YOUNGSVILLE, La. – The HCU softball team keeps rolling through early season tournament play this Friday through Sunday when they head to the Youngsville Sports outside Lafayette for the 10-team Mardi Gras Mambo tournament.
HCU (4-2) is coming off an 8-0 victory over Texas Southern on Wednesday, the team's third shutout win of the season. Freshman
Ronni Grofman earned her first career win in the circle, allowing just a pair of singles while striking out four and walking none.
Junior
Kaicey Hagler kept her hot start to the season going in the win, going 2-for-2 at the plate with four RBI. Hagler is now batting .533 with a Southland Conference-leading 10 RBI and four doubles.
AB Garcia is batting .625 and has four stolen bases while
Avery Drake leads the SLC with five steals.
Jasie Roberts and
Autumn Sydlik share the team lead with six runs scored.
The Huskies will face Florida A&M (2-3) and Gardner-Webb (2-1) on Friday, Feb. 17, at 2:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m., then Toledo (2-2) and Manhattan (0-0) on Saturday, Feb. 18, at 3:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. before closing things out on Sunday, Feb. 19, morning at 9:00 a.m. against St. Thomas (MN) (1-4).
The Rattlers have wins over Hampton and Mercer and most recently dropped a pair of games at sixth-ranked Florida, 8-0 and 9-1. Senior Nadia Zenteno is 1-1 in the circle with a team-best 3.23 ERA in 17.1 innings pitched. At the plate, senior Jane'a Mobley leads the team with a .333 average.
Gardner-Webb picked up wins over Austin Peay and Ohio to open the season before falling to Robert Morris. The Bulldog pitching staff owns a 2.67 ERA so far this season with a .211 batting average against. Senior utility player Andrea Lyon leads the team with a .667 average and six RBI while outfielder Kasey Fava leads the way with five runs scored.
The Rockets split four games to open the season, falling twice to Presbyterian while defeating Bellarmine twice. Three players for Toledo are batting above .450 with shortstop Jenna Kroll recording a team-best five RBI with two home runs. Senior Erin Hunt is 1-1 in the circle but is limiting opponents to just a .156 batting average with a 6.67 K/BB ratio thanks to 20 strikeouts and just three walks.
The Jaspers have yet to play a game this season with Friday marking their season-opener. Manhattan was picked eighth in the MAAC preseason poll and is led by senior infielder Lauren Rende who was a preseason second team all-conference selection. The Jaspers finished last season with a 13-32 record.
The Tommies opened the season with four losses before defeating Creighton, 6-4, in their last game. Junior Katie Goelz is one of two St. Thomas players batting .455 and leads the team with seven RBI and has two triples and a double. The Tommies pitching staff has a 5.47 ERA but senior Isabelle True earned the win over Creighton with three earned runs allowed over six innings.
HCU has only played one of the five programs before, defeating Florida A&M by a 7-1 score during the 2016 season.
The Huskies will be back in Houston next weekend, taking part in a tournament at the University of Houston beginning on Thursday, Feb. 23. The Huskies will play one game a day from Thursday through Sunday, Feb. 26.
