cremers (1-4). HR--UIW, Walls, Hamilton.

GAME TWO

UIW 1 1 3 3 6 0 2 -- 16 12 1
OPSU 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 -- 1 6 2

Armijo, McAnelly (7) and Rodriguez. Clinton, Maynard (4), Siedschlag (5) and Jameson, Meek. WP--Armijo (3-0). LP--Clinton (1-2).

ARMIJO TOP PITCHER A SECOND TIME -- posted Wednesday, February 27 2008

Incarnate Word’s Chris Armijo for the second time in the still-young season has been selected Heartland Conference pitcher of the week.

With the way the Cardinals rotation is set up, the junior lefthander has been drawing game two in weekend conference series. In the period February 18 to February 24, he got the second game at Texas A&M International and under the league’s new format it was a nine-inning affair.

So what the San Antonio Highlands product did was go eight complete frames on the way to collecting the win. In the eight innings he allowed but five hits and two runs, one earned. He walked four and fanned his personal and a team high 12 opposing batters.

He was Heartland pitcher of the week the previous week when he worked a complete game of seven innings against Newman. On the year Armijo is 2-0 and the Cardinals are 11-2.

LATE RALLY SINKS CARDINALS -- posted Saturday, February 23 2008

TEXAS A&M INTERNATIONAL 9, INCARNATE WORD 8

An eighth inning rally Saturday afternoon in Laredo pushed Texas A&M International to a 9-8 win over Incarnate Word handing the Cardinals their first loss in Heartland Conference action.

The Cardinals had won a doubleheader the day before and now stand 9-1 in league play and 11-2 on the season. The Dustdevils improved to 4-12 and 4-8 in the Heartland.

UIW was on top 8-6 through seven but could not close the deal as TAMUI sent eight batters to the plate in the eighth producing three runs on two hits, three free passes and one Cardinal error. The bases were juiced when the third out finally was recorded.

Prior to the winning rally, Incarnate Word had forged the lead with a pair of three-run innings. In the top of the second, senior third baseman Chris Mojica singled home a pair before senior first baseman Dustin Walls doubled home the third.

In the fifth, three more crossed home plate on a two-RBI triple by sophomore right fielder Drew Hamilton and a sacrifice fly to center by junior second baseman Josh Hood.

On the day, Walls was 4-5 with one scored and the one RBI. In the three-game series, he was a combined 10-12 with two doubles, one home run and five RBI. Hamilton was the only other Cardinal with multiple hits as he was 3-4 with the two RBI and one scored himself.

Senior righty Paul Brancheau worked the first three and one-third before running into trouble in the bottom of the fourth when the Dustdevils tagged him with four runs. Junior Nathaniel Ramirez came on to put out that immediate fire. Ramirez allowed another TAMUI run in the sixth before finding trouble of his own in the fateful eighth. Ramirez suffered the loss evening his season mark at 1-1.

UIW 1 3 0 0 3 1 0 0 0 -- 8 13 5
TAMUI 0 0 1 4 0 1 0 3 x -- 9 8 2

Brancheau, Ramirez (4) and Rodriguez. Encinas, Routos (5), Gonzalez (6) and Sanchez. WP--Gonzalez (1-0). LP--Ramirez (1-1).

UIW REMAINS ON TOP WITH SWEEP -- posted Friday, February 22 2008

INCARNATE WORD 8-7, TEXAS A&M INTERNATIONAL 7-2

The combination of hitting and pitching was the basis of Incarnate Word remaining spotless in Heartland Conference action Friday afternoon with a doubleheader sweep of Texas A&M International in Laredo.

The Cardinals won the pair of games 8-7 and 7-2 to up their season mark to 11-1 including the perfect 9-0 in conference play. With the sweep UIW remains on top of the league standings.

As hot as senior first baseman Dustin Walls was at the plate, the Cardinals' pitching perhaps was the highlight of the day. Walls in the two games was 3-4 with a home run and two RBI in game one and 3-3 with a double and two more RBI in the nightcap.

The opener, a seven-inning affair, saw UIW jump out early to a 3-1 lead after three innings only to see the Dustdevils rally with three in the fourth for a 4-3 lead. But that was short-lived when Incarnate Word put up five in the top of the fifth on five hits. The damage was all done with four singles and a sacrifice fly. That was all UIW would get in the game but it would prove to be enough.

