The New Orleans Privateers baseball team will host the University of the Incarnate Word (UIW) Cardinals in a three-game series beginning Friday night at Maestri Field, according to a March 12 announcement. All games are scheduled to be broadcast on ESPN+.
This matchup comes after the Privateers split a two-game midweek set against Mississippi Valley State, winning the first game 14-0 and dropping the second 9-7. Rex Henderson contributed four shutout innings in the victory, while an eighth-inning home run by Mississippi Valley State secured their win in game two.
Heading into the weekend, New Orleans has hit 24 home runs over 18 games, ranking second in the Southland Conference behind UIW’s 28 home runs. The Privateers also place among the top 50 NCAA Division I teams for home runs this season. Owen Smith has been a standout performer recently, going 10-for-20 with three home runs, two doubles, and eleven runs batted in over his last four games. Smith is currently slugging .667—fourth best in the conference—and ranks fourth in RBI with 21.
Skylar Jones made his third appearance of the season during Tuesday’s game against Mississippi Valley State and has recorded seven strikeouts with only one walk across his first three outings.
Historically, New Orleans leads UIW 16-12 in their all-time series across 28 games. There have been three sweeps between these teams: UIW swept New Orleans at home in 2019; New Orleans swept UIW both in 2021 and most recently in 2025. Recent meetings have featured high-scoring affairs, with at least one team scoring ten or more runs in seven of their last eight contests.
UIW enters this weekend leading the conference not only in total home runs but also with eight players each hitting between three and four homers this year. Jake Weaver is batting .390 for UIW and has nine extra-base hits among his twenty-three total hits.
