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SB: HCU opens Southland slate with three-game series at Northwestern State

3/6/2025 4:31:00 PM

27-game conference schedule begins in Natchitoches, first of five series on road

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SLC OPENING SERIES

🆚 Northwestern State University
📍 Lady Demon Diamond – Natchitoches, Louisiana
🗒️ GAME PROGRAM / NOTES

Friday – March 7, 2025 (DH at 4 / 6 pm)
📈 LIVE STATS
📺 ESPN+ (Game 1)
📺 ESPN+ (Game 2)

Saturday – March 1, 2025 (12 pm)
📈 LIVE STATS
📺 ESPN+

Houston Christian University opens the 2025 Southland Conference slate in Natchitoches, Louisiana against Northwestern State University this weekend. The three-game series at Lady Demon Diamond will see the two teams play a doubleheader on Friday followed by the series finale at noon on Saturday.

The Huskies come into the weekend with a 6-11 overall mark after a solid showing at the Mardi Gras Mambo last weekend in Youngsville, Louisiana where they won three of their five contests over the three days.

HCU split a pair of games each of the first two days before finishing things out with a run-rule victory on Sunday. Cara Pitman posted her first career shutout in the weekend opener, scattering six hits and fanning two to defeat Monmouth 4-0. The Huskies then jumped in front of Army-West Point 2-0 in the first inning of the day's second game before the Black Knights rallied with three in the fourth and two in the seventh to take a 5-2 win.

On Saturday, the Huskies put up a dozen hits in the first game and posted a first-inning three-spot. It was a six-run fourth that proved to be the difference, as HCU held off Maine for a 9-7 victory. Leah Hammack went the distance for her second win of the year in the circle, AB Garcia went 3-5 with a double, RBI, run and stolen base and Chloe Foster went 2-3 with two RBI. HCU would take a 2-1 lead in game two over Iowa State before the Cyclones exploded for eight runs in the sixth to end the contest an inning early.

On Sunday, it was HCU's turn for a 10-2 line score, as West Georgia was the recipient of a run-rule rout by the Huskies. Pitman went the distance in the five-inning contest for her second win of the week, while AB Garcia posted her third consecutive three-hit game of the weekend and scored three times. Maddy Bailey finished off a solid return to the lineup with a hit and three RBI as she collected seven hits over the five contests.

AB Garcia has now taken over the team batting lead, hitting a robust .518 to start the season while posting team-bests in OPS (1.182) and OBP (.557). Garcia was 11-19 from the plate at the Mardi Gras last weekend, scored six times and stole three bases. Her three three-hit games gave her five on the season, and 11 such for her career, which includes two four-hit games in 2023. The three stolen bases put her in a tie for third place all-time with Charity Rychlik (43), one away from tying for second place with Cindy Connell (44). She is now just 25 hits and 23 runs away from moving into the Top 10 in each of those categories.

Right behind Garcia is Haylie Savage, who continues her assault on the HCU record books. Savage is batting .420 on the campaign with a 1.074 OPS while slugging .600 through 17 games with a team-high 15 RBI. Her homer and five RBI at the Warhawk Invitational moved her into ninth and eighth respectively on those two all-time leaderboards. She collected her 160^th career hit in the win over West Georgia on Sunday, moving to within 10 of tenth place, while closing in on the leaderboards for at-bats, walks, runs and games played as well.

Ella Herrewig is batting .344 on the campaign, while Chloe Foster checks in at .324 with six RBI. Hannah York is second on the club with 10 RBI.

Cara Pitman leads a youthful pitching staff with three victories after picking up two last weekend at the Mardi Gras. She and Kynleigh Evans lead the club with nine appearances each, while Pitman has two complete games and one shutout. Leah Hammack is 2-3 with three complete games.

HCU and Northwestern State have met 36 times over the years with NSU holding a 27-9 lead in the series. HCU has taken four of the last five meetings however, including a series sweep last year at Husky Field that featured a fantastic showing by the pitching staff. Lyndie Swanson won her seventh game of the year with a complete game in the opener which was followed by a no-hitter by Ronni Grofman in the back-end of the Friday doubleheader. The series was capped off by a two-hit shutout by Katy Janes in the "Senior Day" finale on Saturday afternoon.

Northwestern State is led by first-year head coach Jenny Fuller, and enters the weekend with a 3-17 mark overall. The Demons are coming off a 2-3 finish in the Mississippi State Bulldog Invitational, a weekend highlighted by a 5-0 victory over the #20-ranked Bulldogs in the Sunday finale. NSU was selected to finish ninth in the league, two spots behind HCU, which was projected to finish seventh.

Through 20 games, sophomore outfielder Sophia Livers is batting .310 with six RBI while freshman utility player DJ Lynch leads the team with a homer and eight RBI. In the circle, freshman Brooklynn Stohler has been a workhorse so far, starting 14 of the team's 20 games. She is 2-11 on the season, but is coming off the masterful complete-game three-hit shutout of #20 Mississippi State on Sunday.

Following the opening conference series, the Huskies will travel just up the road to Huntsville for a Tuesday night matchup against former SLC foe Sam Houston State. First-pitch from Bearkat Softball Complex is scheduled for 6 pm.

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27-game conference schedule begins in Natchitoches, first of five series on road

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