ULM Doubleheader Moved Up
3/19/2010 12:00:00 AM | Softball
March 19, 2010
NACOGDOCHES, Texas - The Stephen F. Austin Ladyjack softball team will resume action after nearly a week off when the Ladyjacks host Louisiana-Monroe in a doubleheader Saturday at SFA Field. The twin bill was originally scheduled to start at 1 p.m., but has been moved up to 11 a.m. in anticipation of thunderstorms expected in the Nacogdoches area on Saturday.
SFA is coming off a Southland Conference series win over Northwestern State last weekend that kept the Ladyjacks in a tie with Texas State for first place in the league standings. SFA has a 7-2 record in Southland play and is 13-8 on the season. The Ladyjacks have lost just twice in their last 12 contests with a pair of five-game win streaks sandwiched between the defeats.
SFA is batting .287 as a team with nine home runs during that stretch and has outscored the opposition, 55-23. Five Ladyjacks -- seniors Briana Bishop, Michele Huffman and Kendal Harper, and sophomores Kayla Gutowski and Amber Price -- are hitting .300 or better over the last 12 games, and Bishop leads the team with her .361 season average. Her five home runs rank fourth in the Southland Conference.
The SFA pitching staff has combined for a 1.43 ERA in the same time span with four shutouts and two one-run performances. Junior ace Monika Covington is 5-1 with a 0.98 ERA in the last 12 games and has posted 51 strikeouts in 43 innings. Freshman Angela White is 4-1 with 20 strikeouts over the same stretch.
Louisiana-Monroe comes into Saturday's twin bill with a 9-11 overall record. The Warhawks are 1-2 in Sun Belt Conference play and have won three of their last five contests. ULM is coming off a 4-3 home win over Centenary on Tuesday. The Warhawks are 4-3 in home games and have five neutral-site wins but are still looking for their first true road victory. ULM is 0-5 in away games this season.
Following Saturday's doubleheader, SFA will be back in action on Wednesday, when the Ladyjacks take on Centenary College in a road game. That contest is scheduled for a 5:30 p.m. start.
-- SFA --
