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10 - Karlie Barba (TSU)
Juan DeLeon

SB: Huskies return home to begin tough stretch of conference play vs. longtime rival UIW

Nine games in ten days for Huskies starts with revamped weekend series against Cardinals



Southland Conference Series 5 – HCU (13-19 / 6-6 SLC) vs. University of the Incarnate Word (17-14 / 7-5 SLC)
  • Thursday – April 3, 2025 (DH at 4 / 6:30 pm)
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  • Friday – April 4, 2025 (12 pm)
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           📺 ESPN+
 
Houston Christian University begins a stretch of nine conference games in ten days when it returns to Husky Field to face long-time rival University on the Incarnate Word in a three-game series. The series schedule was revamped due to impending weather concerns and will see the two teams play a twin-bill on Thursday with the series finale set for noon on Friday.
 
HCU has not played since last weekend, when it dropped two of three in Nacodgoches to Stephen F. Austin. The Huskies are now 6-6 in conference action, sitting in a four-way tie in fourth place along with SFA, Lamar and Nicholls heading into this week's action.
 
CU salvaged the final game of the series with SFA, winning 4-2 on Sunday morning behind Cara Pitman's sixth complete game of the campaign. She scattered six hits and walked none to move to 6-3 on the year, and got offensive help from Hanna York and Heidi Maytum, each of whom went 2-3 in the game. SFA had claimed the first two games of the series, winning 8-0 and 9-1 on Saturday.
 
AB Garcia continues to set the pace at the top of the lineup for the Huskies. The junior centerfielder from Cypress, Texas ranks 12th in the NCAA in batting average and 14th in the nation in hits. She leads the Huskies in batting average, hits, runs scored, triples, total bases and stolen bases, and ranks first in the Southland in batting average and hits, second in on-base percentage and triples and fifth in runs scored.
 
The second leading base-stealer in school history with 46 in her career also now sits just three hits and 14 runs from moving into the Top 10 for each of those categories as well. She had her career-high 14-game hitting streak snapped in the opener at SFA before becoming the fourth HCU player this year to hit double-digits in RBI with her run-scoring triple in the finale on Sunday.
 
Haylie Savage is batting .368 on the season with a team-best 27 RBI on the year, second in the SLC. Now in her fourth season anchoring the left side of the infield, she has moved into sixth place all-time with 116 RBI as one of just 10 players in school history to hit the century mark. She has eight multi-hit games and 10 multi-RBI games on the season.
 
The senior third baseman from Angleton, Texas now is one of just nine players in school history to have 20 dingers over their career after her bomb at UTA, her second of the season. The only three-time All-SLC selection in program history, Savage now sits just one hit shy of moving into eighth place all-time and she is one of just six players in school history with 40 or more doubles, ranking tied for third with 43. She moved into 9th place in all-time at-bats against TAMUCC, and is just outside the top 10 in games played, walks and runs scored.
 
Ella Herrewig is third on the club in batting at .352 and second in runs scored and stolen bases. Maddy Bailey had  her career-high 11-game hitting streak snapped at SFA, but is hitting .297 on the season with 13 RBI.  Hanna York is second on the team in RBI with 14, the most for a freshman since Katy Schaefer drove in 18 in 2018.
 
Two rookie hurlers continue to lead pitching staff, as Cara Pitman and Leah Hammack have combined for 11 of the team's 13 victories. The six wins by Pitman and five by Hammack are the most for a frosh hurler since Emma Guindon had nine in 2019.
 
Pitman leads the club in wins, appearances, games started, innings, complete games and shutouts. Hammack is just a third of an inning behind while leading the club in strikeouts. Pitman has the team's lone save on the season.
 
HCU hosts longtime rival University of the Incarnate Word in a revamped series that was pushed up a day in lieu of impending weather concerns. The two teams will play the doubleheader on Thursday at 4 pm and finish up with a Friday series finale at noon.
 
The Huskies have played the Cardinals 88 times, the most games against a single opponent in program history. The Huskies lead the all-time ledger at 56-32 with UIW sweeping a three-game set in San Antonio last season in the most recent meeting.  The Cardinals are led by fourth-year head coach Kimberly Dean and are currently 17-14 overall and 7-5 in conference play, one game ahead of the quartet of four teams at 6-6, which includes HCU.
 
The offense is led by 2024 Southland Conference Player of the Year Victoria Altamirano, who batted .444 with 12 homers and 52 RBI last season and has picked up this junior season right where she left off, hitting at a .368 clip with 11 bombs and 30 RBI thru 31 games played. Four hurlers have made 13 or more starts for UIW this season, led by junior right-hander Bella Mitchell, who is 6-3 with a 3.45 ERA and 50 K's in 50.2 innings. Sophomore right-hander Larissa Jacquez is 3-5 with a team-best 1.83 ERA and 67 punchouts in 68.2 innings.
 
Following the series with UIW, the toughest stretch of conference action continues. The Huskies will hit the road to Thibodaux, Louisiana for a three-game mid-week series at Nicholls on Tuesday and Wednesday, with a quick turnaround into a three-game series at home with McNeese beginning that next Friday.
 
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