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07 - Kynleigh Evans (St. Johns)
Juan DeLeon
8
Winner HCU HCU 7-11
3
Northwestern State NSU 3-18
Winner
HCU HCU
7-11
8
Final
3
Northwestern State NSU
3-18
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
HCU HCU 0 4 0 1 0 2 1 8 11 0
Northwestern State NSU 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 3 5 1

W: Evans, Kynleigh (2-4) L: Stohler, Brooklynn (2-12)

7
Winner HCU HCU 8-11
5
Northwestern State NSU 3-19
Winner
HCU HCU
8-11
7
Final
5
Northwestern State NSU
3-19
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
HCU HCU 0 0 2 0 2 3 0 7 9 1
Northwestern State NSU 0 0 0 0 4 1 0 5 6 0

W: Hammack, Leah (3-3) L: Chandler, Kaymie (0-2) S: Pitman, Cara (1)

Game Recap: Softball |

SB: HCU opens Southland play with doubleheader sweep at Northwestern State

AB Garcia four-hit game in opener, Savage four-RBI in second leads Huskies



NATCHITOCHES, Louisiana --- Houston Christian University opened up the Southland Conference schedule with a sweep of a twin-bill at Lady Demon Diamond, defeating Northwestern State 8-3 and 7-5 on Friday afternoon.
 
The Huskies got a complete game from Kynleigh Evans and a four-hit outing from AB Garcia to take the opener. In the second game, HCU jumped out to a four-run lead then pushed across three runs to retake the lead in the top of the sixth. They then held off Northwestern State rallies in their final two at-bats to finish off the doubleheader sweep.
 
HCU improves to 8-11 on the season and is now 2-0 in the Southland. Northwestern State falls to 3-19 overall and 0-2 in the league. The two teams will finish up the series with a single game starting at noon on Saturday.
 
GAME 1
 
HCU grabbed the early lead in the second inning, as Hanna York got aboard on an infield single and was promptly brought home on a two-bagger by Karlie Barba off the wall in center. Ella Herrewig then hit a laser to right-center for her first homer of the season, bringing in Barba for a 3-0 lead.
 
The Huskies would push one more across in the inning as AB Garcia reached on a bunt single, stole second and came around on a missile to right field by Haylie Savage, pushing HCU's lead to 4-0. In the fourth it was Garcia again, this time with her second triple of the ballgame that chased home Herrewig to give HCU a five-run cushion.
 
Garcia would lead the Huskies in game one, going 4-4 for her third career four-hit game and first since April of 2023. She drove in two, scored twice and stole a base. The stolen base was the 44th of her career, tying her for second all-time, and her two triples tied a single-game record held by seven other players, with the last time happening off the bat of Heidi Jaquez against Lamar in 2017.
 
Karlie Barba posted her first career three-hit game, going 3-4 with two RBI and a run scored. Haylie Savage went 2-3 with two RBI while Ella Herrewig went 1-3 with her first homer, a walk, two runs and two RBI.
 
Kynleigh Evans breezed through the first four innings before allowing her first hit in the fifth. The Demons pushed across a single run in the fifth, and in the sixth loaded the bases with no one out. Evans wriggled out of the jam with just a sacrifice fly scoring one run. She ended up going the distance on 13 pitches for her first complete game of the season, allowing just five hits while walking five and fanning six in improving her record to 2-4 on the year.
 
Sophia Livers went 1-3 with an RBI to lead the Demons. Brooklyn Stohler (2-12) took the defeat, going five innings and allowing six runs on eight hits with five K's.
 
GAME 2
 
After going three-up, three-down for the first two frames, HCU broke through in the third inning. Ella Herrewig reached on a fielder's choice and came around to score when AB Garcia placed a ball just over third base that then squirted into foul territory away for a double. Haylie Savage then doubled to bring home Garcia and the Huskies led 2-0.
 
Two more came across in the fifth. Herrewig led off with a bunt single and stole second base. AB Garcia then walked, and both runners moved up on a wild pitch. Savage flew out to center to bring in Herrewig, and Maddy Bailey smacked a single to center to score Garcia and push the margin to four.
 
Northwestern State got back into it in the bottom of the fifth. The big blow came on a bases-loaded triple from Cameron Curtis that pulled the Demons to within one, and she then scored on a Brynn Daniel single to knot things up at four.
 
The Huskies wasted no time reclaiming the lead. Hanna York doubled to left with one out and moved to third on Leah Hammack's single to center. Herrewig then brought home York with a sacrifice fly to give HCU a 5-4 lead. Pinch-runner Jocelyn Briseno stole second and AB Garcia earned a free pass to bring up Savage, who launched a ball off the wall in center for a two-run triple and a 7-4 advantage.
 
A Camryn Becnel single in the bottom of the sixth plated a run for the Demons to bring the score to 7-5. With the bases-loaded, Cara Pitman relieved starter Leah Hammack and was the beneficiary of the defensive play of the game by Savage. Curtis lined a ball straight down the baseline destined for the left field corner, but Savage snagged it out of the air and then leaped for the third base bag, doubling off Aly Delafield to thwart the scoring chance for the hosts.
 
The Demons loaded the bases again in the seventh, again with just one away. This time it was Pitman rearing back for back-to-back strikeouts to end the threat and the ball game.
 
Haylie Savage was 2-3 with four RBI to pace the Huskies. Hanna York went 2-3 with a run scored and AB Garcia went 1-2 with two walks, an RBI and three runs scored. Ella Herrewig went 1-2 with an RBI and two runs as well. Leah Hammack evened her season record at 3-3, going 5.1 innings while allowing five hits and five runs, walking four and fanning two. Cara Pitman picked up the first save of her career, going 1.2 innings with the two big strikeouts.
 
Camryn Becnel was 3-3 with a run and RBI to lead Northwestern State, while Cameron Curtis had the three-run triple. Kaymie Chandler went the distance for the Demons, giving up nine hits and seven runs in falling to 0-2 on the season.
 
 
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