Ladyjacks Set For Road Game With Techsters
4/22/2009 12:00:00 AM | Softball
April 22, 2009
NACOGDOCHES, Texas - The Stephen F. Austin Ladyjack softball team will carry its longest winning streak of the season into Wednesday night's non-conference game at Louisiana Tech. The game against the Techsters, scheduled for a 6 p.m. start, is the first of four straight on the road this week.
SFA enters the week with a 26-21 overall record. The Ladyjacks are 15-9 and in second place in the Southland Conference, thanks to back-to-back series sweeps against Central Arkansas and Nicholls State. SFA has won seven straight, matching its longest streak of the season.
Wednesday's game marks the third meeting between SFA and Louisiana Tech this season. The Techsters won each of the first two at the Texas A&M Aggie Invitational. La. Tech took Game 1, 7-2, then edged the Ladyjacks for a 4-3 win in the second game. Those were SFA's only losses in the A&M tournament.
Louisiana Tech is 25-19 on the season. The Techsters have won five of their last six games, including taking two of three on the road against Utah State over the weekend. As a team, Louisiana Tech is hitting .246. Amberly Waits leads the squad with a .452 average, 13 home runs and 47 RBI. Meghan Krieg leads the Techster pitching staff with a 14-4 record and a 1.75 ERA.
SFA is coming off a three-game sweep against Nicholls State that took the Ladyjacks from sixth place in the Southland Conference to a second-place tie with McNeese State. SFA won the opener, 4-3, then took consecutive shutouts, 6-0 and 1-0, to finish off the sweep. Four of the Ladyjacks' wins in their current streak have been shutouts, and the SFA pitching staff has a 0.30 ERA during that span.
Sophomore ace Monika Covington went 2-0 with a shutout during the Nicholls State series. She allowed just two earned runs on 12 hits, recording 15 strikeouts with two walks on the weekend. Covington was named the SLC Pitcher of the Week for her efforts, the second straight week for her to win the award and her third such honor of the season. Covington is the only pitcher in the conference to win the SLC award three times this season.
Following Wednesday's game at Louisiana Tech, the Ladyjacks will head to San Marcos, Texas, for a weekend showdown with Texas State, the first-place team in the Southland.
-- SFA --
