Stephen F. Austin
UT Arlington
Mavericks Sweep SFA
4/10/2010 12:00:00 AM | Softball
April 10, 2010
ARLINGTON, Texas - After going a month-and-a-half without winding up on the wrong end of a shutout, the Stephen F. Austin Ladyjack softball team has been blanked in each of its last three games. More importantly, SFA was shut out twice Saturday in a series-opening doubleheader at Southland Conference foe UT Arlington.
The Mavericks handed SFA a 1-0 defeat in the opener, then got their offense going in a 5-0 win in Game 2. The sweep, combined with Texas State¹s two wins against Nicholls on Saturday, drops the Ladyjacks out of first place in the league standings.
SFA falls to 13-4 in league play with the end of its six-game conference win streak. The Ladyjacks are now 20-11 on the season. UT Arlington moves to 12-7 in Southland action with a 21-17 season mark.
UT Arlington outlasted a brilliant pitching performance by SFA¹s Monika Covington for a 1-0 extra-inning win in Game 1. The Mavericks had just one hit through the first seven innings and finished with only three for the contest after Samantha Chumchal won the game with a one-out home run down the left-field line.
For the Ladyjacks, Kendal Harper¹s first-inning single stood as the only offense until the fifth inning. Kayla Gutowski and Ashley Struchtemeyer got back-to-back singles with one out in the top of the fifth, but UTA starter Teri Lyles got out of the inning with a strikeout and a foul pop.
SFA threatened again in the seventh. Jessica Arana led off with a single through the left side. After a sacrifice bunt by Briana Bishop moved pinch-runner Michele Huffman to second, Lyles walked Gutowski to give the Ladyjacks a pair of runners. But Lyles again wriggled free with a pop-up in foul ground and a strikeout to end the inning.
SFA was retired in order in both the eighth and ninth.
Covington (8-6) recorded four strikeouts with three walks to go along with the three hits she allowed.
UTA didn¹t wait as long to get its bats going in the second game. The Mavericks struck early and kept the hits coming, finishing with 12 base knocks in a 5-0 verdict.
The Mavericks turned three hits, three walks and an error into a 4-0 lead in the bottom of the first. Lyles and Kelsey Kaiser recorded RBI singles in the inning.
SFA went hitless through the next four innings, and UTA added to its lead with a run in the bottom of the fifth. The Mavericks got four straight two-out singles to load the bases, then Kaiser drove in a run with a base knock to right.
In the top of the sixth, Amber Price led off with an infield single and moved to second on a base hit by Bethany Brown. The next batter, Harper, grounded to third, forcing out Price on a fielder¹s choice, then a strikeout and a fly ball ended the threat.
Struchtemeyer and Karissa Jones each singled in the top of the seventh, but the Ladyjacks left them stranded to end the game.
Ladyjack starter Angela White was charged with five earned runs on 12 hits and three walks in six innings. She struck out two while falling to 11-5 on the season.
The teams will finish up the series Sunday with one game, scheduled to start at noon.
-- SFA --
