HBU Huskies (10-12, 2-4 SLC) vs. McNeese State (19-6, 6-0 SLC)
March. 24-25Husky Field • Houston, TexasLive Stream | Live Audio | Live Stats HOUSTON – The HBU softball team will continue Southland Conference play and open a four-game homestand, hosing McNeese State in a three-game series across March 24-25 at Husky Field. The two teams will play a single game at 4 p.m. on Thursday, before closing with a doubleheader beginning at 11 a.m. on Good Friday.
A video and audio broadcast with Bill Cousins will be available on HBUHuskies.com, beginning with the pregame show 15 minutes prior to the first pitch of each contest.
The Huskies, 4-2 at home this season, are looking to rebound from a 2-1 series loss at Northwestern State across March 18-19. HBU took the opener from the Lady Demons, 10-6, before falling 5-0 and 2-5.
Senior righthander
Laci Belovsky leads the Huskies in the circle, owning a 6-6 record and 3.87 ERA through 16 appearances and 12 starts. Belovsky has also logged a staff-best eight complete games, with 26 strikeouts across 76 innings pitched.
At the plate, freshman shortstop
Savana Guidry continues to bolster the offense with a .369 batting average, while senior third baseman
Shay Orsak (.328) and sophomore utility player
Libby Brown (.303) and Belovsky (.333), are all hitting above a .300 clip, respectively. Guidry also leads the team in on base percentage (.423), runs (14) and stolen bases (9), and ranks second in slugging percentage (.446).
Senior catcher
Caitlin Gunn leads the HBU in slugging percentage (.482) and is tied for the team lead with senior first baseman
Erica Reyes and freshman second baseman
Demi Janak with three home runs. Janak holds the team mark with 13 RBI.
The Cowgirls, winners of five their last six games, enter the series with a 19-6 overall record and unblemished 6-0 mark in league play to sit in first place in the standings. McNeese is coming off a three-game sweep of Texas A&M-Corpus Christi across March 18-19.
The Cowgirls, who have outscored Southland opponents 60-7 and outhit them 60-19, are led by sophomore Erika Piancastelli (.431) and junior Marisa Taunton (.413), who are both hitting over .400 on the season. Piancastelli leads the team with 11 home runs, 26 RBI, 28 runs scored and 19 walks, while Taunton leads the squad with 12 stolen bases and two triples. The two Cowgirls are tied for the team lead with 31 hits.
Sophomore Hailey Drew, who is hitting .359, leads McNeese with seven doubles and is 11-for-11 in stolen bases.
Senior lefthander Emily Vincent captains the pitching staff with a 6-2 overall record and 1.75 ERA on the season, holding a 0.54 ERA in conference play. Senior righthander Jamie Allred is 7-1 on the season with a 1.40 ERA, junior righthander Rachel Smith is 5-1 overall. All three McNeese pitchers have two wins to open conference play, as Smith and Vincent are coming off no-hitters against TAMU-CC.
Following the weekend, the Huskies will host Louisiana-Monroe in a 3 p.m. first pitch on March 29 to close their homestand.
