Stephen F. Austin
Mcneese State
Ladyjacks Sweep McNeese
3/27/2010 12:00:00 AM | Softball
March 27, 2010
LAKE CHARLES, La. - Stephen F. Austin ripped McNeese State's pitching for five home runs on the way to a doubleheader sweep on the opening day of their three-game Southland Conference series at Cowgirl Diamond on Saturday. The Ladyjacks took a 6-4 win in the opener, then clamped down for a 7-0 verdict in Game 2.
The wins keep SFA at the top of the Southland standings with a 9-2 mark. The Ladyjacks are 16-8 overall and have won 13 of their last 15 games. McNeese State falls to 18-18 on the year and 6-8 in league play.
The series will conclude Sunday with a single game scheduled to start at 1 p.m.
SFA came from behind with a four-run fifth inning, punctuated by a two-run homer from Brittany Caruthers, to take a 6-4 win in the opener.
The teams traded one-run innings through the first two frames with SFA's scoring coming on lead-off home runs by Bethany Brown and Ashley Struchtemeyer. McNeese tied the score at two in the bottom of the second, then went ahead, 4-2, with two runs on four hits in the third.
The score stayed that way until the Ladyjack bats heated up in the fifth. Briana Bishop reached on an error with one out, then scored on a triple by Kayla Gutowski. Gutowski trotted home when the next batter, Struchtemeyer, singled up the middle. Struchtemeyer moved to second on a passed ball then took third on a wild pitch before Caruthers blasted her home run over the wall in center field. It was the freshman catcher's first career long ball.
SFA starter Monika Covington (6-5) held the Cowgirls to two hits over the final four innings to pick up the win. She worked around a hit batsman and a double in the bottom of the seventh, recording the final two outs with the tying run at second. Covington finished with four earned runs on eight hits and six walks with one strikeout.
Gutowski, Struchtemeyer and Caruthers were each 2-for-4 and combined to drive in five of the Ladyjacks' six runs. Brown, Arana, Bishop, Jones and Price each hit safely once, giving SFA 11 hits as a team, the third-best single-game total of the year.
In Game 2, SFA took charge early with a three-run homer by Struchtemeyer in the second inning and cruised to a 7-0 win behind the pitching of freshman Angela White.
Bishop drew a walk to lead off the second inning, and Gutowski followed with a single before Struchtemeyer crushed her second home run of the day and fourth of the season.
That was all the cushion White (9-3) would need, as she scattered five hits over seven innings to earn her ninth win of the season.
SFA picked up some insurance with a run each in the third and sixth innings, then set the final score with two runs in the seventh.
Brown doubled to lead off the third, then moved to third on a sac bunt by Kendal Harper. The next batter, Jessica Arana lifted a sacrifice fly to left, giving the Ladyjacks a 4-0 lead.
Gutowski got a one-out double to start things off in the sixth. Struchtemeyer drew a walk behind her, then pinch runners Michele Huffman and Krista Hallmark moved into scoring position on a ground ball to short by Caruthers. Huffman would score on an infield single by Karissa Jones.
Brown led off the seventh with her fourth home run of the season, tying her with Struchtemeyer for second on the team. Harper and Arana drew consecutive walks behind Brown's homer to chase starting pitcher Kayla Shepherd from the circle in favor of Tiffany Denham.
The next batter, Bishop, sacrificed the runners ahead. Harper was cut down at home for the second out of the inning, as she tried to score on a wild pitch. Pinch runner Brandi Dutton moved to third on the play. She would come home on Gutowski's base knock up the middle.
McNeese's biggest threat came in the fourth inning. Lindsey Langner led off with a walk, then moved to second on a bunt single by Liz Morvant. The next batter, Molly Guidry, singled, but Harper, the center fielder, nailed Langner at third for her first outfield assist of the season. White then ended the threat with a strikeout and a fly ball.
She faced the minimum over the next two innings, with an unassisted double play by Gutowski at first in the fifth wiping out the Cowgirls' third hit. McNeese put up a pair of two-out singles in the bottom of the seventh, but White got a fly ball to right to end the game.
She finished with a career-high seven strikeouts in picking up her third shutout of the season.
Gutowski went 3-for-4 to lead SFA in the second game and make her 5-for-8 on the day. Brown was 2-for-4 with two runs scored, and Struchtemeyer, Jones and Price each hit safely once.
-- SFA --
