The 2023 Incarnate Word Cardinals baseball team represented the University of the Incarnate Word during the 2023 NCAA Division I baseball season. The Cardinals played their home games at Sullivan Field and were led by fourth–year head coach Ryan Shotzberger. They are members of the Southland Conference.

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 3, 2023. Incarnate Word was picked to finish ninth in the Southland Conference with 20 votes.

Coaches poll 1 McNeese 118 (7) 2 Southeastern Louisiana 115 (10) 3 Lamar 88 4 New Orleans 87 5 Northwestern State 65 (1) 6 Nicholls 59 7 Texas A&M–Corpus Christi 55 8 Houston Christian 41 9 Incarnate Word 20

Preseason All-Southland team One Incarnate Word player was named to the conference preseason first team.

First Team Alec Carr (UIW, SR, Utility)

Personnel

Roster 2023 Incarnate Word Cardinals Roster Pitchers 6 – Isaiah Zavala – RHP – senior (5'11, 145) 11 – Larry Westall – RHP – junior (6'4, 185) 12 – Kayden Cassidy – LHP – senior (6'0, 180) 15 – Steve Hayward – RHP – senior (6'5, 188) 16 – Seth Higdon – RHP – senior (6'2, 205) 17 – Westin Walls – RHP – junior (6'5, 215) 18 – Luis Rodriguez – RHP – junior (6'0, 215) 19 – Garrett Coiner – RHP – freshman (5'10, 165) 20 – EJ Garcia – RHP – freshman (5'9, 170) 23 – Braden Berry – RHP – junior (6'2, 230) 27 – Dave Johnson – RHP – junior (6'4, 180) 28 – Otto Stacey – RHP – senior (6'2, 195) 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) 41 – Hunter Murray – RHP – senior (6'0, 200) 43 – Micah Berens – RHP – junior (6'4, 235) Catchers 8 – Jared Rhodes – R/R – junior (6'0, 185) 24 – Hernan Yanez – R/R – senior (6'0, 200) 30 – Tommy McCormick – R/R – junior (6'0, 215)

Infielders 0 – Jacob Ruiz – R/R – freshman (6'0, 195) 2 – Grant Randall – R/R – junior (5'10, 165) 3 – Tyler Preece – R/R – junior (6'0, 195) 5 – Alec Carr – R/R – senior (6'0, 210) 13 – Cameron Crotte – R/R – junior (6'4, 195) 21 – Tony DeJesus – R/R – freshman (6'0, 190) 22 – Til Nalle – R/R – freshman (6'1, 195) 25 – Joe Jimenez – R/R – senior (6'3, 190) 26 – Matt Crump – R/R – junior (6'1, 200) 32 – Jimmy De Leon – R/R – senior (5'8, 180) Outfielders 1 – Daniel Calabrese – R/R – sophomore (5'11, 170) 4 – Sterling Sutcliffe – L/L – junior (6'2, 185) 7 – Warren Laster – L/L – senior (5'10, 170) 9 – Jamey Richey – R/R – senior (6'5, 205) 29 – Sam Tormos – R/R – junior (6'3, 205) 33 – Rey Mendoza – L/L – senior (6'5, 210) 35 – Wilson Ehrhardt – L/L – senior (6'1, 215) 36 – Jacob Caraway – L/L – freshman (6'3, 190) 46 – Matthew Flores-King – R/R – freshman (6'0, 175) 

Coaching staff Name Position Seasons atIncarnate Word Alma mater Ryan Shotzberger Head coach 4 McDaniel College (2004) Greg Evans Assistant Coach 4 Ole Miss (1985) Quintin Crandall Assistant Coach 2 Kansas State (2017) Andrew Stumph Volunteer Assistant Coach 1 Texas State (2013) Chance Medina Director of Player Development 2 Incarnate Word (2021)

Schedule and results Legend Incarnate Word win Incarnate Word loss Postponement/Cancelation/SuspensionsBoldIncarnate Word team member * Non-Conference game