Starting pitcher Adam Rimlinger (4-0) worked his way into the seventh before running into serious trouble. He retired the first batter before a pair of singles sandwiched around two wild pitches plated one marker to cut the lead to 8-6. A double brought home another making it 8-7. Sophomore righthander Jeff Langston came on in relief to retire two hitters and notch his first save of the year.

On the day, Rimlinger allowed nine hits, seven runs (six earned) while walking two and striking out three.

In addition to Walls' outburst, sophomore left fielder Chad Gregson went 2-4 with a double and two RBI.

Game two belonged to Cardinals starting lefthander Chris Armijo. He gave UIW eight strong innings on the way to his second win of the year against no losses. Armijo allowed five hits, two runs (one earned) while walking four and fanning a personal and team high 12 batters. He gave way in the ninth to freshman righty Matthew Roohan who worked a one-hit frame.

Offensively, of the 10 Incarnate Word safe hits; only one was for extra bases and it was a double by Walls in the top of the first scoring senior third baseman Chris Mojica who had been plunked with a pitch. Batting leadoff for the Cardinals, junior center fielder Chris Pacheco went 3-6 scoring twice and driving one teammate.

With his performance Friday, Pacheco extended his hitting streak to all 12 games and kept his season average above the .500 mark.

The two clubs on Saturday will conclude the three-game series with a nine-inning contest with first pitch at noon.

GAME ONE

UIW 2 0 1 0 5 0 0 -- 8 8 2
TAMUI 1 0 0 3 0 1 2 -- 7 9 3

Rimlinger, Langston (7) and Solis. Bonugli, Gonzalez (5) and Sanchez. WP--Rimlinger (4-0). LP--Bonugli (1-3). HR--UIW, Walls.

GAME TWO

UIW 1 0 1 2 0 0 1 2 0 -- 7 10 2
TAMUI 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 -- 2 6 5

Armijo, Roohan (9) and Rodriguez. Lopez, Z. Gonzalez (7), R. Gonzalez (7), Soto (9) and Dixon. WP--Armijo (2-0). LP--Lopez (0-2).

ARMIJO GETS HEARTLAND HONOR -- posted Wednesday, February 20 2008

Junior lefthander Chris Armijo of Incarnate Word has been named the Heartland Conference pitcher of the week for the period February 11 to February 17.

Getting one start in a weekend conference series against Newman, the San Antonio Highlands High School product turned in a complete, seven-inning game for the Cardinals.

He allowed just two hits with no runs. He walked four and struck out his season high eight. The Cardinals won the contest 3-0.

UIW DROPS SLUG FEST -- posted Tuesday, February 19 2008

ANGELO STATE 22, INCARNATE WORD 12

Incarnate Word's baseball team of 1988 can rest easy. Its school record of 11-0 to open a season still stands after the current UIW squad dropped a run-rule game Tuesday afternoon to Angelo State.

A torrid start by the Cardinals (9-1) produced seven runs in the top of the second inning and a 7-0 lead but it didn't hold up as Angelo State (8-4) put up big numbers from the second through the seventh frames to post a 22-12 victory. The Rams got three in the seventh and with two outs the game, scheduled for nine, was halted on the mercy rule.

The loss was the first of the year for Incarnate Word which had run off nine consecutive victories for the second best season-opening mark in school history.

These two clubs, when they get together, have a history of scoring runs. In 2007 in a doubleheader played in San Angelo, a split, they combined for 50 runs. Tuesday's game was no different.

The Cardinals got the seven in the second on five hits. Senior second baseman Gideon Williams drew a base on balls with the bases loaded to get it started. Junior center fielder Chris Pacheco followed with a two-run single before sophomore left fielder Chad Gregson singled home two more.

But all that didn't seem to phase the Rams as they came right back to post, consecutively in the next six innings, three, two, four, six, four and finally three runs.

Angelo State banged out 18 base hits against a beleaguered Cardinals pitching staff. UIW trotted out five different pitchers with none working more than three and one-third innings. Those safeties including eight doubles and one home -run which combined with six errors by Incarnate Word proved lethal.

On the other side, Incarnate Word managed 10 hits with the big blow coming off the bat of Gregson who lofted one over the wall in the fourth for three RBI. On the day, Gregson was 2-4 with five driven in. Batting leadoff, Pacheco went 2-3 with two scored himself and four RBI. Pacheco is red-hot to date with a 10-game hitting streak and a batting average of .531.

