EDINBURG, Texas – HCU claimed its Southland Conference series against a UT Rio Grande Valley squad that entered the weekend with a 9-0 record in league play by earning a 12-9 victory on Sunday afternoon at UTRGV Baseball Stadium.

The Huskies' (14-7, 7-2 SLC) bats came alive after dropping Saturday's game 15-0. HCU racked up 12 runs on 13 hits with Luke Bard providing the biggest highlight, a two-run homer in the ninth to provide a cushion with the Huskies holding a one-run lead. Bard and Trevor Roper each drove in three runs while Parker Edwards plated a pair. Matthew Leiterman led the team in hits, going 3-for-4 with an RBI, and Katcher Halligan added two doubles and an RBI. 

HCU wasted no time getting on the scoreboard in the first inning. Kenneth Dutka led off with a double to center field, setting the tone early. A sacrifice bunt by Halligan moved Dutka to third before Parker Edwards delivered an RBI single. The Huskies capitalized on a pair of walks to bring a couple of runs home while Jeremy Rader brought a run home on a fielder's choice and Roper drove one in with a single.

UTRGV (17-5, 10-2 SLC) responded with a run in the bottom half of the inning, but HCU remained in control. Halligan opened the second with a double and came around to score on an RBI double off the bat of Edwards. A wild pitch allowed Edwards to advance to third and a single by Rhett Hendricks extended the lead to 7-1.

Following a solo home run for the Vaqueros in the bottom of the second, the Huskies had a response of their own in the top of the third. Kenneth Dutka reached on a two-out single and then raced home on Halligan's second double of the day for an 8-2 lead in the middle of the third.

A leadoff walk followed by a single set the Vaqueros up for runs in the fifth with Isaac Lopez driving in two runs with a double, cutting HCU's lead to 8-4. Leading by four in the seventh, HCU got a pair of baserunners via walk and Rader moving them into scoring position on a sacrifice bunt, bringing Roper to the plate with two outs. The HCU shortstop placed a single through the right side to bring home both Graham Laxton and Bard who narrowly avoided a tag at the plate for a 10-4 advantage.

The Vaqueros answered with their own two-out rally in the bottom half of the inning as Armani Raygoza and Jacob Sanchez both came up with clutch RBI singles to lessen the HCU lead to 10-6. In the eighth, a sacrifice fly and a two-out, two-run single off the bat of pinch hitter Cameron Carter made it a one-run game, 10-9.

With the game hanging in the balance, the Huskies found late insurance in the ninth. Leiterman singled with one out, setting up Bard's clutch two-run homer on an 0-2 count to give HCU breathing room. UTRGV got a leadoff single in the the bottom of the ninth before Ben Norton induced a 6-4-3 double play. The Vaqueros then put two runners on with consecutive single but Norton came up with a big strikeout to end the game, sealing the Huskies' 12-9 win.

HCU will now head to College Station, Texas for a non-conference matchup against Texas A&M on Tuesday, March 25, at 6:00 p.m.