HOUSTON – The final weekend of Southland Conference play begins this Thursday with HCU hosting Lamar in a three-game series at Husky Field with the weekend's results potentially having big SLC Tournament implications for both teams.
HCU (21-25, 12-15 SLC) heads into the series in eighth place, one game ahead of Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and two games ahead of New Orleans. Just one game ahead of the Huskies and tied for sixth in the standings are McNeese and Stephen F. Austin. Lamar (26-23, 17-10 SLC), meanwhile, is currently in second place, one game behind first-place Southeastern and one game ahead of Northwestern State. The top eight teams in the league standings qualify for the SLC Tournament while the top two teams earn hosting duties for the bracket play portion of the tournament.
The Huskies went into last weekend's road series against TAMUCC even in the standings with the Islanders and took two-of-three to give themselves a little breathing room. HCU won the first two games in a doubleheader on Saturday, scoring three runs in the eighth and ninth for a come-from-behind 5-4 win before earning a 15-4 run-rule victory in seven innings in game two. On Sunday, the Islanders emerged with a 3-2 win to avoid the sweep.
Three of HCU's seniors hit safely in all three games on the island last weekend, including
Jack Walker who scored four runs in the series and hit a home run.
Luke Bard and
Katcher Halligan both also recorded base hits in each game. Walker currently leads the Huskies with 38 runs scored while Bard is carrying a .364 batting average and Halligan ranks in the team's top-four in RBI, runs scored, home runs and doubles.
Right-handed pitcher
Louis Castano made two appearances last weekend, totaling four innings pitched with just one earned run allowed to lower his team-best ERA to 3.47 for the season. Castano currently ranks fourth in the SLC and 81
st nationally with a 1.14 WHIP (walks + hits per innings pitched) and his limiting opponents to just a .220 batting average, striking out 49 while walking just 16 in 46.2 innings pitched.
The Cardinals are led on the mound by senior Chris Olivier who sports a 2.92 ERA with 90 strikeouts and a .185 batting average against in 71 innings pitched. The right-hander has a 5-4 record and has been named SLC Pitcher of the Week four times this year. At the plate, senior infielder Beau Durbin leads Lamar with 36 RBI and 39 runs scored. Tab Tracy, a senior outfielder, owns a team-best .443 on-base percentage and .339 batting average.
Lamar dropped two of its three games against Southeastern last weekend, winning the series finale on Sunday, 8-2. The Cardinals then went to Huntsville, Texas for a midweek matchup against Sam Houston, emerging with an 11-inning 15-14 victory over the Bearkats.
The series begins on Thursday, May 7, at 6:30 p.m. followed by another 6:30 p.m. start on Friday before wrapping up at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday.