2023 Incarnate Word Cardinals baseball game log Regular season (28–26) February (3–5) Date Opponent Rank Site/stadiumSite Score Win Loss Save TV Attendance Overall record SLC RecordFebruary 17 * Sullivan FieldSan Antonio, TX L 0–2 ESPN+ 95 0–1 February 18 SIU Edwardsville* Sullivan FieldSan Antonio, TX W 5–1 I. Zavala (1-0) H. Cooper (0-1) None ESPN+ 149 1–1 February 19 SIU Edwardsville* Sullivan FieldSan Antonio, TX L 5–9 T. Conrad (1-0) C. Rollins (0-1) J. Kampf (1) ESPN+ 165 1–2 February 21 * Sullivan FieldSan Antonio, TX L 3–5 G. Garza (1-0) E. Garcia (0-1) Z. Poe (1) ESPN+ 128 1–3 Klegberg Bank College ClassicFebruary 24 * Corpus Christi, TX K. Cassidy (1-1) H. Thomas (1-1) None 883 2–3 February 25 * Whataburger FieldCorpus Christi, TX L 6–13 M. Ashman (1-0) S. Higdon (0-1) None 173 2–4 February 26 * Whataburger FieldCorpus Christi, TX W 10–8 S. Hayward (1-0) None 233 3–4 February 28 * Sullivan FieldSan Antonio, TX L 8–12 O. Wofford (1-0) E. Garcia (0-2) None ESPN+ 220 3–5 March (10–8) Date Opponent Rank Site/stadium Score Win Loss Save TV Attendance Overall record SLC RecordMarch 1 at UTSA* Roadrunner FieldSan Antonio, TX L 1–2 S. Miller (3-0) None None 391 3–6 March 3 * Sullivan FieldSan Antonio, TX W 5–413 S. Hayward (2-0) C. Orton (1-1) None ESPN+ 75 4–6 March 4 Louisiana–Monroe* Sullivan FieldSan Antonio, TX I. Zavala (2-0) C. Cressend (1-2) E. Garcia (1) ESPN+ 178 5–6 March 5 Louisiana–Monroe* Sullivan FieldSan Antonio, TX W 12–4 R. Schlotzhauer (1-0) C. Menard (1-1) None ESPN+ 90 6–6 March 7 at * Olsen Field at Blue Bell ParkCollege Station, TX L 5–13 B. Rudis (2-0) S. Higdon (0-2) None 4,653 6–7 March 10 * Sullivan FieldSan Antonio, TX W 6–5 O. Stacey (1-0) E. Ozoa (0-1) None ESPN+ 84 7–7 March 11 Southern* Sullivan FieldSan Antonio, TX W 11–4 I. Zavala (3-0) N. Wilson (0-2) None ESPN+ 112 8–7 March 12 Southern* Sullivan FieldSan Antonio, TX W 12–27 M. Berens (1-0) C. Davis (0-2) None ESPN+ 83 9–7 March 14 at * John W. Tankersley FieldPrairie View, TX W 5–4 L. Westall (1-0) G. Busch (0-2) S. Hayward (1) 132 10–7 March 17 at Tarleton * Cecil Ballow Baseball ComplexStephenville, TX L 6–10 J. Burcham (2-1) L. Rodriguez (0-2) None ESPN+ 348 10–8 March 18 at Tarleton * Cecil Ballow Baseball ComplexStephenville, TX L 4–5 R. Elston (2-0) S. Hayward (2-1) None ESPN+ 402 10–9 March 19 at Tarleton * Cecil Ballow Baseball ComplexStephenville, TX L 7–8 R. Jacobs (1-0) D. Johnson (0-1) None ESPN+ 438 10–10 March 21 at Texas* UFCU Disch–Falk FieldAustin, TX C. Hurley (2-0) S. Higdon (0-3) None 6,182 10–11 March 24 Houston Christian Sullivan FieldSan Antonio, TX W 7–311 S. Hayward (3-1) None ESPN+ 230 11–11 1–0March 25 Houston Christian Sullivan FieldSan Antonio, TX W 7–6 D. Farrow (0-1) E. Garcia (2) ESPN+ 110 12–11 2–0March 26 Houston Christian Sullivan FieldSan Antonio, TX L 6–7 C. Ricker (3-2) S. Hayward (3-2) ESPN+ 157 12–12 2–1March 28 Prairie View A&M* Sullivan FieldSan Antonio, TX W 6–2 C. Rollins (1–1) K. Carrick (0–2) W. Walls (1) ESPN+ 83 13–12 2–1 Hammond, LA L 2–10 B. Stuprich (3–2) K. Cassidy (1–2) None ESPN+ 1,254 13–13 2–2 April (9–7) Date Opponent Rank Site/stadium Score Win Loss Save TV Attendance Overall record SLC RecordApril 1 Hammond, LA W 5–2 I. Zavala (4–0) ESPN+ 1,275 14–13 3–2April 2 at Southeastern Louisiana Pat Kenelly Diamond at Alumni FieldHammond, LA A. Landry (2-4) ESPN+ 1,258 15–13 4–2April 4 UTSA* Sullivan FieldSan Antonio, TX W 9–6 D. Shafer (0-1) None ESPN+ 276 16–13 4–2 at Nicholls Ben Meyer Diamond at Ray E. Didier FieldThibodaux, LA W 9–8 