Stephen F. Austin
Baylor
SFA Edged By No. 10 Baylor in Finals
2/8/2015 12:00:00 AM | Softball
WACO, Texas – Freshman Makayla Sikes had a solid afternoon in the circle, but the Stephen F. Austin softball team couldn’t get the bats going on Saturday in a 3-0 loss to No. 10 Baylor in the championship game of the Getterman Classic. The Ladyjacks leave the season-opening tournament with a 2-3 record and a runner-up finish.
Junior outfielder Lindsay Campbell, sophomore pitcher/infielder Brittany Lewis and freshman catcher Taylor Fraccastoro were each named to the Getterman Classic All-Tournament Team after Sunday’s contest.
The group made big plays all weekend long for the Ladyjacks. Lewis hit a three-run home run in extra innings to lift SFA to a thrilling 6-3 victory over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in the season opener on Friday. Fraccastoro had a pair of timely home runs, including a solo shot in the semifinals against Wichita State to help her team advance to the championship game. Campbell hit .333 (3-for-9) for the weekend, drew four walks, scored a run and captained the Ladyjack outfield.
In the championship game on Sunday, SFA ran into a hot Baylor pitcher in Heather Stearns. The junior ace had a perfect game going through five innings as her team built a 3-0 lead early. With two outs in the sixth inning, Heather Hollingsworth broke up Stearns’ no-hit bid with a single up the middle, but that was the only hit she would surrender in six innings of work. Stearns (2-0) struck out 11 on the day in a winning decision.
Freshman Autumn Holloway notched the Ladyjacks’ only other hit in the game with two outs in the seventh but SFA couldn’t capitalize in the final frame.
Sikes battled the 10th ranked Lady Bears (5-0) all afternoon inside the circle. The freshman tossed a complete six innings, allowed three runs (one earned) on seven hits and two walks and fanned two batters. All three of her runs allowed in the quality start came in the second inning, while only one was charged as an earned run due to three Ladyjack errors in the frame.
The Ladyjacks will look to carry their momentum from the Getterman into next week’s Houston Hilton Plaza Invitational from Friday to Sunday. SFA will open the tournament against DePaul on Friday morning at 11:30 a.m.
-SFA-
