BEAUMONT, Texas – The HCU baseball team is set to take on the Lamar Cardinals in the Huskies' final Southland Conference series before the conference tournament with a three-game set beginning Thursday, at 6:00 p.m., with another 6:00 p.m. matchup on Friday before wrapping up on Saturday at 3:00 p.m. at Vincent-Beck Stadium.
Both the Huskies (26-20, 17-10 SLC) and Cardinals (37-15, 17-10 SLC) enter the series locked in a three-way tie for fourth place in the SLC standings along with Northwestern State. At the top of the standings, Southeastern sits at the top with a 20-7 record, followed closely by UTRGV (22-8) and McNeese (18-9), making this final weekend critical for seeding ahead of the tournament. HCU can end up anywhere from the No. 3 seed down to No. 6.
HCU is coming off a series win over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, taking two of three games at Husky Field. The Huskies claimed a 4-3 win in game one and a 2-0 shutout in the series finale.
In conference play, HCU's offense has been powered by Rhett Hendricks (.375 AVG, 4 HR, 23 RBI), Matthew Leiterman (.348), and Kenneth Dutka (.325). Parker Edwards leads the team with seven home runs and 34 RBIs. On the mound, Ben Norton has been dominant out of the bullpen with a 1.93 ERA and six saves, while Louis Castano and Joshua Caravalho have each recorded five wins.
Lamar enters the weekend following a 9-3 loss at No. 1 Texas on Tuesday after dropping two-of-three at Southeastern last weekend. The Cardinals have been led offensively by Damian Ruiz, who holds a .413 average, 1.172 OPS, and leads the team in hits (43), runs (39), and total bases (66) in SLC play. Brayden Evans (.316) and Tab Tracy (.326) add depth to the lineup, with Evans driving in 28 RBIs. Riely Hunsaker has been sharp on the mound with a 2.68 ERA and 49 strikeouts in 50.1 innings. Chris Olivier leads the team in wins (5), while Peyton Havard has added four wins and two saves.
The 2025 Southland Conference Championship begins on Thursday, May 15, with the top two seeds in the tournament hosting four-team brackets with the two bracket winners meeting in a three-game championship series hosted by the team with the highest seed in the tournament beginning on THursday, May 22.
The Huskies will wrap up regular-season play on Tuesday, May 13, with a non-conference matchup at Sam Houston in Huntsville, set for 6:00 p.m.