After two days to recover, UIW heads to Laredo Friday and Saturday for a four-game series against Texas A&M International. They will play doubleheaders both days beginning at noon each time. These are Heartland Conference games where, in league play, the Cardinals are 7-0.

UIW 0 7 0 3 2 0 0 -- 12 10 6
ASU 0 3 2 4 6 4 3 -- 22 18 3

Roohan, McAnelly (4), Smith (5), Reta (5), Ramirez (7) and Solis. Tietze, Morehouse (2), Nightingale (5), Key (5) and Carter. WP--Key (1-0). LP--McAnelly (0-1). HR--UIW, Gregson; ASU, Carter.

RECORDS:

UIW 9-1
ASU 8-4

UIW COMPLETES WEEKEND SWEEP -- posted Saturday, February 16 2008

INCARNATE WORD 11-4, NEWMAN 5-1

Incarnate Word used a combination of big hits and key hits Saturday afternoon to win two games from Newman of Kansas and complete a weekend four-game Heartland Conference sweep at Sullivan Field.

With Saturday’s two victories, Incarnate Word now has its second longest string of season-opening wins in school history. The Cardinals are 9-0 to open the schedule. The school mark is the 11-0 which began the 1988 UIW season.

The current mark includes a 7-0 record in the Heartland. Newman is now 0-7 overall and all seven are conference losses.

The only time Newman was ahead all weekend was in game two on Saturday. After the two starters, UIW’s junior righthander Jeff Langston and the Jets’ righthander Alex Mauricio worked their ways through three scoreless frames, the Jets squeezed out a single run in the top of the fourth with an opening double second baseman Tyler Riddick followed by a pair of infield groundouts.

That 1-0 Newman lead held until the bottom of the sixth. With one out senior first baseman Dustin Walls walked before junior designated batter Trey Hogan singled. Sophomore right fielder Drew Hamilton was hit by a pitch to jam the sacks. Junior shortstop Tyler Jett then hooked a pitch down the left field line and Walls and Hogan raced home with the tying and winning runs. Senior second baseman Gideon Williams brought Hogan and Hamilton home with his second single of the game to end the scoring.

Sophomore righthander Nathaniel Ramirez was the beneficiary of the late rally. He came on in the sixth to work the final two frames and earn his first victory of the year. In his two innings he allowed nothing and struck out one. Before him Langston went five innings with three hits, the single earned run while walking three and fanning one.

Game one found the Cardinals holding up to a standard set early on this year and that is one of pounding the ball all over the yard. As a team UIW had 17 base hits including five of the extra base variety. And the Cardinals followed by the best of South Texas rallying cries…score early and score often. UIW plated runs in every inning with the heavy damage coming in the first two go-rounds.

Hitting out of the leadoff slot, junior center Chris Pacheco led the parade with a perfect 5-5 effort, all singles. He accounted for three scores himself while driving in two teammates. Not too far behind were sophomore leftfielder Chad Gregson who was 3-4 with a home run and five RBI, and senior catcher Chris Solis who also was 3-4 with a home run and two RBI.

The Cardinals for all practical purposes put the game away in the first two innings. In the bottom of the first, after Newman had gone quietly, UIW put up a four-spot including Gregson’s two-run shot after Pacheco had led off with a single and a steal of second. Walls followed with an RBI double and then Hogan doubled home another.

The bottom of the second found Incarnate Word scoring a trio. With two outs, Pacheco singled again and he and senior third baseman Chris Mojica, a single, came to the plate following a double from Gregson. Walls then singled home Gregson.

Senior righthander Paul Brancheau kept his mark perfect for the year by going six allowing seven hits, three earned runs while walking one and fanning two. He is now 3-0.

GAME ONE

NU 0 2 0 0 0 1 2 -- 5 8 1
UIW 4 3 1 1 1 1 X -- 11 17 0

Amos, Clerici (3), and Scripture. Brancheau, Johnson (7) and Solis. WP—Brancheau (3-0). LP—Amos (0-1). HR—UIW, Gregson, Solis.

GAME TWO

NU 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 -- 1 3 1
UIW 0 0 0 0 0 4 x -- 4 7 0

Mauricio and Scripture. Langston, Ramirez (6) and Solis. WP—Ramirez (1-0). LP—Mauricio (0-1).

UIW WINS A HEARTLAND DOUBLEHEADER -- posted Friday, February 15 2008

INCARNATE WORD 11-3, NEWMAN 2-0

Incarnate Word Friday afternoon got a grand slam in game one and a sterling pitching performance in game two for a doubleheader sweep of Newman in Heartland Conference baseball action at Sullivan Field.

