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04 - Raenna Liscano (Fairfield)
Juan DeLeon

SB: HCU opens home slate with four games over two days in Houston Invitational

Huskies face Pitt and Michigan on Friday before Valentine's Day pair versus Penn State and Lafayette



Houston Christian University opens the home portion of its 2026 schedule when it hosts its half of the Houston Invitational on Friday and Saturday at Husky Field. The Huskies, along with the University of Houston, will host five other schools making their way to the Bayou City and playing at both sites from Thursday evening to Sunday morning. 
 
HCU will see the University of Pittsburgh and the University of Michigan as part of a Friday triple-header. Pitt and Michigan open the day at noon, with the Panthers playing HCU at 2:30 pm followed by HCU taking on the Wolverines at 5 pm.
 
Saturday will see HCU will welcome Penn State University and Lafayette College in the same format as Friday. The Nittany Lions and Leopards kick off Valentine's Day at noon, followed by HCU facing Penn State and Lafayette in back-to-back contests at 2:30 pm and 5 pm.
 
The Huskies are coming off a rough start to the campaign, as they dropped all four games at the UH Tournament last weekend across town. HCU dropped a pair of games to both Houston and Fairfield University, scoring just seven times in four games.
 
Cara Pitman leads HCU with a .333 batting average. Chloe Foster batted .300 over the first four games with a couple of runs driven in. Jade Moreno batted .286 and hit HCU's first homer of the season, while Jocelyn Briseno leads the Huskies with three RBI.
 
Of the four opponents this weekend, HCU has never faced Michigan nor Penn State. HCU is 0-2 all-time against Pittsburgh, having last met in an 11-8 slugfest across town at the 2023 UH Tournament. The Huskies and Lafayette have met just once, a 6-4 victory for HCU at the 2011 Rebel Spring Games in Kissimmee, Florida. HCU is 3-1 all-time against schools from Michigan and 4-2 against schools from Pennsylvania before playing a trio this weekend from the Quaker State.
 
HCU will face off with Pitt in the Friday home opener at Husky Field. Pitt will actually open up its weekend with a game against University of Houston on Thursday night coming off a 3-2 mark in the season-opening NFCA Leadoff Classic last week in Clearwater, Florida.
 
The Panthers are paced by senior outfielder Alena Ball, who is batting .611 with three RBI and four stolen bases to start the season. Tieley Vaughn, a grad infielder is right behind her at .400 with a homer, five ribbies and four swipes as well. Kyra Pittman, a grad right-hander, leads the Panthers in the circle with a 2-0 mark and 0.57 ERA in three appearances.
 
Michigan will take on Pitt in the Friday opener before tussling with the Huskies at 5:30 pm. UM is 5-1 on the season after last weekend's USF Rawlings Invitational in Tampa, Florida. It is the first meeting between the two and the first for HCU versus a school from Michigan since a 3-2 loss to Western Michigan at the Best on the Bayou Tournament in 2023.
 
At the plate the Wolverines are led by sophomore utility player Lauren Putz who bats .462 with three homers and nine RBI. Junior outfielder Jenissa Conway is also batting .462 with two homers and five RBI. Junior righthander Gabby Ellis is 2-0 on the year with 12 K's in nine innings to go with a 2.00 ERA.
 
Penn State and Lafayette will both kick off Valentine's Day action after playing at University of Houston on Friday.
 
HCU will tangle with PSU at 2:30 pm Saturday in the first-ever meeting between the two schools.  The Nittany Lions are 4-1 coming to Houston after also playing in the NFCA Leadoff Classic last week.
 
Kristin Finarelli, a freshman catcher/infielder, leads PSU with a .368 batting average. Brooke Klosowicz, a junior utility player, bats .278 with two homers and four RBI and Alison Oneacre, a frosh infielder, bats .267 with two hoemrs and a team-best six ribbies. Four different pitchers have claimed a victory early in the campaign.
 
The weekend concludes with a tilt against Lafayette, who will be opening their 2026 campaign this weekend. The Leopards return junior infielder Katie Harrington (.268, 3 HR, 17 RBI) and Reagan Dillion, a junior catcher/infielder (.293, 3 HR, 10 RBI) to the lineup as well as Marisa Powell, who wen 3-5 with a 4.89 ERA in the circle last year for LC.

All four contests for HCU over the weekend will be available via LIVE STATS only.  

Following this week's action at Husky Field, HCU will take to the road for the next two weekends with tournaments at Sam Houston in Huntsville and the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque.
 

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