HOUSTON – The HCU baseball team is set to host Alcorn State for a three-game non-conference weekend series at Husky Field this coming Friday through Sunday with a special presentation of the program's 2025 Southland Conference Championship rings set to take place following the conclusion of Saturday's game.
The Huskies (0-5) suffered a tough 4-3 loss in their home opener against Sam Houston on Tuesday evening with the Bearkats scoring the game-winning run in the eighth. Four different Huskies finished that game with two hits, including senior
Jeremy Rader who has hit safely in all five of the team's games so far this season. Dating back to the end of last season, Rader has hit safely in his last 13 games for the Huskies.
Redshirt junior
Levi Castilleja has enjoyed a solid start to the season after missing the 2025 campaign due to injury. The catcher batted .400 in two games at Louisiana Tech last weekend. Rader is second on the team with a .389 average while
Anthony Avalos and
Rhett Hendricks are both also batting above .350.
Alcorn State (1-3) began the season with losses to Grambling State and Prairie View A&M before earning an 8-7 win over Jackson State at the MLB HBCU Power Series. This past Wednesday, the Braves fell to fourth-ranked Mississippi State in Starkville, Miss., 19-0.
Senior outfielder Rayfield Adams leads the Braves with a .400 average through four games with a .467 slugging percentage. Sophomore Keaton Hawk owns a team-high five RBI while Cooper Harris has driven in four runs. On the mound, Jacob Wingard boasts a 3.86 ERA after going 4.2 innings in a start against Prairie View in which he allowed three runs, two earned, on three hits with three strikeouts and four walks.
The weekend series marks the first-ever meetings between the two programs.
The Huskies are expected to start RHP
Joshua Caravalho (0-1) on Friday with RHP
David Lopez (0-1) following on Saturday with
Ben Smith (0-1) set to toe the rubber to start Sunday's finale.
HCU will next head across town to Reckling Park for a Tuesday, Feb. 24, matchup against the Rice Owls with first pitch scheduled for 6:35 p.m.