With the sweep the Cardinals remain unbeaten by upping their season mark to 7-0 including a Heartland-leading 5-0. Newman fell to 0-5 on the year with all five games being league contests.

In game one, with two outs in the bottom of the first, UIW scored three times. Senior catcher Chris Solis singled home sophomore left fielder Chad Gregson who had singled. Senior Dustin Walls singled before junior designated batter Trey Hogan doubled home both Solis and Walls.

The Cardinals iced the game in the third. After three hit batsmen and a fielder's choice plated one, junior center fielder Chris Pacheco put the game away with a slicing drive that settled beyond the left field wall for a grand slam.

All of that was in support of senior righthander Adam Rimlinger who worked all seven innings for his third victory of the year against no losses. Rimlinger allowed six hits while walking three and striking out four.

Game two was different. Pitching was at a premium and Incarnate Word's junior lefthander Chris Armijo got the better of the duel. He turned in a complete game with just two hits, four walks and eight strikeouts. He earned his first victory of the year.

He got all the runs needed in the fourth when Hogan doubled home both senior third baseman Chris Mojica and Solis who had singled. In the fifth, Pacheco doubled and rode home on a Walls single.

These same two clubs will engage in another doubleheader Saturday at Sullivan Field. First pitch is set for noon.

GAME ONE

NU 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 -- 2 6 3
UIW 3 1 5 0 2 0 X -- 11 7 1

Riblin and Amos. Rimlinger and Solis. WP--Rimlinger (3-0). LP--Riblin (0-2). HR--UIW, Pacheco, Hogan.

GAME TWO

NU 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 -- 0 2 2
UIW 0 0 0 2 1 0 x -- 3 6 0

Trevino and Amos. Armijo and Rodriguez. WP--Armijo (1-0). LP--Trevino (0-2).

FRIDAY DOUBLEHEADER HAS A TIME CHANGE -- posted Thursday, February 14 2008

With the weekend weather predictions being, at best, unpredictable, Incarnate Word's baseball schedule has been altered.

The Cardinals will host Newman of Kansas in a Heartland Conference four-game set. The doubleheader on Friday now will have a noon first pitch rather than the original time of 2 p.m. The teams are trying to play ahead of any foul front that might move through the area.

The Cardinals and Jets have another doubleheader scheduled for Saturday at noon. Those games will go on as slated unless the weather gets in the way.

UIW will be out to protect its unbeaten record to date, 5-0 including 3-0 in the Heartland.

HOGAN LEADS UIW ROUT OF LINCOLN -- posted Sunday, February 10 2008

INCARNATE WORD 12, LINCOLN 1

One day after eking out a last inning run for a doubleheader sweep, Incarnate Word changed tactics on the way to a run-rule game and a series sweep over Heartland Conference opponent Lincoln of Missouri.

The Cardinals banged out double figure hits for the fifth straight game on the way to a 12-1 victory over the Blue Tigers. The weekend sweep pushed UIW to a perfect 5-0 on the year and a perfect 3-0 mark in the Heartland. Lincoln is now 0-3 overall and 0-3 in league play.

On Saturday after winning 9-2 in game one, Incarnate Word reached the ninth tied before freshman catcher Josiah Rodriguez singled home the winner for a 7-6 win.

Sunday at Sullivan Field it was different. In the bottom of the first senior first baseman Dustin Walls (2-4, 3 RBI) singled home senior third baseman Chris Mojica who had walked and stolen second. Then in the bottom of the second the flood gates opened.

Sophomore rightfielder Drew Hamilton sent a one-out double to left field. Junior shortstop Tyler Jett brought Hamilton home with a center field single. Junior centerfielder Chris Pacheco (2-4, 2 RBI) then tripled for an RBI and then came home on a single by Mojica.

It wasn’t quite over in the second as junior leftfielder Trey Hogan (2-2, 4 RBI) sent one into the trees to plate Walls who had reached on a fielder’s choice and senior catcher Chris Solis who had been plunked by a pitch. All-in-all it was six runs on six hits.

The third frame brought more havoc from Cardinals’ bats. Pacheco doubled to score Hamilton who had led off with a single. With one out Walls singled home two more before Solis doubled home another. The final run of the inning came home when Hogan lined out to right for a sacrifice fly.

