Stephen F. Austin
Louisiana-Monroe
SFA Beats Grambling and ULM to Close Mardi Gras Classic
2/13/2016 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Stephen F. Austin 3, Grambling 0
ULM Softball Complex • Monroe, La.
Records: SFA (2-1); GSU (0-3)
Box Score 
Stephen F. Austin 7, Louisiana-Monroe 4
ULM Softball Complex • Monroe, La.
Records: SFA (3-1); ULM (3-2)
Box Score
MONROE, La. – The Stephen F. Austin softball team got production from top to bottom in its Saturday lineups, leading to two more victories at the ULM Mardi Gras Classic at the ULM Softball Complex. The Ladyjacks shut out Grambling 3-0 on Saturday morning before outlasting host Louisiana-Monroe 7-4 to close the day.
SFA ends the season opening tournament with a 3-1 record, winning each of its last three games.
It was the newcomers and underclassmen who led the ‘Jacks to victory against Grambling. Sophomore pitcher Callee Guffey allowed just four hits while striking out seven batters in her season debut. She picked up the winning decision in the complete game shutout.
Freshman designated player Faith Talley and sophomore outfielder Annie Mehringer each went 2-for-3 to lead SFA at the plate. Transfer Courtney Chambers scored one run and drove in another while sophomore Autumn Holloway also recorded an RBI in the win.
The Ladyjacks turned four Grambling errors into two runs in the third inning and tacked on an insurance run in the fourth. Senior outfielder Lindsay Campbell singled to lead off the inning, stole second and advanced to third on a double by Talley. Holloway brought Campbell home in the next at-bat on a sacrifice fly to center.
In game two, eight different Ladyjacks notched hits and five different players drove in runs in a 7-4 victory over ULM. Freshman Peyton Tinney went 2-for-4, senior outfielder Alisa Hamilton recorded two RBI and scored twice and junior Brittany Lewis also drove in a pair.
Lewis (2-0) went 4.2 innings in the circle, allowing four runs on eight hits before senior Hannah Welch came in to close the game. She spun 2.1 scoreless frames to get the save in her first appearance of 2016.
SFA jumped out to a 3-0 lead behind a two-run triple from Lewis and an RBI single from Talley in the third inning. After ULM answered with a run in the bottom half, Mehringer ripped an RBI double to left center and scored on a Hamilton groundout in the fourth.
The Warhawks would cut their deficit to 5-4 after five innings but two more SFA runs in the sixth padded its lead to 7-4. Hamilton picked up her second RBI of the game and sophomore Taylor Fraccastoro drew a bases-loaded walk to cap the scoring.
The Ladyjacks will face four teams ranked in the top 15 of the USA Today/NFCA Coaches polls in a five-day span next week during their trip to Florida. SFA will first be tested against No. 10 Florida State on Wednesday at 5:00 p.m. CT before meeting No. 1 Florida, No. 12 Georgia and No. 15 Missouri in the Citrus Classic in Orlando from Feb. 19-21.
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