Ladyjacks Wrap Up Home Slate
4/20/2007 12:00:00 AM | Softball
April 20, 2007
NACOGDOCHES, Texas - Home Finale: The Stephen F. Austin Ladyjack softball team will conclude its final home stand of the season this weekend, when the Ladyjacks host Texas-San Antonio in their last series of the year at Hoya Field. The three-game set will begin with a doubleheader Saturday, scheduled to start at 1 p.m. Game 3 is set for a noon start Sunday. The Ladyjacks will begin the weekend on the outside looking in, as far as the Southland Conference Tournament is concerned. SFA is currently seventh in the league standings, a half-game back of Nicholls State, with an 11-10 record. The Ladyjacks are 18-27 on the season. UTSA comes into the series ranked third in the SLC with a 22-24 season mark and a 14-7 record against conference foes.
Last Time Out: The Ladyjacks dropped two of three in a midweek home series against McNeese State Tuesday and Wednesday. After getting shut out, 3-0, in the opener Tuesday, SFA came to life for an 8-3 win in the second game. But McNeese held off a late Ladyjack rally in the finale to capture a 3-2 victory and the series win. First baseman Jessie Tullos went 2-for-2, including a two-run homer, in the second game, when SFA set a new season-high with 13 base hits. It marked the first time SFA has had more than 10 hits in a game since an 11-hit outing against Texas Southern on March 20. Third baseman Briana Bishop broke out of a four-game slump with a much-needed 3-for-4 performance. She also drove in a run. Shortstop Chelsea Carr recorded her first multi-hit game of the season, and center fielder Benet Higgs added a pair of hits of her own. Freshman Ashley Wilburn pitched all seven innings to take the win, as she improved to 9-11 in her rookie campaign. She also recorded five strikeouts, tying two other five-K performances for her second-best total of the season. In the series finale Wednesday, the Ladyjacks found themselve playing from behind after a three-run third inning by the Cowgirls. SFA had four hits in the final three innings and scored a run each in the sixth and seventh innings, but came up one run short of sending the game to extra innings.
The Roadrunners: Texas-San Antonio enters this weekend's series with a 22-24 overall record and a 14-7 mark in Southland Conference play. Since losing five straight games to end the month of March, the Roadrunners have won four of their last five contests, including two straight to take the series win against Northwestern State last weekend. The Roadrunners are among the top hitting teams in the SLC. Their team batting average of .270 is fourth in the league, and they are tied for first with 51 home runs on the season. Jessica Rogers leads UTSA with a .403 batting average and is tops in the SLC in hits (58) runs batted in (43) and home runs (15). UTSA has the fourth-best team ERA in the conference at 3.34. The Roadrunners have used just two pitchers this season. Janeille Nickels is 10-10 with a 3.32 ERA, and Amanda Nikolenko is 12-14 with a 3.35 ERA and 122 strikeouts.
The Coaches: SFA is coached by Jenifer Wells. Wells is in her second season at SFA, where she holds a 35-55 (.389) record. In her five-year collegiate coaching career, Wells is 171-163 (.512). The Roadrunners are coached by Lori Cook. Cook's teams are 59-38 (.608) in her two years at UTSA.
• For complete notes, click the "Series Notes" link in the side bar of the Softball home page.
- SFA -
