Cardinals ace Adam Rimlinger pitched his way onto the All-Heartland Conference team.

A threesome of pitcher Adam Rimlinger, catcher Chris Solis and outfielder Ryan Watkins were voted onto the Heartland’s first team while designated batter Jason Miori was selected for the second unit.

The Cardinals finished third in the title competition with a record of 23-17. On the year, UIW was 34-21 which was the seventh consecutive season for the Cardinals to win 30-plus games, and the 11th time in the last 12 for that to happen.

St. Edward’s won the Heartland title and the trip to the NCAA Division II regional tournament, displacing the Cardinals who had won the last two titles.

A junior from Waco, Rimlinger was the Incarnate Word top of the rotation hurler for most of the year. The righthander finished with a 6-3 mark and a 2.84 earned run average. He started 14 times and had eight complete games. In the Heartland, he was top nine in eight categories including first in complete games and second in innings pitched.

Senior Ryan Watkins was All-Heartland after being top eight in nine offensive categories. Contributed Photo

In the outfield, Watkins, a senior from Albuquerque, N. M., batted .350 for the year. His nine home runs tied for the team lead and his 50 RBI were second on the team. He was among the Heartland stats leaders in 10 offensive categories. He was third in home runs, triples (5) RBI

Miori, a senior from New Braunfels, spent most of his time as the designated batter but also saw action behind the plate. His final average was .328. His 10 doubles tied for the team lead as did his nine home runs. He was the Cardinals’ leader with his 59 RBI. He too was influential in Heartland statistics while being top 10 in five areas. His RBI were second and his home runs were third.