SFA Softball Tabbed Seventh in Both Preseason Southland Conference Polls
2/3/2017 12:00:00 AM | Softball
NACOGDOCHES, Texas – Under the new direction of head coach Nicole Dickson, Stephen F. Austin was voted to finish seventh in the preseason sports information directors’ and coaches’ polls, the league announced on Thursday morning.
The Ladyjacks finished fourth in conference last year after splitting the season 13-13 and went 28-29 overall. SFA finished the year with a heart pounding 14-11 win over Sam Houston in the tournament before losing out 5-3 to Lamar in the tournament semi-finals.
Senior Brittany Lewis received an automatic selection in the preseason All-Conference teams after grabbing a slot on the for the First Team All-Conference last year and runner-up for Hitter of the Year. The senior from Allen, Texas also received honors from the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) as a Division I All- Central Region Second Team nominee. Lewis shattered two of her own school records last season after starting all 57 games last year. She broke her own single season RBI record for SFA with a whopping 53 RBIs, and reset her total RBIs to 138 career RBI, also a school record. Lewis compiled a team-high .368 batting average with 29 runs, 12 doubles, two triples, and 11 home runs last season.
The second Ladyjack select for the All-Conference preseason team is junior catcher Taylor Fraccastoro. This is the first preseason All-SLC tab for the Orange, Texas native. She also started all 57 games last year. Fraccastoro had the second most RBIs behind Lewis with 30 RBIs off 47 hits. The junior accumulated a .294 batting average with 30 runs, seven doubles, one triple, and seven home runs. Behind the plate, Fraccastoro fielded a .966 percent average with 206 put-outs.
The Ladyjacks welcome back six returners for the 2017 season, four of those starting players. The big number this year though is with the 13 newcomers Coach Dickson is bringing to the team this year. Several players are outstanding junior college transfers like sophomore outfielder Tanna Huie and junior catcher Amber Landry. Six of those 13 are freshman that bring tremendous accolades with them.
SFA Softball will get underway on February 10th at the Mississippi State Tournament in Starksville, Miss. The first game for that tournament is slated against Western Kentucky with a 10:00 a.m. first pitch. To Purchase season tickets for the 2017 softball season, fans can contact the SFA ticket office at (936) 468-JACK (5225).
-SFA-
Coaches Poll (first place votes)
|
1.
|
McNeese (11)
|
121
|
|
2.
|
Abilene Christian (1)
|
106
|
|
3.
|
Lamar
|
97
|
|
4.
|
Nicholls
|
90
|
|
5.
|
Central Arkansas
|
84
|
|
6.
|
Northwestern State
|
66
|
|
7.
|
Stephen F. Austin
|
62
|
|
8.
|
Sam Houston State
|
61
|
|
9.
|
Southeastern Louisiana
|
34
|
|
10.
|
Houston Baptist
|
28
|
|
11.
|
A&M-Corpus Christi
|
27
|
|
12.
|
Incarnate Word
|
16
|
SID Poll (first place votes)
|
1.
|
McNeese (11)
|
121
|
|
2.
|
Abilene Christian (1)
|
103
|
|
3.
|
Nicholls
|
100
|
|
4.
|
Lamar
|
91
|
|
5.
|
Central Arkansas
|
79
|
|
6.
|
Northwestern State
|
73
|
|
7.
|
Stephen F. Austin
|
61
|
|
8.
|
Sam Houston State
|
53
|
|
9.
|
A&M-Corpus Christi
|
34
|
|
10.
|
Houston Baptist
|
32
|
|
11.
|
Southeastern Louisiana
|
24
|
|
12.
|
Incarnate Word
|
21
|
