Wednesday, March 14
Prairie View, Texas
3 p.m.
Stephen F. Austin
at
Prairie View A&M
Softball Steps out of League Play for Midweek Tilt at Prairie View A&M
3/13/2018 11:09:00 PM | Softball
Ladyjacks look to extend five-game win streak Wednesday and earn second victory over Prairie View A&M this season
Stephen F. Austin (10-9, 3-0 Southland) at Prairie View A&M (2-12, 0-0 SWAC)
Wednesday, March 14 | 3 p.m. | Lady Panther Softball Field | Prairie View, Texas
Watch | Live Stats
Wednesday, March 14 | 3 p.m. | Lady Panther Softball Field | Prairie View, Texas
Watch | Live Stats
NACOGDOCHES, Texas – For the second time within an eight-day span, the Stephen F. Austin softball team will take on Prairie View A&M, this Wednesday, March 14 in Prairie View, Texas, at Lady Panther Softball Field. The midweek non-conference tilt is slated for a 3 p.m. first pitch and can be followed online via PVpanthers.com.
The Ladyjacks (13-9, 3-0 Southland) step out of league play for the single game while beginning a stretch of nine consecutive games on the road. Following Wednesday's game, SFA treks to Thibodaux, Louisiana, for a Southland Conference series at Nicholls before playing at Texas Southern next Tuesday, March 20, and traveling to Beaumont, Texas, for a three-game set at Lamar Friday and Saturday, March 23-24. The nine-game road trip for the Ladyjacks will wrap up Tuesday, March 27 with a non-conference affair at Texas.
Currently on a five-game win streak, its longest since the 2015 season, SFA is coming off of its first Southland series sweep since April of 2015. The Ladyjacks took all three games in their conference opening series with Texas A&M-Corpus Christi this past weekend to win their first league opening series since 2014. SFA defeated the visiting Islanders 10-0 after just six innings of play in game two Friday, earning its first run-rule victory in Southland action since April 10, 2015.
In their series finale against A&M-Corpus Christi, the Ladyjacks claimed a dramatic, come-from-behind 6-5 triumph in extra innings. After the Islanders hit what seemed like would be a game-winning grand slam in the top of the ninth inning to go ahead 5-1, SFA fought back to score five unearned runs in the bottom of the frame. A two RBI walk-off single up the middle by senior third baseman Amber Landry (Ponchatoula, La.) sealed the deal for the Ladyjacks after scoring three other runs in the inning on an Islander fielding error, a fielder's choice and a RBI double from senior catcher Taylor Fraccastoro (Orange, Texas). The extended-inning victory was the Ladyjacks' first extra-inning win since defeating Central Arkansas on the road last April.
With offensive production being a concern heading into 2018, SFA has outscored its opponents 105-81 through 22 games this season. The 'Jacks have proven big middle innings and are undefeated (9-0) when tallying six or more runs in a game.
Wednesday, SFA will be looking for just its second true road win after going 1-6 in such contests so far this season. The 'Jacks lone road win came the opening week of the season, 6-4 at Louisiana-Monroe back on Feb. 9. Away losses have included at ULM, at No. 6/8 Texas A&M (4-0), at Northwestern State twice (4-1 and 6-5) and at Houston twice (5-1 and 3-0).
Hitting .271 as a team, SFA is led by freshman second base phenom Bryana Novegil (Houston, Texas), who is second in all of NCAA Division I softball with an on-base percentage of .640. She leads the Southland and is fifth nationally with a .534 batting average with a team-leading 31 hits and 13 walks. Novegil has knocked in eight extra-base hits this season, including four triples, which is the most of any player in the league and fifth-most in the nation.
Forty-one of the Ladyjacks' 93 RBI this season have come from two of SFA's senior standouts in Landry and Fraccastoro. Landry owns an impressive .342 batting average with a team-best six home runs and a .644 slugging percentage, while Fraccastoro has tallied a team-leading 21 RBI and 11 extra-base hits.
Senior right-hander Makayla Sikes (Gilmer, Texas) has been the Ladyjacks' go to in the circle, owning a team-best 7-5 record with a 2.76 earned run average in 58 and 1/3 innings of work. She has struck out 46 batters, including 20 over the last 16 innings pitched, and owns four complete game victories. Over the past weekend, she set a career high in strikeouts in two complete game wins. Sikes earned the game one victory over A&M-Corpus Christi with nine strikeouts, before dealing 11 in SFA's thrilling, nine-inning game three triumph of the series.
PRAIRIE VIEW A&M – LADY PANTHERS
· Record: 2-12, 0-0 SWAC
· Prairie View A&M has not competed in a week, playing last at SFA Softball Field on March 7 for the Ladyjacks' home opener.
· The Lady Panthers took a 9-2 loss in the affair as SFA lined nine hits in the contest and gave up just four. The Ladyjacks benefited from a pair of Prairie View A&M errors in the game and struck out eight Lady Panther batters. Novegil completed the game a perfect 3-for-3 at the plate with a walk, three runs scored and an RBI, while senior right fielder Autumn Holloway (Cypress, Texas) went 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run. Senior right-handed pitcher Callee Guffey (Waco, Texas) nearly went the distance and struck out a season-high tying six in six innings of work on the rubber to collect the win. Freshman Clarissa Hernandez (San Antonio, Texas) tossed one inning in relief, retiring three straight and notching two strikeouts. Prairie View A&M first baseman Laurisa Hernandez went 2-for-3 in the game with the Lady Panthers' lone RBI, while right-hander Vannessa Castro (1-5) took the loss after going the first three innings in the circle and striking out just one.
· Owning a 1-1 record at Lady Panther Softball Field, Prairie View A&M's only wins on the season have come at A&M-Corpus Christi (5-1) and versus Northwestern State (4-2). The Lady Panthers also fell to the Lady Demons by a count of 8-1 in game one of a home doubleheader.
· Batting just .183 as a team, Prairie View A&M's pitching staff owns a 6.15 ERA with no pitcher having an ERA lower than 4.16.
· A total of four Lady Panthers are hitting at a clip of .300 or above, including senior infielder Kylar Ward-Flowers (.400), redshirt sophomore utility player Daneisha Hinton (.333), junior infielder Laurisa Hernandez (.300) and freshman infielder Brianna Grays (.300).
Up Next…
The Ladyjacks will step back into league play this weekend for their second Southland series of the 2018 season and first on the road at Nicholls in Thibodaux, Louisiana. SFA faces the Colonels in a 6 p.m. single game Friday, March 16, before playing a doubleheader Saturday, March 17 at 12 p.m. and 2 p.m.
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).
Stay tuned to SFAJacks.com, as well as SFA's social media platforms, for complete coverage of Ladyjack softball throughout the season.
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