Wednesday, February 14
College Station, Texas
5 p.m.
Stephen F. Austin
at
No. 6/8 Texas A&M
Softball Takes on No. 6/8 Texas A&M in Midweek Tilt
2/13/2018 7:40:00 PM | Softball
Ladyjacks face sixth-ranked team in nation for fifth game of season, play first of seven games in five-day span
Stephen F. Austin (3-1, 0-0 Southland) at No. 6/8 Texas A&M (4-0, 0-0 SEC)
Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2018 | 5 p.m. | Aggie Softball Complex | College Station, Texas
Watch (SEC Network +) | Live Stats | Listen
Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2018 | 5 p.m. | Aggie Softball Complex | College Station, Texas
Watch (SEC Network +) | Live Stats | Listen
NACOGDOCHES, Texas – Having won three of their first four games of the season for just the third time since 2008, the Stephen F. Austin softball team returns to game action Wednesday for a midweek tilt at top-10 ranked Texas A&M. The Ladyjacks, who went 3-1 over the weekend at Louisiana-Monroe's Mardi Gras Classic, will face a nationally-ranked opponent for the first time since battling No. 4 Oregon on March 5, 2017.
The game will be broadcast live on SEC Network + with Matt Simon providing play-by-play and Chelsea Reber serving as the color commentator. Authenticated subscribers can watch the stream through WatchESPN and the ESPN app. Live stats will be available at 12thman.com.
Wednesday's contest will mark the first game against a Southeastern Conference opponent for SFA since playing at Missouri on March 3, 2017. The Ladyjacks went 0-5 against SEC teams last year, including posting a 0-2 mark against the Aggies.
SFA was ousted 8-0 in five innings in its first outing at Texas A&M during the 2017 Texas A&M Invitational, before taking the Aggies to the wire in an 8-7 loss. Trailing 8-1 through six innings of play, the Ladyjacks mustered a six-run seventh-inning rally before being edged. SFA loaded the bases with just one out trailing 8-6 and had runners on second and third with two outs and down 8-7, but couldn't bring another run across the plate. Texas A&M was 9-0 and ranked 19th nationally at the time.
Striving to take a significant step forward after going 17-33 overall last season, SFA looks to be on the right track based on its opening week performance. The Ladyjacks opened up their 2018 campaign with a combined no-hitter and a 10-0 rout in five innings of the Southwestern Athletic Conference's Grambling State. SFA then put forth an all-around effort to defeat UT Martin of the Ohio Valley Conference by a score of 7-1. The Skyhawks, who returned seven starters from last year's squad, won 39 games a season ago and reached the championship round of the 2017 OVC Softball Championship before earning an automatic berth to the inaugural Postseason National Invitational Softball Championship (NISC).
In a road doubleheader at ULM last Friday, the Ladyjacks split games with the Warhawks after claiming an exciting 6-4 victory in the first game of the series. Tied at three apiece after six full innings of play, junior designated player Margarita Corona (Tucson, Arizona) knocked out her first home run as Ladyjack. Her three-run blast over the left center field fence in front of a boisterous ULM crowd gave SFA a 6-3 lead that it would not relinquish.
Through four games of the season the Ladyjacks' .556 slugging percentage ranks top 25 nationally, while SFA's.323 batting average is among the nation's top 50. Four Ladyjacks are hitting at a clip over .300, including freshmen Bryana Novegil (.667) and Triniti Kendzior (.500), Corona (.385) and senior Taylor Fraccastoro (.333). Novegil's batting average ranks 13th nationally as Fraccastoro's 1.75 runs scored per game is 16th-best in the nation. Inside the circle, right-handed senior Makayla Sikes (Gilmer, Texas) is off to a strong start. She went 2-1 on the rubber last weekend, holding opponents to a .185 batting average and allowing just five hits in seven and 1/3 innings pitched.
"We are excited to play the No. 6 team in the country," head coach Nicole Dickson said. "We played them last year and hung tight one game. They've got one of the best pitching staffs in the country, they've got one of the best offenses in the country. Their infield has played together for the last two years. For our group to go in there and have relentless effort and compete, it's going to be fun to do. Especially since we have a lot of underclassmen who stepped up this past weekend, that was fun to watch. Getting to see them in that environment and at that level, it's going to be fun."
About No. 6/8 Texas A&M
2018 record: 4-0, 0-0 Southeastern Conference
· One of 32 undefeated teams after the opening week of play, the Aggies are ranked No. 6 in the nation according to the first regular season USA Today/NFCA Top 25 Coaches Poll and No. 8 in the opening ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25.
· Texas A&M defeated the likes of the University of Houston (5-4), Boston College – 3-1 and 11-3 (5) – and Texas Tech (9-5) at home in it its opening weekend of play in the Aggie Classic.
· The Aggies are in the midst of a 11-game homestand to open up the 2018 season.
· Picked to finish third in the SEC by a vote of the league's head coaches during the preseason, Texas A&M went 47-13 overall in 2017 and posted a 16-7 conference record. The Aggies reached the 2017 Women's College World Series in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, for the first time since 2008 before being ousted by UCLA.
· Texas A&M returned nine positional starters and four pitchers from a season ago.
· Senior infielder Tori Vidales leads the team at the plate with a .500 batting average and a .768 slugging percentage through four games of the season. Senior catcher Ashley Walters hit .375 the opening weekend of play and owns a .615 on-base percentage with four walks. Junior Samantha Show has tossed 14 and 1/3 innings inside the circle, going 2-0 with nine strikeouts, while senior Trinity Harrington and sophomore lefty Payton McBride have not given up a run in a combined 11 and 2/3 innings of work.
Up Next…
The Ladyjacks will quickly turn their attention to this weekend's Lady Demon Classic in Natchitoches, Louisiana, held at Northwestern State's Lady Demon Diamond Friday-Sunday, Feb. 16-18. SFA will play Memphis Friday, Feb. 16 at 10 a.m., followed by a non-conference matchup with Northwestern State at 5:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 17, the Ladyjacks will match up against Memphis once again at 12:30 p.m. and then will face Jackson State at 3 p.m. SFA will wrap up play at the Lady Demon Classic on Sunday, Feb. 18 with a 12:30 p.m. non-conference contest at Northwestern State.
Stay tuned to SFAJacks.com, as well as SFA's social media platforms, for complete coverage of Ladyjack softball throughout the season, including weather-related schedule changes.
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