Sunday, February 25
Conway, Ark.
8 a.m.
Stephen F. Austin
7-6
2
vs
7
South Dakota State
3-3
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
Stephen F. Austin
0
0
2
0
0
0
0
2
7
0
South Dakota State
0
1
0
0
6
0
X
7
9
0
Photo by: Hardy Meredith | SFA Photography
Jackrabbits Leap Ladyjacks 7-2 Sunday at UCA Softball Invitational
2/25/2018 11:51:00 AM | Softball
Teams combine for 16 hits as South Dakota State uses big fifth inning to surge past SFA
CONWAY, Ark. – In its final game of weekend at Central Arkansas' 2018 UCA Softball Invitational in Conway, Arkansas, the Stephen F. Austin softball team suffered a 7-2 loss at the hands of South Dakota State. The Jackrabbits (3-3) got a six-run fifth inning and held off the Ladyjacks (7-6) in the final two frames to secure the win.
"We didn't play bad just not good enough to win," commented head coach Nicole Dickson following the loss. "Makayla Sikes did a solid job and our hitters had decent at bats, but we need to be a threat every inning to score and get on base. Their team had more energy and made adjustments quicker, that's why they won the game. Callee Guffey struggled in her second inning of relief action and we had a miscue in the outfield that cost us two to three runs late in the game. Other than that, it was a clean game on defense."
The two teams combined for 16 hits as four of SFA's seven hits in the contest came in the first four innings of play. Meanwhile, South Dakota State collected four of its nine hits in the Jackrabbits' high-scoring fifth inning alone.
South Dakota State catcher Mallory McQuistan connected on a solo homer run over center field to begin the bottom of the second inning, making it a 1-0 game. Following a walk on freshman shortstop Emily Evans (Santa Fe, Texas), freshman second baseman Bryana Novegil (Houston, Texas) tripled down the left field line for an RBI. The Ladyjacks then took a 2-1 lead when Novegil scored on a single up the middle by senior third baseman Amber Landry (Ponchatoula, La.).
After two scoreless innings of play, the Jackrabbits got a pair of doubles from shortstop Yanney Ponce and right fielder Abbey Murphy in the bottom fifth to retake the lead at 3-2. Moments later designated player Brittney Morse singled to left field for an RBI to make it 4-2. South Dakota State scored three runs on what was scored an inside the park home run hit by second baseman Baily Janssen, the three RBI shot giving the Jackrabbits a commanding 7-2 advantage.
SFA got just one single in both the sixth and seventh innings and could not advance a base runner past second, making the 7-2 count final.
Novegil finished 2-for-4 on the day with her RBI and run scored. Senior right-hander Makayla Sikes (Gilmer, Texas) tossed the first four and 1/3 innings and claimed three strikeouts, while senior righty Callee Guffey (Waco, Texas) took the loss after one and 2/3 innings of relief work to drop to 2-2 on the season.
Both Morse and South Dakota State center fielder Julia Anderson went 2-for-3 at the plate as the Jackrabbit pitching staff did not record a strikeout against the Ladyjacks. Right-hander Taylor Compton (1-3) picked up her first win in the circle this season after pitching three innings in relief.
"The focus going into the next two weeks is going to be practicing and preparing with a purpose," coach Dickson said. "I think we still need to clean up some things on defense and I need some players to step up in the outfield and in the circle to get the job done. Even with players out of positions with injuries, we are solid enough to make those plays and offensively put runs on the board."
Following this weekend SFA is now 6-2 in neutral-site contests after starting off the season with a 5-0 record in such games.
Up Next…
The Ladyjacks return to the comforts of Nacogdoches and the SFA Softball Field for their home opener Wednesday, Feb. 28 as SFA hosts Texas Southern for in a 4 p.m. first pitch.
Stay tuned to SFAJacks.com, as well as SFA's social media platforms, for complete coverage of Ladyjack softball throughout the season.
