Softball 2/8/2024 4:30:00 PM

SB: HCU opens campaign at Alabama State Stinger Classic

Mary-Ellen Hall begins 33rd year at the helm of her alma mater

Follow @HCUSoftball

Houston Christian University opens the 2024 campaign with a trip to Montgomery, Alabama where it will play in the Stinger Classic hosted by Alabama State University. The Huskies will play five games over three days, beginning with a 5 pm Friday afternoon matchup against Purdue-Fort Wayne.

Head Coach Mary-Ellen Hall returns 16 players off last year's club that advanced to the Southland Conference tournament. That includes two preseason first-team selections in Haylie Savage and AB Garcia, as well as the entire pitching staff. The Huskies also added four newcomers, two transfers and two freshmen, to bring the total roster to 20. Hall enters her 33^rd season at the helm as her alma mater's winningest coach in any sport with 878 career victories.

Both Savage and Garcia were first-team selections after the 2023 campaign, with Savage earning her second straight All-Conference honors and Garcia being tabbed the Southland Freshman of the Year.

🥎 Savage, Garcia named to 2024 SLC Preseason All-Conference 1st team#DawgsUp / @HCUSoftball https://t.co/ZzEuUczYfC
— HCU Athletics (@HCUAthletics) February 2, 2024

Savage returns for her third season at the hot corner for the Huskies. The Angleton native was second on the club in batting with a .341 average while posting an .896 OPS for the season. She started all 53 games and clubbed a team-best seven homers while knocking in a team-high 41 runs.

She was 11^th in the SLC in batting average, eighth in slugging, and tied for fifth in hits while posting 19 multi-hit games. She was third in the league in RBI and total bases and finished fourth in homers.

Garcia, a sophomore outfielder from Cypress, led the Southland in batting at .419 on the season. She was third in on-base percentage at .442, fourth in hits with 62 and tied for fifth in runs scored with 36. The left-handed leadoff hitter paced the Huskies on the base-paths as well, collecting 19 stolen bases in 23 attempts to place sixth in the league.

She was the first HCU player to earn an individual accolade since 2013, when the Schwirtlich sisters garnered the Freshman of the Year (Kristen) and Newcomer of the Year (Lauren) honors. Garcia, who was named to the NFCA Top 25 Freshman Watch List midway through the year, capped her season with NFCA All-Region honors.

Jasie Roberts returns for her fifth season with the Huskies where she will once again split time behind the dish and outfield. Last season she batted .219 with nine doubles, one homer and 22 RBI, and she is rapidly approaching Top 10 career marks in at-bats, hits, doubles, RBI and games played. The Deer Park native is now pursuing her Master's in Management and Entrepreneurship after graduating in May with degrees in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and a minor in Mathematics.

Roberts will also serve as one of three team captains this season, along with AB Garcia and senior Jackie Jessup.

Also returning for the Huskies is Kaicey Hagler, who was second on the club in RBI with 29. The junior second baseman from Splendora batted .232 and is the second-leading returning home run hitter from last season with four.

The Huskies return their entire pitching staff from last year, led by the senior trio of Lyndie Swanson, Katy Janes and Ronni Grofman. Sophomore Addy Prasifka is back for her second season and will be moving into a relief role this season.

Katy native Swanson has won nine games in each of the last three seasons and ranks fifth in total appearances and eighth in career shutouts. The veteran right-hander is also approaching Top 10 career marks in victories, complete games, innings pitched and strikeouts. Swanson returns for her fifth year in the circle after graduating last summer with a degree in Graphic Design, and she is now pursuing her Master's in Studio Art and Drawing.

A senior right-hander from Huffman, Janes won six games in 2023, tossing 12 complete games in 19 starts. She also tossed her first career no-hitter, a 1-0 conference opening victory against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.

Grofman, a right-hander from Kingwood, is looking to build on a solid junior campaign that saw her go 5-6 with a 2.74 ERA. Three of those losses were by a single run, and she finished sixth in the Southland in strikeouts looking and ninth in both ERA and opponent's batting average (.253).

