2024 Incarnate Word Cardinals baseball team

The 2024 Incarnate Word Cardinals baseball team represented the University of the Incarnate Word during the 2024 NCAA Division I baseball season. The Cardinals played their home games at Sullivan Field and were led by fifth–year head coach Ryan Shotzberger.^[2] They are members of the Southland Conference. They compiled a 26–31 overall record and finished with a 10–14 record in conference play in a three–way tie for 6th place. The Cardinals qualified for the SLC tournament as the 8th seeded team. The team had a 1–2 record in tournament play defeating 1st seeded Lamar 6–3 and falling to 5th seeded McNeese 2–6 and Lamar 6–18⁽⁷⁾.

2024 Incarnate Word Cardinals baseball
Conference	Southland Conference
Record	26–31 (10–14 Southland)
Head coach	Ryan Shotzberger (5th season)
Assistant coaches	Greg Evans Butch Rea Andrew Stumph - Volunteer Asst
Home stadium	Sullivan Field
Seasons ← 2023 2025 →

2024 Southland Conference baseball standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
Lamar ‍†‍‍	17	–	7		.708			44	–	15		.746
Nicholls ‍†‍‍y	16	–	8		.667			38	–	22		.633
New Orleans  ‍‍‍	14	–	10		.583			31	–	26		.544
McNeese  ‍‍‍	11	–	13		.458			32	–	27		.542
Northwestern State  ‍‍‍	11	–	13		.458			22	–	33		.400
Southeastern Louisiana  ‍‍‍	10	–	14		.417			30	–	28		.517
Texas A&M–Corpus Christi  ‍‍‍	10	–	14		.417			22	–	35		.386
Incarnate Word  ‍‍‍	10	–	14		.417			26	–	31		.456
Houston Christian  ‍‍‍	9	–	15		.375			18	–	31		.367
† – Conference champion ‡ – Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA Tournament As of June 1, 2024[1] Rankings from D1Baseball

Previous season

Main article: 2023 Incarnate Word Cardinals baseball team

The Cardinals had a regular season record of 28–26 and a conference record of 14–10 finishing in second place in SLC play. They participated in the 2023 Southland Conference baseball tournament as the second seeded team. The Cardinals were 0–2 in the conference tournament losing to fifth seeded Northwestern State 1–2 and sixth seeded McNeese 0–3.

Preseason

Southland Conference Coaches Poll

The Southland Conference Coaches Poll was released on February 8, 2024. Incarnate Word was picked to finish fourth in the Southland Conference with 81 votes.^[3]

Coaches poll
Predicted finish	Team	Votes (1st place)
1	Nicholls	126 (14)
2	Lamar	106 (1)
3	New Orleans	92 (3)
4	Incarnate Word	81
5	McNeese	67
6	Texas A&M–Corpus Christi	55
7	Southeastern Louisiana	53
8	Northwestern State	42
9	Houston Christian	26

Preseason All-Southland team

Ray Mendoza was named to the conference preseason first team. Cameron Crotte, Isaiah Zavala, and Grant Randall were named to the conference preseason second team. ^[3]

First Team

• Edgar Alvarez* (NICH, SR, 1st Base)
• MaCrae Kendrick (NICH, SR, 2nd Base)
• Ethan Ruiz (LU, SR, 3rd Base)
• Parker Coddou* (NICH, SR, Shortstop)
• Miguel Useche (UNO, SR, Catcher)
• Rey Mendoza* (UIW, GR, Designated Hitter)
• Mitchell Sanford* (UNO, RJR, Outfielder)
• Samuel Benjamin* (HCU, SR, Outfielder)
• Issac Williams (UNO, SR, Outfielder)
• Jacob Mayers* (NICH, SO, Starting Pitcher)
• Brooks Caple* (LU, SR, Starting Pitcher)
• Hunter Hesseltine* (LU, JR, Starting Pitcher)
• Gavin Galy* (NICH, RJR, Relief Pitcher)
• Kanin Dodge (LU, SR, Utility)

