HCU returns to action after playing just once over the last nine days, beginning a six-game homestand of Southland Conference play.
The Huskies will look to tame Lions in both series as Texas A&M-Commerce hits Husky Field on Tuesday and Wednesday, followed by a three-game series on Friday and Saturday against Southeastern Louisiana.
Now at 4-5 in Southland action, the Huskies sit in sixth place in the league standings after being the only conference school not in action over the Easter weekend.
The Huskies are coming off their best offensive outing of the season, a 19-8 power display at UTSA last Tuesday. Four players combined for five home runs in a season-high 21-hit attack.
Haylie Savage went 4-4 and blasted two three-run homers while driving in eight runs to lead the outburst. Her eight RBI eclipsed her own personal best mark of seven and tied the single-game record. She also scored four times and stole home.
Kaicey Hagler and
Autumn Sydlik also cranked three-run homers, and
Maggie Childs swatted a solo four-bagger in the fifth to complete a run-rule beating of the Roadrunners.
AB Garcia upped her batting average to .434 with a four-hit night at UTSA. Now on a six-game hitting streak, she leads the Huskies with 29 runs scored,16 multi-hit games and 16 stolen bases.
Savage is now batting .351 on the season with six homers and 33 RBI, both of which lead the club.
Avery Drake is at .308 and 14 stolen bases. Sydlik is second on the team with three homers and
Kaicey Hagler is second on the team with 18 RBI.
Roni Grofman picked up the win in relief at UTSA, going 3.1 innings to lower her ERA to 3.33 and up her record to 3-2.
Tune in to ESPN+ for all three games of the TAMUC series and the doubleheader of the SLU series on Friday night. All six games will be available to follow with Live Stats.
HCU Huskies (15-20, 4-5 SLC) vs. Texas A&M-Commerce (5-30, 1-11 SLC)
A&M-Commerce is led by Kaydee Bennett, who is tops on the team with a .365 average, 14 runs, 31 hits and 12 stolen bases. Diamond See is hitting .296 with a team-bests of four homers and 16 RBI on the season.
Julia Sanchez is 3-10 overall with 52 strikeouts in 76 innings to pace the Lions, who were swept at home by Texas A&M-Corpus Christi over the weekend.
The three-game series marks the first-ever meetings between the two schools. Commerce enters the weekend at 5-30 overall and 1-11 in conference action.
HCU Huskies (15-20, 4-5 SLC) vs. Southeastern Louisiana (35-8, 10-2 SLC)
Southeastern comes into the weekend series on a 10-game winning streak after taking three at UIW last weekend. The Lions beat the Cardinals 12-8 and 10-7 in the Friday double-dip, then rallied for a 3-2 win in the series finale.
The Lions are currently second in the Southland standings at 10-2, just one game back of McNeese.
SLU's offensive attack is headlined by Bailey Krolczyk, a junior catcher from Corpus Christi who was a first-team All-Southland performer in 2022. The reigning Southland Hitter of the Week currently is batting .402 with nine homers and forty RBI, and leads the Southland in slugging percentage, OPS, home runs, doubles and RBI.
Lexi Johnson is right behind her at .333/8/38, while Maria Detillier hits .328 and has scored a team-best 36 runs.
Cam Goodman is batting .327 and is 27/33 in stolen bases, ranking 13th in the NCAA in total swipes and 25th in bags per game. The Lions as a team are fourth in the nation with 112 stolen bases in 43 games.
Eight pitchers have seen action for the Lions, with six having notched double-figure appearances. KK Ladner leads the way in the circle with a 10-1 overall mark, 1.86 ERA and 117 K's in 90.1 innings. MC Comeaux is 8-2 with a 1.96 ERA and Cera Blanchard holds a 13-4 record, 2.53 ERA and 57 K's in 77.1 innings.
SLU holds a 21-9 lead in the all-time series. The two teams met five times last season, with the Lions ending HCU's historic Southland Conference Tournament run in the semi-finals.