-SFA-
"We didn't play bad just not good enough to win," commented head coach Nicole Dickson following the loss. "Makayla Sikes did a solid job and our hitters had decent at bats, but we need to be a threat every inning to score and get on base. Their team had more energy and made adjustments quicker, that's why they won the game. Callee Guffey struggled in her second inning of relief action and we had a miscue in the outfield that cost us two to three runs late in the game. Other than that, it was a clean game on defense."
The two teams combined for 16 hits as four of SFA's seven hits in the contest came in the first four innings of play. Meanwhile, South Dakota State collected four of its nine hits in the Jackrabbits' high-scoring fifth inning alone.
South Dakota State catcher Mallory McQuistan connected on a solo homer run over center field to begin the bottom of the second inning, making it a 1-0 game. Following a walk on freshman shortstop Emily Evans (Santa Fe, Texas), freshman second baseman Bryana Novegil (Houston, Texas) tripled down the left field line for an RBI. The Ladyjacks then took a 2-1 lead when Novegil scored on a single up the middle by senior third baseman Amber Landry (Ponchatoula, La.).
After two scoreless innings of play, the Jackrabbits got a pair of doubles from shortstop Yanney Ponce and right fielder Abbey Murphy in the bottom fifth to retake the lead at 3-2. Moments later designated player Brittney Morse singled to left field for an RBI to make it 4-2. South Dakota State scored three runs on what was scored an inside the park home run hit by second baseman Baily Janssen, the three RBI shot giving the Jackrabbits a commanding 7-2 advantage.
SFA got just one single in both the sixth and seventh innings and could not advance a base runner past second, making the 7-2 count final.
Novegil finished 2-for-4 on the day with her RBI and run scored. Senior right-hander Makayla Sikes (Gilmer, Texas) tossed the first four and 1/3 innings and claimed three strikeouts, while senior righty Callee Guffey (Waco, Texas) took the loss after one and 2/3 innings of relief work to drop to 2-2 on the season.
Both Morse and South Dakota State center fielder Julia Anderson went 2-for-3 at the plate as the Jackrabbit pitching staff did not record a strikeout against the Ladyjacks. Right-hander Taylor Compton (1-3) picked up her first win in the circle this season after pitching three innings in relief.
"The focus going into the next two weeks is going to be practicing and preparing with a purpose," coach Dickson said. "I think we still need to clean up some things on defense and I need some players to step up in the outfield and in the circle to get the job done. Even with players out of positions with injuries, we are solid enough to make those plays and offensively put runs on the board."
Following this weekend SFA is now 6-2 in neutral-site contests after starting off the season with a 5-0 record in such games.
Up Next…
The Ladyjacks return to the comforts of Nacogdoches and the SFA Softball Field for their home opener Wednesday, Feb. 28 as SFA hosts Texas Southern for in a 4 p.m. first pitch.
Stay tuned to SFAJacks.com, as well as SFA's social media platforms, for complete coverage of Ladyjack softball throughout the season.
-SFA-
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Compton (1-3)
L: Guffey, Callee (2-2)
Batting:
2B: Vegas, Shay 1
3B: Novegil, Bryana 1
RBI: Novegil, Bryana 1 ; Landry, Amber 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Novegil, Bryana 1 ; Evans, Emily 1
CS: Fraccastoro, Taylor 1
HBP: Fraccastoro, Taylor 1
Batting:
2B: Murphy 1 ; Ponce 1
HR: McQuistan 1 ; Janssen 1
RBI: Murphy 2 ; Morse 1 ; McQuistan 1 ; Janssen 3
Base Running:
RUNS: Andersen 1 ; Murphy 1 ; Chavez 1 ; McQuistan 2 ; Janssen 1 ; Ponce 1
SB: Andersen 1
HBP: McQuistan 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
AB
2
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
1
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
INF
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
C
/ SoftballINF
/ Softball
P
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