*-2023 Southland All-Conference Selection

Second Team

• Cameron Crotte (UIW, SR, 1st Base)
• Austin Roccaforte (LU, SR, 2nd Base)
• Dylan Mach (UNO, SR, 3rd Base)
• Jake Haze* (SLU, GR, Shortstop)
• Bo Willis (NWST, SR, Catcher)
• River Orsak (LU, SR, Designated Hitter)
• Garrett Felix (NICH, SR, Outfielder)
• Cooper Hext (MCNS, SR, Outfielder)
• Christian Smith-Johnson (TAMUCC, SO, Outfielder)
• Chase Prestwich (NWST, JR, Starting Pitcher)
• Isaiah Zavala (UIW, GR, Starting Pitcher)
• Jacob Ellis (LU, SR, Starting Pitcher)
• Jackson Cleveland (LU, JR, Relief Pitcher)
• Isaiah Zavala (UIW, SR, Utility)

*-2023 Southland All-Conference Selection

Personnel

Roster

2024 Incarnate Word Cardinals Roster[4]
	Pitchers 5 – Adam Byrd – LHP – junior (6'0, 180) 11 – Larry Westall – RHP – senior (6'4, 185) 17 – Westin Walls – RHP – senior (6'5, 215) 18 – Luis Rodriguez – RHP – senior (6'0, 215) 19 – Garrett Coiner – RHP – sophomore (5'10, 165) 20 – EJ Garcia – RHP – sophomore (5'10, 170) 23 – Braden Berry – RHP – senior (6'3, 230) 27 – Dave Johnson – RHP – junior (6'4, 180) 30 – Thomas Urbina – RHP – junior (6'0, 200) 31 – Danny Davis – RHP – junior (6'6, 215) 34 – Carson Rollins – LHP – junior (6'2, 200) 37 – Sawyer Hansen – LHP – junior (6'1, 180) 38 – Ryan Schlotzhauer – LHP – junior (6'3, 190) 43 – Micah Berens – RHP – junior (6'4, 235)		Catchers 3 – JD Gregson – junior (6'4, 205) 24 – AJ Herrera – freshman (5'10, 195) 25 – Luca Boscarino – junior (5'10, 195) 37 – Cole Williams – junior (6'2, 210) Infielders 2 – Grant Randall – senior (5'10, 165) 7 – Tyler Cowan – junior (5'11, 180) 8 – Jayden Ramos – sophomore (5'9, 180) 13 – Cameron Crotte – senior (6'4, 195) 14 – Ryder Hernandez – junior (6'0, 190) 16 – Weldon Sherrell – junior (5'10, 180) 21 – Tony DeJesus – sophomore (6'0, 190) 26 – Matt Crump – junior (6'1, 200) 32 – Matt Marlow – graduate student (5'11, 200) 35 – Ryan Scott – junior (6'2, 225) 40 – Julio Riggs – graduate student (5'9, 175) 41 – Rob Liddington Jr. – junior (6'3, 190)		Outfielders 1 – Daniel Calabrese – junior (5'11, 170) 4 – Sterling Sutcliffe – senior (6'2, 185) 29 – Sam Tormos – R/R – junior (6'3, 205) 36 – Jacob Caraway – L/L – freshman (6'3, 190) 46 – Matthew Flores-King – R/R – freshman (6'0, 175)

Coaching staff

Name	Position	Seasons at Incarnate Word	Alma Mater
Ryan Shotzberger	Head Coach	5	McDaniel College (2004)
Greg Evans	Assistant Coach	5	Ole Miss (1985)
Butch Rea	Assistant Coach	1	Northeastern State
Andrew Stumph	Volunteer Assistant Coach	2	Texas State (2013)
Chance Medina	Director of Player Development	3	Incarnate Word (2021)

Schedule and results

Legend
	Incarnate Word win
	Incarnate Word loss
	Postponement/Cancelation/Suspensions
Bold	Incarnate Word team member
*	Non-Conference game

