Stephen F. Austin
Central Arkansas
SFA Drops Series Opener Against UCA
3/14/2015 12:00:00 AM | Softball
CONWAY, Arkansas - The Stephen F. Austin softball team got off to a good start on Saturday evening, but couldn't slow down the Central Arkansas bats in a 9-2 loss to the Sugar Bears at Farris Field. The Ladyjacks drop to 7-13 on the year with the loss, including a 1-3 mark in Southland Conference play.
SFA jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning with an RBI double from Taylor Fraccastoro and an RBI groundout off the bat of Katelyn Standley. Heather Hollingsworth led off the game with a walk and advanced to second when Shalie Day singled through the left side in the next at-bat. Fraccastoro followed with a double to the gap in left-center to send Hollingsworth home before Day touched the plate after Standley put the ball in play to second base.
The Ladyjacks would be unable to score the rest of the night. Day and Taylor LeFlore led SFA with two hits apiece, with LeFlore recording the Ladyjacks' only other multi-base hit - a double in the seventh.
The Sugar Bears (16-6, 4-0 SLC) answered the Ladyjacks' two-run first inning with four runs in the bottom half. Jessie Taylor hit a two-run double before Hannah Stirton connected on a two-run home run to put UCA up 4-2.
A two-run triple by Hayley Parker in the third and a three-run homer by Taylor in the sixth finished the scoring for the Sugar Bears in the 9-2 final.
Taylor led UCA with five runs driven in on the evening.
Freshman Callee Guffey (3-6) allowed six runs on five hits over three innings for the Ladyjacks and took the loss. Hannah Welch was charged with three runs on six hits over the final three frames to finish the game.
The Ladyjacks and Sugar Bears will play the second and third games of the three-game set on Sunday afternoon beginning at1:00 p.m.
-SFA-
