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RUSTON, La. – HBU softball begins their season this weekend, when the Huskies participate in the Lady Techster Tournament, hosted by Louisiana Tech. HBU opens the tournament Friday against Saint Louis at 2:15 pm, play Jackson State and UT Martin Saturday, and conclude the tournament against host LA Tech Sunday at 1:30 pm.

Due to snow in the forecast Thursday night in the Ruston area, each team will only play one game on Friday, instead of the planned two. So the HBU-Wichita State game, originally planned for 3:45 pm, has been cancelled. The games for Saturday and Sunday are scheduled as planned.

All games will be brought to you live from the Legacy Sports Network, as Chase Hernandez calls the action.

HBU (15-27 in 2013, 6-20 SLC) returns 10 letterwinners and six starters from a season ago. Despite losing nine letterwinners, the Huskies have brought in five new faces and are optimistic for 2014.

The Huskies return two major Southland Conference award winners from a season ago: the 2013 Southland Newcomer of the Year, Lauren Schwirtlich, and the 2013 Southland Freshman of the Year, Kirsten Schwirtlich. L. Schwirtlich led the conference with a .418 batting average, while K. Schwirtlich led the conference with a .699 slugging percentage and was seventh with a .366 batting average.

Also returning for the Huskies are Victoria Granchelli and Melissa Herman, who were named First Team All-Conference and Third Team All-Conference, respectively. Granchelli hit .287 with three home runs, while Herman had a .325 average with seven doubles and two homers.

HBU lost three of its four pitchers to graduation, leaving only senior Kendall Stiefel. Stiefel appeared in 18 games with nine starts, going 5-6 with a 3.61 ERA. She walked 25 batters and struck out 41, good for second-most on the team.

Saint Louis went 28-23 in 2013 and 13-9 in Atlantic 10. The Billikens return Lindsay Friedman, who hit .290 with 30 RBI and went 14-of-15 in stolen bases last season.

Jackson State went 28-29 last season and 13-4 in the SWAC. The Lady Jags return Preseason SWAC Pitcher of the Year, Breea Jackson, who went 17-21, with a 3.05 ERA, three shutouts, and 104 strikeouts.

UT Martin went 37-20 overall last season and 14-10 in Ohio Valley Conference. The Skyhawks reached the OVC championship game last season for the fourth time in the last five seasons.

Louisiana Tech went 27-26 in 2013 with an 11-10 mark in the WAC. The Lady Techsters hit .289 as a team last season and return leading hitter Erin Kipp, who hit .349 with 14 doubles, two triples, and four home runs.