Wednesday, March 7
Nacogdoches, Texas
4 p.m.
Stephen F. Austin
vs
Prairie View A&M
Softball Hosts Prairie View A&M for Home Opener Wednesday
3/6/2018 7:07:00 PM | Softball
Ladyjacks to take on Lady Panthers in 2018 home opener at SFA Softball Field
Prairie View A&M (2-11) at Stephen F. Austin (9-9)
Wednesday, March 7 | 4 p.m. | SFA Softball Field | Nacogdoches, Texas
Watch | Live Stats
Wednesday, March 7 | 4 p.m. | SFA Softball Field | Nacogdoches, Texas
Watch | Live Stats
NACOGDOCHES, Texas – The friendly confines of SFA Softball Field await the Stephen F. Austin softball team for its 2018 home opener against Southwestern Athletic Conference opponent Prairie View A&M Wednesday, March 7. First pitch is scheduled for 4 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on Facebook Live with live stats available at SFAJacks.com.
The Ladyjacks (9-9), who have not seen SFA Softball Field for in-season game action since April 22, 2017, will play their first game in Nacogdoches of 2018 after having originally scheduled home openers against North Texas canceled and versus Texas Southern postponed. Wednesday's tilt will serve as SFA's final tune-up before heading into Southland Conference play this weekend.
"We're excited to have fans and crowds and play on our home field," head coach Nicole Dickson said about this week's slate of home games. "Hopefully, weather permitting, we get in four games this week and it's going to be great. I'm excited to play at home, I definitely feel like that's going to be a big advantage for us. I feel like our players have the right mindset, they are excited to play on their field and protect their house."
Despite going 2-3 at the University of Houston's Red & White Showcase this past weekend, the Ladyjacks ended the tournament on a high note. SFA picked up a 7-0 shut out of the SWAC's Southern University in its final game Sunday morning, playing well in all facets of the game. The Ladyjacks allowed just four hits, collected eight of their own, and were nearly flawless in both the infield and outfield. SFA got strong pitching from sophomores Autumn Anderson (Fort Collins, Colo.) and Jordan Llinas (Houston, Texas) with Llinas picking up her first win of the season after going four and 1/3 innings in relief and striking out a career-high five batters. In their opening game of the Red & White Showcase, the Ladyjacks earned their second run-rule win of the season with an 8-0 rout of Mississippi Valley State in six innings.
After going 9-9 in its non-conference tournament schedule, which included a road game at sixth-ranked Texas A&M, SFA looks to enter league play a game above .500. The Ladyjacks have been competitive in all but one contest this season and have outscored their opponents 75-70. SFA has scored 26 runs in the third inning through its first 18 games and is 9-3 in games played during the day.
Prairie View A&M will be making its first trip to Nacogdoches since April 12, 2016, when the Ladyjacks earned a 7-2 victory over the Lady Panthers. That game marked the last time the two teams played as SFA did not face Prairie View A&M during the 2017 season. Over the last 10 seasons the Ladyjacks are an unblemished 7-0 against the Lady Panthers, outscoring Prairie View A&M 59-10 in those contests and averaging over eight runs per outing.
Hitting .262 as a club, SFA has benefited from the impressive start to freshman second baseman Bryana Novegil's inaugural season. The Houston native is batting at an outstanding clip of .511, which ranks her 16th nationally and first in the Southland in that category. She has compiled 23 hits in 45 at bats for a league-leading on-base percentage of .633, which is seventh-best in the nation. Novegil leads SFA in walks (11) and owns a slugging mark of .644.
The Ladyjacks have been anchored by seniors Amber Landry (Ponchatoula, La.) and Taylor Fraccastoro (Orange, Texas), both of whom lead SFA in runs scored and RBI. Playing primarily third base, Landry has knocked out a team-best five home runs this season to rank second in the Southland and 39th nationally in that category. She is hitting .345 through the first 18 games of the season with 20 hits, including nine for extra bases, and owns a .672 slugging mark. Fraccastoro, who has been SFA's strong arm behind the plate, has scored a team-best 14 times and registered a team-high 15 RBI. With a slugging percentage of .537, Fraccastoro has earned eight extra-base hits and drawn six walks.
Another newcomer who has shone is junior Pima Community College transfer Margarita Corona (Tucson, Arizona), who has 15 hits with eight RBI, including a pair of doubles and a home run.
In the circle, the Ladyjacks' pitching staff owns a 3.28 earned run average and is holding opponents to a .264 batting average. Senior Makayla Sikes (Gilmer, Texas) has been SFA's workhorse, compiling a 5-5 record in 42 and 1/3 innings of work. She has tallied 26 strikeouts on the season and tossed eight complete games in eight starts. Over the weekend, freshman Clarissa Hernandez (San Antonio, Texas) made her sixth appearance of the season and retired eight-consecutive batters and struck out a career-high four in two and 2/3 innings of relief against Houston Saturday night.
PRAIRIE VIEW A&M – LADY PANTHERS
· Record: 2-11, 0-0 Southwestern Athletic Conference
· The Lady Panthers are 1-5 in true road games this season, their lone win away from home coming at Southland counterpart Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (5-1). Prairie View A&M's only other victory this season came in a doubleheader split at home against another fellow Southland member team in Northwestern State. The Lady Panthers earned a 4-2 triumph in the second game of the doubleheader. SFA went 0-2 at Northwestern State earlier this year, falling 4-1 before being edged 6-5 at the Lady Demons' home tournament the second week of February. The Ladyjacks and Prairie View A&M have had one other common opponent, Kansas, who was taken to the wire by the Lady Panthers before getting a walk-off RBI single in the eighth inning for a 2-1 win. SFA was ousted 11-1 in five innings by the Jayhawks two weeks ago at the UCA Softball Invitational in Conway, Arkansas.
· As a team, Prairie View A&M is only hitting .185 while allowing opponents to bat at a clip of .341.
· The Lady Panthers have just two batters who are hitting at a clip over .300, redshirt sophomore utility player Daneisha Hinton, who leads the team with a .400 batting average, and freshman infielder Brianna Grays (.375).
· Prairie View A&M's pitching staff is giving up 6.09 earned runs per game as no pitcher owns an ERA better than 3.91.
· Led by seventh-year head coach Vernon Bland, the Lady Panthers were picked to finish second in the SWAC West and led the league with seven preseason All-SWAC picks, including second baseman Destinee Williams, third baseman Kylar Ward- Flowers, shortstop Alyssa Garcia, outfielder Shelby Williams, pitcher Ashley Higgins, first baseman Laurisa Hernandez and catcher Amanda Ford.
Up Next…
The Ladyjacks will begin Southland play this weekend with a three-game home series against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Friday and Saturday, March 9-10. SFA is slated to take on the Islanders in a doubleheader Friday, March 9 at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m., before playing a 12 p.m. game on Saturday, March 10 for the series finale.
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.
-SFA-
Players Mentioned
P
/ Softball
INF/C
/ Softball
C/UTIL
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
C/INF
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
P
/ Softball2.1.24 | Axe 'Em Insider Ep. 24 x Softball
Friday, February 02
Softball - Stephen F. Austin - 02/22/2017: Stephen F. Austin
Wednesday, February 22
Softball - Stephen F. Austin - 02/22/2017: Stephen F. Austin
Wednesday, February 22
SFA Completes Epic Comeback: SFA Softball
Thursday, May 12
