Jamie Mondragon

SB: HCU travels to Thibodaux to face surging Nicholls in rare SLC mid-week series

4/7/2025 12:47:00 PM

Mid-point of tough conference stretch as Huskies face league's hottest team

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Southland Conference Series 6 – HCU (13-22 / 6-9 SLC) vs. Nicholls State University (19-20 / 9-6 SLC)

Swanner Field at Geo Surfaces Park (Thibodaux, Louisiana)
Tuesday – April 8, 2025 (DH at 4 / 6:30 pm)
Wedneday – April 9, 2025 (12 pm)
📈 LIVE STATS (all three games)

Houston Christian University hits the mid-point of a tough nine conference games in ten days stretch as it travels to Thibodaux, Louisiana to face the league's hottest team in Nicholls State University. The three-game series begins with a twin-bill on Tuesday starting at 4 pm, followed by the finale on Wednesday beginning at 1 pm.

The Huskies were swept over the weekend by longtime rival University of the Incarnate Word, falling 7-0 in the Thursday twin-bill opener before a tough 5-3 loss in 10-innings in the nightcap. The Huskies then dropped a 3-1 decision in the Friday finale as a late rally came up short.

AB Garcia leads the Huskies in most offensive categories. The junior centerfielder from Cypress, Texas ranks paces HCU in batting average, hits, runs scored, triples, total bases and stolen bases, and ranks second in the Southland in batting average, hits, and triples; third in on-base percentage and triples and fifth in runs scored.

The second leading base-stealer in school history with 47 in her career also now sits just one hits and 13 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 of that series.

Haylie Savage is batting .365 on the season with a team-best 27 RBI on the year, seventh 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 moved into eighth place all-time in hits and she is one of just six players in school history with 40 or more doubles, ranking tied for third with 43. She is now seventh in all-time at-bats, and is just outside the top 10 in games played, walks and runs scored.

Ella Herrewig is third on the club in batting at .317 and tied for second in runs scored and second in stolen bases with six. Maddy Bailey had her career-high 11-game hitting streak snapped at SFA, but is hitting .302 on the season after back-to-back two hits games in the series against UIW. She is third on the club with 14 RBI, just behind Hanna York's 15, which is 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, complete games and shutouts. Hammack took over the lead in innings pitched after her 10-inning outing against UIW on Thurdsay, and she fronts the staffs in strikeouts and opponent batting average. Pitman has the team's lone save on the season.

The Huskies take on Nicholls in a rare mid-week conference series, necessitated by the return of SFA which gave the league an even ten schools on the softball side. The Colonels lead the all-time series 26-9, but the two schools have basically split the past 15 meetings with Nicholls ahead 8-7.

HCU and NSU split four games last year, with the Huskies taking the series in Houston two games to one, highlighted by a walk-off grand slam by Haylie Savage in the series finale. Nicholls returned the favor with a walk-off homer by Alexa Poche in the SLC Tournament in Hammond.

Nicholls is led by first-year head coach Ron Frost, who takes the helm following three years as an assistant. The Colonels are the hottest team in the league, winners of nine straight games to improve their overall record to 19-20 on the season. NSU has swept its last two conference series at home against Lamar and then this past weekend in Commerce at East Texas A&M.

Claire Sisco has taken over the league lead in batting, as the junior utility player is now hitting at a .486 clip with 17 RBI and a team-high 13 stolen bases. Junior outfielder Reagan Heflin hits .373 with 18 RBI. Junior infielder Erin Krause leads the team with 27 RBI and was named SLC Hitter of the Week following this past week's action. She is followed closely by senior pitcher/first baseman Molly VandenBout, who has 26 RBI while also sporting a 3-4 mark in the circle.

Molly Yoo, a junior southpaw, is 7-7 and leads the Colonels in innings with 85.2 on the season. Junior righty Averi Paden is 6-6 on the season.

Following the series at Nicholls on Tuesday and Wednesday, the Huskies face a quick turnaround into a three-game series at home with McNeese beginning on Friday with a double-header. The two schools will finish up the series on Saturday at noon, which is Alumni Day at HCU, as both the softball and baseball will be hosting alumni over the weekend's home series.