Stephen F. Austin
No. 1 Florida
SFA Battles No. 1 Florida Tough in Citrus Classic
2/19/2016 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Elon 4, Stephen F. Austin 3
ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex • Orlando, Fla.
Records: SFA (3-3); Elon (4-2)
Box Score 
No. 1 Florida 6, Stephen F. Austin 2
ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex • Orlando, Fla.
Records: SFA (3-4); UF (8-0)
Box Score
ORLANDO, Fla. - The Stephen F. Austin softball team dropped its first two games of the Citrus Classic at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando on Friday, despite playing two quality teams tough for seven innings. The Ladyjacks lost to Elon 4-3 in the tournament opener before falling to No. 1 Flordia 6-2 in the evening contest.
SFA jumped out in front of the top-ranked Gators 2-0 after the first two innings, capitalizing on six wild pitches while getting hit twice by errant throws over the stretch. Junior Courtney Chambers reached first after being hit by a pitch and then advanced a bag on three separate wild pitches to score the first run of the game and put the `Jacks up 1-0 on the defending national champions.
Peyton Tinney made it to first safely on an infield single to start the second and was standing on third after two more wild throws. Junior outfielder Alisa Hamilton took care of the rest, driving Tinney home on an RBI single up the middle to extend SFA's lead to 2-0.
The Gators used four hits and an SFA error to score five runs in the third inning. Florida tacked on an unearned run in the fifth to put the game out of reach at 6-2.
Aleshia Ocasio (W, 3-0) relieved Kelly Barnhill for UF in the second inning and limited SFA to just two hits over the final 5.1 innings of play. She struck out seven batters to get the win.
Hamilton, Tinney, Lindsay Campbell and Taylor Fraccastoro each accounted for a hit in the game for the `Jacks.
Senior pitcher Hannah Welch (L, 0-1) had a strong outing against one of the best hitting teams in the country, allowing six runs - five earned - on nine hits and four walks over a complete 7.0 innings.
In the first game on Friday, SFA also got out to an early lead. The Ladyjacks scored one run in the first inning without recording a hit. Hamilton was plunked by a pitch to open the game, advanced to third on consecutive infield grounders and eventually made it home when Faith Talley earned a bases-loaded walk.
The score remained 1-0 until Elon got on the board with three runs in the fourth. The runs were manufactured using a pair of doubles, two more singles and a passed ball.
The Ladyjacks answered with a run in the fifth, again touching the plate without notching a hit in the frame. Chambers got hit by a pitch to lead off, then later scored on an RBI fielder's choice off the bat of Campbell to make it a 3-2 deficit for SFA.
The `Jacks couldn't catch up as the two teams traded single runs in the sixth and seventh innings. Taylor Vick smacked an RBI single in the seventh to put SFA within one at 4-3 but that would be where the score remained.
Junior Brittany Lewis (L, 2-1) went a full 6.0 innings in the circle, allowing four runs - two earned - on six hits while fanning five batters.
The Ladyjacks will return to action in the Citrus Classic on Saturday with games against Stetson at 12:15 p.m. and No. 10 Georgia at 2:30 p.m.
-SFA-