Those were all senior righthander Paul Brancheau needed. He worked four innings for his first win of the year. He gave up two hits, both doubles to Lincoln third baseman Mike Costa. Brancheau allowed one earned run while walking five and striking out two.

Junior righthander Jeff Langston finished up for Incarnate Word by going three innings with three hits, no runs, three walks and one strikeout.

In winning the first five games on its schedule, Incarnate Word has amassed at least 10 hits in every game averaging 15 safeties a contest. The team averaged through the five game sis .406.

Next up for the Cardinals is a weekend Heartland series at home against Newman. The two clubs will play a pair on Friday, February 15 and another doubleheader on Saturday, February 16.

LU 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 -- 1 5 0
UIW 1 6 5 0 0 0 X -- 12 12 0

Scanio, Neuner (2), MaCormic (3), Bolzenius 4), Buersmeyer (6) and Turner. Brancheau, Langston (5) and Solis. HR—UIW Hogan (1). WP—Brancheau (1-0). LP—Scanio (0-1).

UIW SWEEPS LINCOLN IN DOUBLEHEADER -- posted Saturday, February 9 2008

INCARNATE WORD 9-7, LINCOLN 2-6

A pair of freshmen teamed up Saturday afternoon to insure a doubleheader sweep of Lincoln in Heartland Conference baseball action at Incarnate Word’s Sullivan Field.

Incarnate Word in sweeping the double dip upped its season mark to 4-0 and 2-0 in Heartland play. Lincoln, playing its first games of the year went to 0-2 and 0-2 in league play.

The nightcap game was like basketball with six lead changes and three ties before rookie catcher Josiah Rodriguez came to the plate in the bottom of the ninth for UIW with runners at first and second and one out. Taking a pair of called strikes, Rodriguez laced the ball in the third base-shortstop hole to plate sophomore pinch runner Chad Gregson with the winner. Rodriguez, seeing his first action of the young season finished with a 3-4 day scoring twice himself and getting the winning RBI.

His battery mate at the time of the win was freshman righthander Matthew Roohan who came on in the eighth after Lincoln had scored a single run to tie the game. Roohan allowed one hit, walked one and struck out one in his 1.1 innings.

Earlier in the game, in the bottom of the fifth, junior centerfielder Chris Pacheco hit a solo home run to left to give UIW a brief 3-2 lead.

In game one, the tone was established early as the Cardinals got a pair of runs in each of the first three innings. And at the end of the first three frames the Cardinals already had six hits.

With one out in the bottom of the first, senior third baseman Chris Mojica doubled into the right-center field gap. Hitting in the third slot, senior first baseman Dustin Walls hit a pitch that almost landed on a maintenance facility beyond the left field wall.

Inning two was more of the same as with one out junior second baseman Josh Hood walked ahead of a left field single from the bat of junior shortstop Tyler Jett. Pacheco doubled to right-center and both Hood and Jett motored home for two more. Pacheco finished the game 2-4 with two doubles and three RBI.

In the third sophomore right fielder Drew Hamilton doubled home two runs, senior catcher Chris Solis and junior designated batter Trey Hogan, both of whom had drawn base on balls.

The Cardinals added to those totals later but the first three innings set the game’s demeanor.

Senior righthander Adam Rimlinger worked five innings for UIW to pick up his second win of the year. In the five he allowed four hits, a single earned run while walking one and whiffing six.

GAME ONE

LU 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 -- 2 5 1
UIW 2 2 2 0 2 1 X -- 9 10 2

Voss, Buersmeyer (4), Neuner (4), Bess (4), Dudenhoeffer (5) and Turner. Rimlinger, Ramirez (6) and Solis. HR—UIW, Walls. WP—Rimlinger (2-0). LP—Voss (0-1).

GAME TWO

LU 0 0 2 0 0 2 1 1 0 -- 6 12 1
UIW 1 1 0 0 1 1 2 0 1 -- 7 13 2

Moss, Bolzenius (7), Jones (7), MaCormic (9), and Costa. Armijo, Ramirez (7), Roohan (8) and Rodriguez. WP—Roohan (1-0). LP—MaCormic (0-1). HR—UIW, Pacheco.

BIG BATS PRESENT AGAIN IN WIN -- posted Wednesday, February 6 2008

INCARNATE WORD 14, TARLETON STATE 8

The hit parade on the road continued Tuesday in Stephenville as Incarnate Word brought the heavy lumber in a 14-8 win over Tarleton State.

