Stephen F. Austin
Texas State
Ladyjacks Split At Texas State
4/25/2009 12:00:00 AM | Softball
April 25, 2009
SAN MARCOS, Texas - The Stephen F. Austin Ladyjack softball team kept its hopes for a Southland Conference championship alive on Saturday, splitting a series-opening doubleheader at Texas State. SFA got standout pitching performances from sophomores Monika Covington and Lauren Luetge, and used a two-RBI, pinch-hit single by Karissa Jones to take the win in Game 1.
The split moves SFA to 27-23 on the season with a 16-10 record in SLC play. First-place Texas State (33-15) kept itself four games ahead of the Ladyjacks in the league standings with a 20-6 SLC mark. Both teams have four conference games remaining, starting with Sunday's series finale in San Marcos.
In the opener, two of the top pitchers in the SLC squared off as Covington toed the rubber against Chandler Hall of Texas State. The duo entered the weekend series with the top two win totals in the league and each ranked in the top five in the conference in strikeouts.
The match-up lived up to its billing, with the two hurlers dueling to a 2-0 final that saw the teams combine for just five hits. Luckily for SFA, Covington got the better of the showdown, holding the Bobcats to just one hit to record her eighth shutout victory of the season. The complete-game one-hitter is the second of the season for Covington.
Hall held the Ladyjacks to only four hits, and SFA had just two base knocks going into the top of the seventh. That's when Jones came through with her two-run, pinch-hit single that proved to be the game-winner.
Senior Kim Daley started things off by drawing a two-out walk. Jessica Arana followed with a single to the gap in left-center. Daley made an aggressive move on the bases, going from first to third, and Arana coasted into second on the throw. That prompted SFA head coach Gay McNutt to call Jones' number to bat in place of designated player Kari Hugie. The junior delivered, slicing a base hit into right-center field to score Daley and Arana.
Covington put a pair of Bobcats on in the bottom half via a hit batsman and a walk, but she recorded two of the three outs on strikes and got Kristina Tello to ground out to second to end the game with two runners on base.
Covington improved to 18-11 on the season. She faced just six batters over the minimum, as she hit two Bobcats and walked three others to go along with the one hit she allowed. The Ladyjacks played errorless defense behind her. Covington finished with six strikeouts.
SFA got its first hit of the game in the second inning, when Briana Bishop led off with a single to center field. She moved to second when Daley grounded out for the second out of the inning, but Hall stranded her there.
SFA didn't get another baserunner until Daley and Arana drew back-to-back walks in the fifth. Hall again answered the bell, though, escaping the inning with two strikeouts.
In the sixth, Kendal Harper led off with a double to center field. She moved to third on a wild pitch with one out, but was doubled off to end the inning on a line-out to third off the bat of Bishop.
In the bottom half, Alex Newton broke up Covington's no-hitter bid with a one-out base knock up the middle. After a ground ball for the second out, Covington hit Hall with a pitch to put two runners on, but she got a fly ball to left field to end the threat.
The shutout loss was just the sixth this season for Texas State.
In the second game, SFA played from behind for five straight innings after giving up a pair of runs in the bottom of the first. The Ladyjacks tied the score with two runs in the sixth, but saw the Bobcats pull ahead for good in the bottom half.
SFA outhit Texas State, 5-3, but couldn't string together multiple hits in an inning until the sixth, when the Ladyjacks put up a pair of runs. Crystal Garcia led off that inning with an infield single, then moved to second on a ground ball by Kayla Gutowski. After Bishop popped up for the second out, Ashley Struchtemeyer came through with a game-tying home run to left-center.
But the Bobcats responded with what proved to be the game-winning run in the bottom of the sixth. Taylor Hall led off with an infield single. Chandler Hall reached on an error behind her, and they both moved up on a stolen base. From there, Taylor Hall trotted home on a sacrifice fly by Jenna Emery.
Arana reached base on an error to lead off the SFA seventh. But she was cut down at second base on an attempted steal, and the next two Ladyjacks went down in order to end the game.
Sophomore Luetge started and went the distance for SFA. She was charged with two earned runs on three hits and a walk with six strikeouts, while moving to 9-11 on the season.
Harper, Gutowski and Jones joined Garcia and Struchtemeyer with one hit apiece in the second game.
The teams will wrap up the weekend series with the rubber match Sunday, scheduled for a noon start.
-- SFA --