2024 Incarnate Word Cardinals baseball game log
Regular season (25–29)
February (7–2) Date Opponent Rank Site/stadium Site Score Win Loss Save TV Attendance Overall record SLC Record February 16 Villanova* Sullivan Field San Antonio, TX 12–7 Hargett, Hunter (1-0) Rivera, Devin (0-1) None ESPN+ 215 1–0 February 17 Villanova* Sullivan Field San Antonio, TX 7–6 Johnson , Dave (1-0) Mintz, Ryan (0-1) None 144 2–0 February 18 Villanova* Sullivan Field San Antonio, TX 9–6 Berens, Micah (1-0) Udell, Cade (0-1) None ESPN+ 92 3–0 February 20 at Texas A&M* 8 Olsen Field at Blue Bell Park College Station, TX 3–9 Cortez, Chris (1-0) Johnson , Dave (1-1) None None 4,870 3–1 February 21 UIC* Sullivan Field San Antonio, TX 22–7 (7 inn) Beck, Dalton (1-0) Smith, Ryan (0-1) None ESPN+ 53 4–1 February 23 Alcorn State* Sullivan Field San Antonio, TX 14–4 (7 inn) Salinas, Josh (1-0) Braziel, Kewan (0-2) None ESPN+ 74 5–1 February 24 Alcorn State* Sullivan Field San Antonio, TX 15–0 (7 inn) Zavala, Isaiah (1-0) Guershon, Exi (0-2) None ESPN+ 92 6–1 February 25 Alcorn State* Sullivan Field San Antonio, TX 18–1 (7 inn) Schlotzhauer, Ryan (1-0) Chirinos, Andres (0-1) None ESPN+ 94 7–1 February 27 Tarleton State* Sullivan Field San Antonio, TX 10–15 Garza, Grant (2-0) Berens, Micah (1-1) None ESPN+ 44 7–2
March (8–9) Date Opponent Rank Site/stadium Score Win Loss Save TV Attendance Overall record SLC Record March 1 at Louisiana–Monroe* Lou St. Amant Field Monroe, LA 5–6 Orton, Carson (2-0) Zavala, Isaiah (1-1) Nobe 936 7–3 March 2 at Louisiana–Monroe* Lou St. Amant Field Monroe, LA 7–4 Walls, Westin (1-0) Barlow, Cam (0-1) None 967 8–3 March 3 at Louisiana–Monroe* Lou St. Amant Field Monroe, LA 1–7 Lindsay, Trey (1-1) Byrd, Adam (0-1) None 961 8–4 March 5 UT Rio Grande Valley* Sullivan Field San Antonio, TX 7–5 Beck, Dalton (2-0) Garza, Randy (0-1) Walls, Westin (1) ESPN+ 45 9–4 March 6 Prairie View A&M* Sullivan Field San Antonio, TX 23–20 Walls, Westin (2-0) Victor Mendoza (0-3) None ESPN+ 37 10–4 March 8 Texas Southern* Sullivan Field San Antonio, TX 11–4 Berry, Braden (1-0) Dade Hensley (1-3) None ESPN+ 65 11–4 March 9 Texas Southern* Sullivan Field San Antonio, TX 6–0 Zavala, Isaiah (2-1) Dalton Alford (0-4) None ESPN+ 195 12–4 March 10 Texas Southern* Sullivan Field San Antonio, TX 11–4 Johnson , Dave (2-1) Josiah Castro (0-3) None ESPN+ 162 13–4 March 12 at Texas* 23 UFCU Disch–Falk Field Austin, TX 1–7 Fontenot, Grant (1-1) Beck, Dalton (2-1) None 7,211 13–5 March 19 at UT Rio Grande Valley* UTRGV Baseball Stadium Edinburg, TX 4–5 Rodriguez, Nico (2-0) Walls, Westin (2-1) None ESPN+ 1,612 13–6 March 22 Texas A&M–Corpus Christi Sullivan Field San Antonio, TX 12–2 (7 inn) Salinas, Josh (2-0) Watson, Matthew (1-3) None ESPN+ 103 14–6 1–0 March 23 Texas A&M–Corpus Christi Sullivan Field San Antonio, TX 5–11 Hunsaker, Riley (3-2) Zavala, Isaiah (2-2) Hill, Jack (1) ESPN+ 144 14–7 1–1 March 24 Texas A&M–Corpus Christi Sullivan Field San Antonio, TX 12–14 Garcia, Zach (2-0) Walls, Westin (2-2) None ESPN+ 152 14–8 1–2 March 26 at Tarleton State* Cecil Ballow Baseball Complex Stephenville, TX 4–8 Burcham, Jake (1-2) Smith, Luke (0-1) None 403 14–9 Mar 28 at New Orleans Maestri Field at Privateer Park New Orleans, LA 2–12 (8 inn) Mercer, Colton (3-3) Johnson , Dave (2-2) None ESPN+ 324 14–10 1–3 Mar 29 at New Orleans Maestri Field at Privateer Park New Orleans, LA 2–0 Salinas, Josh (3-0) Edwards, Grant (2-2) None ESPN+ 308 15–10 2–3 Mar 30 at New Orleans Maestri Field at Privateer Park New Orleans, LA 9–10 Calloway, Bryce (1-1) Walls, Westin (2-3) None ESPN+ 367 15–11 2–4
