Stephen F. Austin
Nicholls
Ladyjacks Top Nicholls
5/14/2010 12:00:00 AM | Softball
May 14, 2010
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SAN MARCOS, Texas - Stephen F. Austin scored all but two of its runs with two outs Friday to stay alive in the Southland Conference Softball Tournament with an 8-4 win over Nicholls. The victory moves SFA one step closer to a shot at the tournament title but leaves the Ladyjacks with plenty of work to do Saturday, after rains delayed play for most of Friday.
SFA was scheduled to play the Colonels at 11 a.m., but the game was pushed back to 6:30 p.m. to allow for field preparation after heavy rains throughout most of the morning and early afternoon. The Ladyjacks would have played two games Friday, but will now potentially play three games in succession Saturday, if they are able to continue winning. First up will be the winner of Friday's late game between No. 3 UT Arlington and No. 5 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. That contest is set for a 12:30 p.m. start.
The win improved SFA to 29-19 on the year, while the Colonels finish their season at 25-22.
The Ladyjacks got on the board early with a two-run homer by Briana Bishop in the top of the first. She scored Kendal Harper on the blast, which was her 11th of the season. Harper had singled with one out earlier in the frame.
The Colonels got one run back on a Ladyjack error in the bottom half. Megan Gaspard led off by reaching on a booted ground ball. The ball took a bad hop off Bishop at third base and bounced into shallow left field, allowing Gaspard to take second. She would move to third on a wild pitch, then score on a sacrifice fly by Audrey Wood.
After a scoreless second, SFA wasted a one-out double by Bishop, leaving two runners in scoring position in the top of the third. Nicholls took the lead with a two-run effort in the bottom half. Kayla Watterson singled up the middle to lead off, then took third on a double to right by Lyndsay Mesh. Ashton Bennett plated Watterson with a sacrifice fly. Mesh took third on a base knock by Mandy Granger, then scored when Katie Holmes grounded out to Jessica Arana at shortstop.
The Ladyjacks answered quickly with a three-run fourth inning to take a 5-3 lead. Amber Price drew a two-out walk to give SFA its first runner of the frame. Bethany Brown then reached on an error. Kendal Harper drew a walk to load the bases for Arana. She came through with a triple to right-center that rolled under the glove of centerfielder Gaspard and all the way to the wall, scoring three runs.
Nicholls brought it back to a one-run game in the bottom half. Gaspard led off with a double to right-center, then took third on a ground-out. She trotted home when Wood singled to right-center.
That got Monika Covington out of the Ladyjack bullpen to replace starter Angela White. She gave up a base knock up the middle to Watterson, the first batter she faced, but Mesh lined out to Bishop, and she threw behind the runner at second for an inning-ending double play.
SFA did some more two-out damage in the sixth. This time it was Harper sending an 0-1 pitch from Wood deep over the wall in center field to give the Ladyjacks a 6-4 lead.
The Ladyjacks tacked on a pair of unearned runs in the top of the seventh to set the final score. Bishop was hit by a pitch to lead off and was lifted for pinch-runner Krista Hallmark. Hallmark took second when Kayla Gutowski singled to left. Hallmark moved over to third on a fielder's choice by Ashley Struchtemeyer that cut Gutowski down at second for the first out of the inning. Struchtemeyer then advanced to second on a wild pitch. Hallmark scored, and Struchtemeyer took third on a passed ball, then Struchtemeyer came home when Caruthers reached on an error.
Covington closed out the game in the bottom half to pick up her second save of the season. She held Nicholls scoreless through three-and-two-thirds innings, scattering three hits with four strikeouts. White (14-8) got the win after working three-and-a-third. She was charged with three earned runs on six hits and four walks. She struck out three.
Bishop went 2-for-3 with a homer and a double, driving in two runs to lead the Ladyjacks. Harper was also 2-for-3 with a home run and scored three times. Arana, Gutowski, Struchtemeyer and Karissa Jones each hit safely once.
-- SFA --