C. Evans (0–1) S. Hayward (3) 165 17–13 5–2 at Nicholls Ben Meyer Diamond at Ray E. Didier FieldThibodaux, LA L 1–8 M. Quevedo (2–0) S. Higdon (0–4) None 107 17–14 5–3April 8 at Nicholls Ben Meyer Diamond at Ray E. Didier FieldThibodaux, LA W 8–3 I. Zavala (5-0) M. Berens (1) 534 18–14 6–3April 14 Lamar Sullivan FieldSan Antonio, TX W 9–7 O. Stacey (2-0) J. Cleveland (3-3) None ESPN+ 191 19–14 7–3April 15 Lamar Sullivan FieldSan Antonio, TX W 5–1 I. Zavala (6-0) J. Ellis (2-2) S. Hayward (4) ESPN+ 230 20–14 8–3April 16 Lamar Sullivan FieldSan Antonio, TX L 1–6 H. Hesseltine (2-1) M. Berens (2-1) None ESPN+ 202 20–15 8–4April 18 UTRGV* Sullivan FieldSan Antonio, TX Z. Tjelmeland (2-1) S. Hayward (4-3) N. Rodriguez (2) ESPN+ 109 20–16 April 19 at * Grambling, LA 19–3(7 inn) Higdon, Seth (1-4) Jacorey Boudreaux (1-4) None 75 21–15 April 21 at Northwestern State H. Alvin Brown–C. C. Stroud FieldNatchitoches, LA 11–5(10 inn) Hayward, Steve (5-3) Prestwich, Chase (4-2) None 673 22–15 9–4April 22 at Northwestern State H. Alvin Brown–C. C. Stroud FieldNatchitoches, LA 4–10 Makarewich, Alex (4-3) Zavala, Isaiah (6-1) None 915 22–16 9–5April 23 at Northwestern State H. Alvin Brown–C. C. Stroud FieldNatchitoches, LA 0–10(8 inn) Brown, Drayton (3-5) Berens, Micah (2-2) None 769 22–17 9–6April 25 UTRGV* UTRGV Baseball StadiumEdinburg, TX 8–9 Loya, Bobby (1-0) Higdon, Seth (1-5) Rodriguez, Nico (3) 2,262 22–18 April 28 McNeese Sullivan FieldSan Antonio, TX 8–7 Hayward, Steve (6-3) Abraham, Ty (1-1) None ESPN+ 84 23–18 10–6April 29 McNeese Sullivan FieldSan Antonio, TX 8–6 Cassidy, Kayden (2-2) Jones, Burrell (3-2) Hayward, Steve (5) ESPN+ 147 24–19 11–6 McNeese Sullivan FieldSan Antonio, TX 2–9 Barthelemy, Brock (2-0) Berens, Micah (2-3) None ESPN+ 110 24–20 11–7 Rescheduled from April 8 as a single-admission doubleheader due to the threat of inclement weather. May (4–4) Date Opponent Rank Site/stadium Score Win Loss Save TV Attendance Overall record SLC RecordMay 2 at Texas State* Bobcat Baseball StadiumSan Marcos, TX 5–10 Medrano, Nathan (2-2) Garcia, EJ (0-3) None 1,434 24–21 May 9 at * Reckling ParkHouston, TX 10–1 Rollins, Carson (2-1) Ryland Urbanczyk (0-1) None 1,738 25–21 May 12 New Orleans Sullivan FieldSan Antonio, TX 1–12(7) Mitchell, Brandon (9-3 Schlotzhauer, Ryan (2-1) () ESPN+ 86 25–22 11–8May 12 New Orleans Sullivan FieldSan Antonio, TX 11–10 Hayward, Steve (7-3) Blanchard, Beau (0-4) None ESPN+ 112 26–22 12–8May 14 New Orleans Sullivan FieldSan Antonio, TX 5–15 LeBlanc, Tyler (3-3) Berens, Micah (2-4) None ESPN+ 114 26–23 12–9May 18 Texas A&M–Corpus Christi Chapman FieldCorpus Christi, TX 9–6 Cassidy, Kayden (3-2) Watson, Matthew (6-4) Hayward, Steve (6) ESPN+ 334 27–23 13–9May 19 Texas A&M–Corpus Christi Chapman FieldCorpus Christi, TX 3–7 Purcell, Colin (5-6) Schlotzhauer, Ryan (2-2) None ESPN+ 405 27–24 13–10May 20 Texas A&M–Corpus Christi Chapman FieldCorpus Christi, TX 5–1 Rollins, Carson (3-1) Garcia, Zach (2-5) Hayward, Steve (7) ESPN+ 345 28–24 14–10 Postseason (0–2) (0–2) Date Opponent (Seed)/Rank Site/stadium Score Win Loss Save TV Attendance Overall record Tournament recordMay 24 vs. (5) Northwestern State (2) Joe Miller BallparkLake Charles, LA 1–2 Carver, Cal (7-3) Cassidy, Kayden (3-3) Prestwich, Chase (2) ESPN+ 28–25 0–1May 25 vs. (6) McNeese (2) Joe Miller BallparkLake Charles, LA 0–3 Hudgens, Bryson (1-0) Berens, Micah (2-5) Barthelemy, Brock (3) ESPN+ 28–26 0–2 Schedule source: *Rankings are based on the team's current ranking in the D1Baseball poll.

References