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HBU Huskies (4-4) at Central Arkansas Invitational
Western Illinois, Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Louisiana-Monroe, Central Arkansas
Feb. 24-26
Farris Field • Conway, Ark.
Tournament Information | Live Audio
CONWAY, Ark. – Winners of their last two, the Huskies travel to the site of the 2017 Southland Conference Tournament, Farris Field on the campus of Central Arkansas, for four games at the Central Arkansas Invitational beginning Friday, Feb. 23.
The Huskies (4-4) open the tournament against the Western Illinois Leathernecks (2-7) on Friday at 11:30 a.m. On Saturday, HBU will play a pair of games beginning with Arkansas-Pine Bluff (2-8) at 10 a.m. with a break before taking on Louisiana-Monroe (8-4) at 5:30 p.m. The final game of the tournament will be Sunday against the host Bears (2-8) at 11:30 a.m. The meeting between HBU and UCA will be the only meeting between the conference foes this season.
HBU has won its last two games, scoring six runs in both. Freshman
Shae Bibby threw a complete game shutout in a 6-0 victory over Prairie View A&M and senior
Emily Mueller had a strong six innings against Texas Southern, not allowing a runner past second base of an eventual 6-3 win.
After winning two of their first three, the Leathernecks have dropped six-straight games. Western Illinois has a 5.55 team ERA and has allowed 10 home runs in just nine games. Nina Maggio leads the team with eight RBI while batting .360 and Rachel Beatty has scored seven runs.
Arkansas-Pine Bluff enters the weekend having lost three of four last weekend at the LSU-Alexandria tournament. The Lions are led offensively by Paige Garcia who has three home runs and 12 RBI to go along with a batting average of .385. Tonnay Hawkins owns a .556 average and leads the team with seven runs scored. UAPB has been out-scored 75-30 this season.
Louisiana-Monroe is led in the circle by senior Melanie Coyne, owner of a 5-2 record and a 1.15 ERA. Coyne has delivered three shutouts already this season with a .152 batting average against and 33 strikeouts in 47 innings. As a team, the Warhawks are averaging nearly five runs per game.
Last weekend, Central Arkansas lost three of four at the LSU Purple and Gold Challenge, including a pair of games to the host Tigers. The Bears are batting just .201 as a team but Briana Whisenhunt was named the most recent Southland Conference Hitter of the Week after batting .474 for the week. She is hitting .314 on the season.
Fans can listen to all the action during the tournament, and all season, thanks to the Legacy Sports Network's live audio broadcasts with Bill Cousins providing play-by-play. Every broadcast can be found at www.HBUHuskies.com.
The Huskies will have a week and a half before their next game when they travel to Lake Charles, La. for a single non-conference game against reigning Southland champion McNeese at 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday, March 8.
