AUSTIN, Texas – HCU baseball is set for the 2025 NCAA Austin Regional with the No. 4 seed Huskies opening play against No. 1 seed Texas on Friday afternoon at 1:00 p.m. at UFCU Disch-Falk Field in the program's second NCAA postseason appearance.
 
The Huskies (32-23) head into the postseason on a six-game winning streak that includes a five-game unbeaten run through the Southland Conference Tournament Bracket Play and Championship Series, culminating in a pair of wins at Husky Field in front of a pair of sellout crowds.
 
HCU's offense came alive during the SLC Tournament, out-scoring opponents 43-25 and batting .326 as a team. The Huskies recorded 16 extra-base hits in five games while limiting opponents to just nine.
 
First baseman Katcher Halligan batted .474 (9-of-19) with five doubles and a triple, scoring six runs and driving in five with a .565 on-base percentage. Jeremy Rader, meanwhile, posted an OBP of .591 while hitting .467 (7-for-15) with six RBI and six runs scored.
 
Parker Edwards and Louis Castano both went 2-0 on the mound with Castano also earning a save. Edwards posted an ERA of 1.38 in 13 innings pitched across two starts while limiting opponents to just a .152 batting average.
 
Texas (42-12) has lost seven of its last 11 games heading into the NCAA Tournament, most recently losing in the SEC Tournament to Tennessee, 7-5.
 
The Longhorns own a collective 3.26 ERA, good for fifth-best in the nation, while allowing the second-fewest hits per nine innings nationally, at 7.02. The UT staff has limited opposing hitters to just a .216 average. Junior right-hander Ruger Riojas owns a team-high eight wins on the mound, counting nine starts among his 17 appearances. Luke Harrison, a junior righty, leads the Longhorns in innings pitched, with 66.1, and has a 2.98 ERA for the year. Freshman Dylan Volantis ranks among the top-10 nationally in saves, with 12.
 
Sophomore infielder Ethan Mendoza leads the Longhorns with a .330 average and 51 runs scored while Jalin Flores has a team-best 53 RBI and is one of four players with a double-digit home run total. As a team, Texas is hitting .274 with a .283 OBP.
 
The Huskies and Longhorns met in a mid-week matchup in Austin on April 8 with Texas winning by a 12-2 final. HCU used seven different pitchers in the game while Kenneth Dutka went 1-for-4 with a double and run scored. Trevor Roper also scored with Tevis Payne and Jack Walker coming up with RBIs.
 
HCU's appearance in the Austin Regional marks the program's second-ever NCAA Tournament appearance and comes 10 years after the program's last appearance in 2015.
 
HCU will play either No. 2 seed UTSA or No. 3 seed Kansas State on Saturday, May 31, depending on the outcome of both games scheduled for Friday.