April (8–9) Date Opponent Rank Site/stadium Score Win Loss Save TV Attendance Overall record SLC Record April 2 UTSA* Sullivan Field San Antonio, TX 4–7 Owens (3-1) Walls, Westin (2-4) Riojas (5) ESPN+ 88 15–12 April 5 at Baylor* Baylor Ballpark Waco, TX 7–13 Marriott, Mason (1-3) Salinas, Josh (3-1) None 1,783 15–13 April 6 at Baylor* Baylor Ballpark Waco, TX 3–15 McKinney, Collin (3-3) Zavala, Isaiah (2-3) None 1,837 15–14 April 7 at Baylor* Baylor Ballpark Waco, TX 14–1 (8 inn) Johnson , Dave (3-2) Green, Mason (1-4) None 1,667 16–14 April 9 at Rice* Reckling Park Houston, TX 11–5 Smith, Luke (1-1) Tyler Hamilton (0-4) Byrd, Adam (1) 1,783 17–14 April 10 at Southern* Lee–Hines Field Baton Rouge, LA – (-) Cancelled () – Apr 12 at McNeese Joe Miller Ballpark Lake Charles, LA 8–6 Salinas, Josh (4-1) JT Moeller (2-3) Rodriguez, Luis (1) ESPN+ 945 18–14 3–4 Apr 13 at McNeese Joe Miller Ballpark Lake Charles, LA 10–3 Zavala, Isaiah (3-3) Zach Voss (0-4) None ESPN+ 986 19–14 4–4 Apr 14 at McNeese Joe Miller Ballpark Lake Charles, LA 10–5 Johnson , Dave (4-2) Alexis Gravel (0-2) None ESPN+ 989 20–14 5–4 April 16 Texas State* Sullivan Field San Antonio, TX 10–8 McCaffety, Rhett (2-0) Berens, Micah (1-2) None ESPN+ 105 20–15 Apr 19 Northwestern State Sullivan Field San Antonio, TX 6–3 Davis, Danny (1-0) Prestwich, Chase (3-4) Byrd, Adam (2) ESPN+ 75 21–15 6–4 Apr 20 Northwestern State Sullivan Field San Antonio, TX 10–6 Zavala, Isaiah (4-3) Marquez, Alejandro (0-1) None ESPN+ 84 22–15 7–4 Apr 21 Northwestern State Sullivan Field San Antonio, TX 5–0 Hargett, Hunter (2-0) Flowers, Dawson (1-3) Johnson , Dave (1) ESPN+ 94 23–15 8–4 April 23 at Texas State* Bobcat Baseball Stadium San Marcos, TX 0–10 (7 inn) Robie, Tony (4-3) Garcia, EJ (0-1) None 1,777 23–16 Apr 26 at Lamar Vincent–Beck Stadium Beaumont, TX 3–11 Moseley, Kyle (3-0) Rodriguez, Luis (0-1) None ESPN+ 1,307 23–17 8–5 Apr 27 at Lamar Vincent–Beck Stadium Beaumont, TX 2–3 Cleveland, Jackson (4-0) Byrd, Adam (0-2) Perez, Andres (6) ESPN+ 1,011 23–18 8–6 Apr 28 at Lamar Vincent–Beck Stadium Beaumont, TX 2–8 Hesseltine, Hunter (5-1) Hargett, Hunter (2-1) None ESPN+ 1,009 23–19 8–7 Apr 30 at Prairie View A&M* John W. Tankersley Field Prairie View, TX 6–7 Tyson Carlton (2-3) Byrd, Adam (0-3) None 72 23–20
May (2–9) Date Opponent Rank Site/stadium Score Win Loss Save TV Attendance Overall record SLC Record May 3 Nicholls Sullivan Field San Antonio, TX 7–6 Salinas, Josh (5-1) Mayers, Jacob (3-1) Byrd, Adam (3) ESPN+ 97 24–20 9–7 May 4 Nicholls Sullivan Field San Antonio, TX 6–7 Saltaformaggio, Nico (4-4) Johnson, Dave (4-3) None ESPN+ 115 24–21 9–8 May 5 Nicholls Sullivan Field San Antonio, TX 7–10 Desandro, Devin (5-4) Walls, Westin (2-5) None ESPN+ 117 24–22 9–9 May 7 at Abilene Christian* Crutcher Scott Field Abilene, TX 5–9 Palmer, Blaine (2-0) Urbina, Tomas (0-1) None ESPN+ 337 24–23 May 10 Southeastern Louisiana Sullivan Field San Antonio, TX 0–9 Stuprich, Brennan (4-3) Salinas, Josh (5-2) None ESPN+ 113 24–24 9–10 May 11 Southeastern Louisiana Sullivan Field San Antonio, TX 7–13 Aspholm, Dalton (2-0) Zavala, Isaiah (4-4) None ESPN+ 136 24–25 9–11 May 12 Southeastern Louisiana Sullivan Field San Antonio, TX 11–12 Polk, Lakin (5-3) Berens, Micah (1-3) Robb, Carson (1) ESPN+ 153 24–26 9–12 May 14 at UTSA* Roadrunner Field San Antonio, TX 3–13 (8 inn) Beaird,Ryan (2-0) Mendoza, Edward (0-1) None 682 24–27 May 16 at Houston Christian Husky Field Houston, TX 2–4 Edwards, Parker (5-5) Salinas, Josh (5-3) Diaz, Christian (2) 113 24–28 9–13 May 18 vs Houston Christian Vincent–Beck Stadium Beaumont, TX[5] 3–5 Lopez, Mark (3-0) Zavala, Isaiah (4-5) None ESPN+ 24–29 9–14 May 18 vs Houston Christian Vincent–Beck Stadium Beaumont, TX[5] 14–4 Berens, Micah (2-3) Hamilton, Jackson (1-3) None ESPN+ 25–29 10–14
Post-season (1–1)
Southland Tournament (1–1) Date Opponent (Seed)/Rank Site/stadium Score Win Loss Save TV Attendance Overall record Tournament record May 22 vs. (1) Lamar (8) Pat Kenelly Diamond at Alumni Field Hammond, LA 6–3 Byrd, Adam(1-3) Perez, Andres(2-1) None ESPN+ 26–29 1–0 May 23 vs. (5) McNeese (8) Pat Kenelly Diamond at Alumni Field Hammond, LA 2–6 Alexis Gravel(2-4) Zavala, Isaiah(4-6) Cameron LeJeune (6) ESPN+ 26–30 1–1 May 24 vs. (1) Lamar (8) Pat Kenelly Diamond at Alumni Field Hammond, LA 6–18 (7 inn) Hesseltine, Hunter(7-3) Berens, Micah(2-4) None ESPN+ 26–31 1–2 Schedule Source:[6][7] [8][9][10][11][12][13][14] *Rankings are based on the team's current ranking in the D1Baseball poll.

