Ladyjacks Go 2-0 Saturday with Wins over Memphis and Jackson State

Saturday, February 17

Natchitoches, La.

10:00 a.m.

Stephen F. Austin

5-4

Memphis

4-4

Memphis

Stephen F. Austin

Photo by: Hardy Meredith | SFA Photography

Ladyjacks Go 2-0 Saturday with Wins over Memphis and Jackson State

2/17/2018 6:28:00 PM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

SFA tallies 16 hits and scores 13 runs in pair of non-conference games to wrap up weekend play at the 2018 Lady Demon Classic

By: Luke Bolanos | Assistant Director of Athletic Media Relations

NATCHITOCHES, La. – Wrapping up a six-game stretch within a 72-hour span, the Stephen F. Austin softball team proved to be strong in their victorious final day of competition at Northwestern State's Lady Demon Classic in Natchitoches, Louisiana. The Ladyjacks improved their 2018 record to 6-4 and moved to 5-0 in neutral-site games Saturday by defeating the American Athletic Conference's Memphis 5-3 and Jackson State, out of the Southwestern Athletic Conference, 8-4.

SFA collected 16 hits across the two games and got outstanding performances from senior third baseman/catcher Amber Landry (Ponchatoula, La.) and junior outfielder Shay Vegas (Flower Mound, Texas), who combined for eight of the Ladyjacks' 10 RBI on the day. Landry went an impressive 4-for-6 in the two games with four RBI and three runs scored, while Vegas finished 2-for-4 with four RBI.

"It was a huge win against Memphis," head coach Nicole Dickson said. "That was a great team win against a tough, well coached program. Callee Guffey and Makayla Sikes were a tough combination in the circle."

"Against Jackson State you could tell our team was tired after four-straight days of games," coach Dickson continued. "We made some uncharacteristic mental and physical mistakes. Autumn Anderson came in and was solid, we were able to refocus and put some runs on the board."

Win, 5-3 vs. Memphis (4-4)
Strong pitching from the duo of senior right-handers Callee Guffey (Waco, Texas) and Makayla Sikes (Gilmer, Texas) limited Memphis to six hits and three runs. Aided by three Tiger errors, the Ladyjacks used a five-run third inning to surge past Memphis.

Tiger second baseman Brooke Lee homered over the right center field fence in the top of the second inning to put Memphis ahead 1-0 early. Junior designated player Margarita Corona (Tucson, Ariz.) doubled to left field after Landry reached on a Tiger error to begin the bottom of the third. Moments later a wild pitch allowed Landry to score, making it a 1-1 game with no outs in the frame. Another error by Memphis allowed junior pinch runner Lauren Becker (Cypress, Texas) to reach home plate, before Vegas knocked in a two RBI single to give SFA a 4-1 advantage. A third Tiger error directly led to the Ladyjacks' fifth run of the game as Vegas scored off the miscue to make it 5-1.

Memphis would get a two-run home run from Lee in the top of the fourth to make it a two-run game at 5-3 but Sikes closed the game out on the rubber, retiring six in order between the fifth and seventh innings.

Landry went 2-for-4 in the game as Vegas finished 1-for-1 with two RBI, a run scored and a walk. Guffey (2-1) went four and 1/3 in the circle and struck out two to pick up her second win of the season, while Sikes earned her first save of 2018 with two strikeouts in two and 2/3 innings.

Lee, left fielder Bailey Smith and designated player Addison Maxwell of Memphis all went 2-for-3 at the plate. The Tigers' Katie Brignac (1-1) took the loss in less than an inning pitched after appearing in the third and giving up an earned run.

Win, 8-4 vs. Jackson State (0-3)
SFA's offense proved to be more potent in its outing with Jackson State, racking up 10 hits and scoring eight times. Big innings early preceded the Ladyjacks shutting down the Lady Tigers in the final five innings of the game behind sophomore right-hander Autumn Anderson (Fort Collins, Colo.).

The bat of Landry remained hot as SFA began its afternoon contest, colliding with the softball for a two-run dinger in the bottom of the opening inning to put the Ladyjacks ahead 2-0. Their lead would remain short-lived for the time being as Jackson State responded in the top of the second with a four-run inning.

Lady Tiger designated player Kayla Owens connected for RBI single before both Owens and pinch runner Alyssa Fisher scored on a SFA error. Memphis got another run in the frame to go up 4-2 when catcher Nava Fisher singled down the right field line for a RBI.

SFA retook the lead at 6-4 in the bottom of the inning after scoring four runs of its own. Freshman second baseman Bryana Novegil (Houston, Texas) picked up a RBI single and then Landry singled through the left side for an RBI, before Vegas hit a two RBI single into center field. The Ladyjacks went on to tack on a run in both the third and fourth innings with Landry recording a sacrifice fly to center field in the third and senior first baseman Madison Selman (Lufkin, Texas) smacking out a solo home run over left field in the fourth. It was Selman's second homer of the week after claiming her first as a Ladyjack Friday evening against Northwestern State.

Anderson retired nine of 10 Jackson State batters in the final three innings to close out the game.

Landry finished 2-for-2 with four RBI, two runs and a walk, while Novegil went 3-for-4 with an RBI and a pair of runs scored. Anderson (1-0) notched her first win of the season in five innings of relief work, striking out five of 18 batters faced and not giving up a hit.

Lady Tiger shortstop Sierra Smith went 2-for-4 at the plate and scored once. Ashley Sain (0-1) threw a complete game for Memphis and took the loss with two strikeouts.

"Overall it was a great week, we played tough competition and played hard in every game," added coach Dickson. "I'm proud of our team's overall effort and I'm also proud of my coaching staff as well."

Up Next…
The Ladyjacks will enjoy five days off from competition before returning to game action at Ole Miss' Red & Blue Classic held Friday-Sunday, Feb. 23-25 in Oxford, Mississippi. SFA will take on North Dakota State, University of Missouri-Kansas City, tournament host Mississippi and Southern Illinois University Edwardsville over the three-day span.

For all weather-related SFA softball schedule changes throughout the 2018 spring season, be sure to keep an eye on SFAJacks.com and follow SFA softball on Facebook (SFA Softball) and Twitter (@SFA_Softball).

-SFA-