Hall added four newcomers to the roster, two transfers and two freshmen, and will also welcome redshirt junior Maddy Bailey, a power-hitting outfielder who sat out last season after shoulder surgery.

Juls Garcia is a transfer from conference foe Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. An outfielder hailing from Sante Fe, Garcia played in high school with HCU teammate Maggie Childs, and played at San Jacinto College with Childs, Bailey, Grofman and Tabitha Burnett. She batted .242 while making 39 starts in 41 games played for the Islanders in 2023, scoring 19 runs and stealing 11 bases.

Keely Castillo joins the Huskies for her senior season after spending her junior campaign at UT-Tyler. The Fulshear product was a first-team All-Conference and second-team All-Region performer her first two collegiate seasons at Blinn College. The two transfers will be joined by freshman pitcher Kynleigh Evans out of Lexington and catcher Heidi Maytum from Boerne.

The Stinger Classic features six teams playing a total of 15 games over three days at Barbara Williams Softball Complex in Montgomery, Alabama. All five HCU games are scheduled to be available via LIVE STATS and streaming through the tournament website. You can also check the links on the HCU schedule page.

This is the first time the Huskies have played games in Alabama since playing three games in the Samford Tournament in 2019.

HCU will play five games over the three days, including three first-ever matchups against Purdue-Fort Wayne, Western Carolina and Austin Peay. The Huskies will also take on host Alabama State for the first time since 2017, and Mississippi Valley State for the first time since 2022.

The Huskies finished 20-33 overall last season with a 9-15 mark in conference play. HCU was picked to finish seventh in the Southland Preseason poll released last week.

After the Stinger Classic, the Huskies will hit the highways again the following week as they travel to Abilene to play in the ACU tournament hosted by former Southland foe Abilene Christian University.

ALABAMA STATE STINGER CLASSIC
Barbara Williams Softball Complex – Montgomery, Alabama / Tournament Central

Friday, February 9
vs. Purdue-Fort Wayne (5 pm)

Saturday, February 10
vs. Western Carolina (9 am)
vs. Alabama State (1 pm)

Sunday, February 11
vs. Missisissippi Valley (9 am)
vs. Austin Peay (11 am)

#DawgsUp

Print Friendly Version

Players Mentioned

#12 AB Garcia: OF; 5' 7"; Redshirt Freshman; L/L

#3 Kaicey Hagler: INF; 5' 6"; Junior; R/R

#20 Katy Janes: Util.; 5' 8"; Junior; R/R

#27 Jackie Jessup: Util.; 6' 0"; Junior; R/R

#1 Jasie Roberts: C/OF; 5' 8"; Junior; R/R

#18 Haylie Savage: Util; 5' 8"; Sophomore; L/R

#33 Lyndie Swanson: P; 5' 9"; Junior; R/R

#2 Tabitha Burnett: Util.; 5' 1"; Junior; L/R

#10 Maggie Childs: IF; 5' 10"; Junior; R/R

#14 Addy Prasifka: P; 5' 8"; Freshman; R/R

#17 Maddy Bailey: OF; 5' 8"; Redshirt Sophomore; R/R

#19 Ronni Grofman: P/Util; 5' 5"; Junior; R/R

Players Mentioned

#12 AB Garcia
: 5' 7"; Redshirt Freshman; L/L
: OF

#3 Kaicey Hagler
: 5' 6"; Junior; R/R
: INF

#20 Katy Janes
: 5' 8"; Junior; R/R
: Util.

#27 Jackie Jessup
: 6' 0"; Junior; R/R
: Util.

#1 Jasie Roberts
: 5' 8"; Junior; R/R
: C/OF

#18 Haylie Savage
: 5' 8"; Sophomore; L/R
: Util

#33 Lyndie Swanson
: 5' 9"; Junior; R/R
: P

#2 Tabitha Burnett
: 5' 1"; Junior; L/R
: Util.

#10 Maggie Childs
: 5' 10"; Junior; R/R
: IF

#14 Addy Prasifka
: 5' 8"; Freshman; R/R
: P

#17 Maddy Bailey
: 5' 8"; Redshirt Sophomore; R/R
: OF

#19 Ronni Grofman
: 5' 5"; Junior; R/R
: P/Util