See also

2024 Incarnate Word Cardinals softball team

References

1. "2024 Southland Conference Baseball Standings". southland.org. Retrieved June 4, 2024.
2. "Ryan Shotzberger - Baseball Coach". University of the Incarnate Word Athletics. Retrieved December 23, 2023.
3. James Hill (February 8, 2024). "Nicholls Chosen to Repeat at Southland Baseball Champions; Preseason All-Conference Team Released". Southland Conference. Retrieved February 8, 2024.
4. "2024 Baseball Roster". UIW Athletics. Retrieved February 24, 2024.
5. "BSB: Saturday's Doubleheader Moved to Lamar University at 2 pm - The Huskies and Cardinals will play two in Beaumont". Houston Christian University. May 18, 2024. Retrieved May 18, 2024.
6. "2024 Baseball Schedule". University of the Incarnate Word Athletics. Retrieved December 23, 2023.
7. Phil Stratton (September 25, 2023). "Extra Bases - 2024 Team Schedules". College Baseball Insider. Retrieved January 13, 2024.
8. "2024 Baseball Schedule". The University of Texas at Austin Athletics. Retrieved December 23, 2023.
9. "2024 Baseball Schedule". Texas A&M Athletics. Retrieved December 23, 2023.
10. "2024 Baseball Schedule". Tarleton State University. Retrieved December 23, 2023.
11. "2024 Baseball Schedule". Abilene Christian University. Retrieved December 23, 2023.
12. "2024 Baseball Schedule". UTRGV. Retrieved December 23, 2023.
13. "2024 Baseball Schedule". Texas State University. Retrieved December 23, 2023.
14. "2024 Baseball Schedule". Rice University. Retrieved December 23, 2023.