The Cardinals went to 2-0 on the still-young season and in doing so collected 21 hits in the nine-inning game. UIW piled up a 14-2 lead after five frames and coasted from there on to the win.

As they did in the season-opening 12-8 win at Texas A&M / Kingsville, the top of the Cardinals order did some damage by getting people on base and then scoring runs when the middle and lower parts of the order continued the onslaught.

The 21 total safeties (UIW had 18 at TAMUK) were spread around but sophomore Chris Pacheco for the second straight game registered four hits including a double and a triple. The big hitter was junior second baseman Josh Hood batting in the seventh slot. Hood put a 5-6 day on Tarleton State with three RBI and a triple.

Senior righthander Paul Brancheau was the Incarnate Word starter on the mound and he had to go only three innings for the win. He allowed two hits, two earned runs while walking three and fanning two.

Next up for the Cardinals is the home opener, a weekend Heartland Conference series with Lincoln. On Saturday the two will play a doubleheader consisting of one nine-inning game followed by a seven-inning contest. First pitch is at noon.

On Sunday, the two will get together at noon at Sullivan Field for a single nine-inning game.

SOLIS LEADS UIW HIT PARADE IN WIN -- posted Monday, February 4 2008

INCARNATE WORD 12, TEXAS A&M / KINGSVILLE 8

Incarnate Word hauled out the heavy aluminum on the road Saturday to forge a 12-8 victory at Texas A&M / Kingsville in the season’s opener.

As a team the Cardinals stroked 18 safe hits in the nine innings and to go with those UIW had 12 runs batted in meaning the hits were coming with runners on base.

And the leader of the hit parade was senior catcher Chris Solis who went 4-4 on the day with a pair of long balls accounting for six RBI, one-half of the team total.

Right behind came junior centerfielder Chris Pacheco with his 4-6 with two RBI and a run scored. Then, two others had three hits. Senior first baseman Dustin Walls, returning from a medical redshirt year in 2007, was 3-6 with a double and one RBI. Junior second baseman Josh Hood was 3-5 with a double and one RBI.

Incarnate Word’s number one, senior righthander Adam Rimlinger worked the first five inning on the hill to earn the year’s first win. He allowed seven hits, four runs (three earned) while walking but one and striking out four.

Junior lefthander Chris Armijo went the final four frames to pick up the save. He gave up five hits, four runs (one earned) and struck out three. He did walk six opposing batters.

The Cardinals take the bats on the road for a Tuesday game at Tarleton State. First pitch is at 3 p.m. for the nine-inning single game.

The first home action is Saturday and Sunday, February 9 and 10, when UIW jumps right into Heartland Conference play with three games against Lincoln. On Friday a doubleheader will feature one nine-inning game followed by a seven-inning affair. Sunday, the two will play one single game of nine innings.

MALEY IS NEW PITCHING COACH -- posted Monday, August 13 2007

With his arrival at Incarnate Word to join the Cardinals baseball staff as the pitching coach, John Maley brings some amazing statistics scattered over his 14 years of collegiate experience.

In those 14 years, he has tutored hurlers who have piled up more than 6,000 innings and who have recorded more than 5,600 strikeouts. And in this age of aluminum bats, his pitchers have recorded 84 complete games, posted a cumulative 3.68 earned run average, and allowed just .238 as a batting average against.

The majority of those 14 seasons Maley was the pitching coach and recruiting coordinator at St. Mary's University. After that, he was at Laredo Community College for one year as the head coach and then, for the past three years, he was the pitching coach at Division I Texas State University.

During his stint at St. Mary's, the Rattlers were perennial contenders for titles in both the Heart of Texas and Heartland conferences. One of the highlights of Maley's career came in 2001 when the Rattlers won the NCAA Division II national championship and posted a 50-13 record. During his coaching career at St. Mary's, pitchers recorded nine no-hitters, 22 one-hitters and 214 complete games while breaking virtually every league pitching record.

Maley began his college coaching career at Henderson State University in Arkadelphia, Ark., where he was the pitching coach and recruiting coordinator for two seasons. Prior to coaching at the college level, Maley coached three seasons at the high school level--Pettus High School and Yorktown High School.

A native of Richeyville, Pa., the 45-year old Maley graduated from Texas State in 1986 and then received a master's degree in education from Henderson State University. Maley and his wife Shelly have two children, Emily (11) and Kash (8).