Friday, March 9
Nacogdoches, Texas
1 p.m.
Stephen F. Austin
11-9, 0
5
vs
4
Texas A&M - Corpus Christi
8-14, 0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
A&M-Corpus Christi
3
0
0
0
1
0
0
4
6
0
Stephen F. Austin
1
0
0
1
3
0
X
5
6
2
Photo by: Jim Hilton
Softball Takes Opening Two from Texas A&M-Corpus Christi to Begin Southland Conference Play
3/9/2018 9:23:00 PM | Softball
Ladyjacks rack up 15 runs in two games to win their first Southland opening series since 2014
NACOGDOCHES, Texas – For the first time this season the Stephen F. Austin softball team can lay claim to a four-game win streak after the Ladyjacks won their first Southland Conference opening series since 2014 Friday afternoon at SFA Softball Field. SFA earned a 5-4, come-from-behind victory over visiting Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in the opening game of the series before picking up 10-0, run-rule win in five innings.
The game two triumph marked the first run-rule victory in league play for the Ladyjacks (12-9) in three seasons, the last taking place on April 10, 2015, when SFA routed Abilene Christian 12-4 in six innings.
"Today was the best of both worlds," head coach Nicole Dickson said after the doubleheader sweep. "You got to see your team stay calm and come from behind to win, something we haven't done yet so far this season. For us to open conference with a come-from-behind victory was awesome to see. It showed us that we can compete and we can fight and we can work together to come back, even being down 3-0."
The Ladyjacks scored 15 runs on 15 hits between the two games, while striking out 15 Islander batters and forcing A&M-Corpus Christi to leave 10 base runners stranded.
Win, 5-4 vs. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (8-14, 0-1 Southland)
SFA had to battle back from an early three-run deficit and overcame a pair of errors to top the Islanders in Friday's conference opener. Both the Ladyjacks and A&M-Corpus Christi recorded six hits in the contest as senior pitcher Makayla Sikes (Gilmore, Texas) rung up a career-high nine batters.
The Islanders jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the top of the opening inning off of a RBI single by shortstop Kaylon Dunn and a two RBI single from designated player Whitney Wendel. SFA would respond in the bottom of the frame with an RBI single up the middle from senior third baseman Amber Landry (Ponchatoula, La.), scoring senior right fielder Autumn Holloway (Cypress, Texas) to make it a 3-1 game.
After two and a half scoreless innings, the Ladyjacks moved to within a run in the bottom fourth as junior designated player Margarita Corona (Tucson, Ariz.) singled to right field for an RBI, allowing senior catcher Taylor Fraccastoro (Orange, Texas) to score an unearned run from third base. The Islanders would then make it a two-run game once again at 4-2 in the top of the fifth after Wendel singled up the middle for an RBI as Dunn scored.
SFA had its breakout inning in the fifth, leading off with a single to the shortstop by junior pinch hitter Lauren Becker (Cypress, Texas). Following a pair of groundouts, Becker advanced to third and then made it home off of an RBI single from Holloway. With two outs, Fraccastoro took the first pitch she saw and crushed her third home run of the season over the left center field fence, giving the Ladyjacks a pair of runs and their first lead of the game at 5-4. The two-run shot proved to be the game winner as Sikes retired six straight to make the score final.
Fraccastoro finished 2-for-3 at the plate as Holloway went 1-for-2 with two runs scored and an RBI. Sikes (6-5) picked up her third complete game win of the season in the circle, striking out nine of 30 batters faced and walking just two.
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi center fielder Kayla Sheridan went 2-for-4 and scored a run, while Wendel finished 2-for-3 with two RBI. The Islanders' Ashley Smith (2-6) took the loss after going the distance on the rubber and striking out two.
"I thought Sikes (Makayla) did a good job keeping her composure once again," commented coach Dickson. "We made plays, we made adjustments, we fought and we scored in a couple of innings. Then Fraccastoro (Taylor) just squared up the ball, it was awesome."
Win, 8-0 (5) vs. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (8-15, 0-2 Southland)
The Ladyjacks' offense exploded in the second game of the afternoon, scoring 10 runs on nine hits. SFA scored at least two runs in each of its four innings at the plate and held the visitors to just five hits in the contest.
An RBI triple down the left field line from Holloway followed by a Fraccastoro RBI single to right field gave the Ladyjacks a 2-0 lead after the first inning. Freshman second baseman Bryana Novegil (Houston, Texas) then doubled down the right field line for an RBI in the second inning and SFA got a run off of a fielder's choice as junior center fielder Courtney Brown (Tucson, Ariz.) scored. Leading 4-0, Novegil scored on a wild pitch to make it a five-run game after two complete.
The Ladyjacks scored a trio of runs in the third inning as well, reaching home in a variety of ways. First, freshman shortstop Emily Evans (Santa Fe, Texas) reached on a fielder's choice to third base, allowing freshman designated player Triniti Kendzior (Deer Park, Texas) to score. Brown then connected on a sacrifice fly to left field for Corona to reach home, before Novegil tripled to center field for an RBI. Leading 8-0 heading into the fourth inning, the Ladyjacks tacked on a pair of runs in the bottom of the frame off of Landry's two-run shot over the left center field fence.
Novegil finished the contest 3-for-3 at the plate with two RBI and two runs scored, while Landry's two-run homer was her team-best sixth of the season. Senior Callee Guffey (Waco, Texas) earned her second complete game win in the circle, improving her record to 4-3 with a season-high tying six strikeouts and no walks.
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi designated player Kandace Johnson went 2-for-2 for the Islanders at the plate as starting right-hander pitcher Alexis Tovar (1-3) took the loss after 2 and 1/3 innings in the circle.
"In game two, it was the other extreme," Dickson added, "We just put our foot on the gas and scored in every inning. I feel like both the top and the bottom of our lineup contributed. We did a good job with situational hitting, deep sacrifice flies, hit the ball hard and even pulled off a squeeze. Callee Guffey did a great job and Fraccastoro did a really good job behind the plate. I thought Autumn Holloway had quality at bats today as well and Bryana Novegil, once again, was setting the tone at the top and finding ways to get on base. Today was two good team wins, a great way to start Southland play."
Up Next…
The Ladyjacks wrap up their three-game series with the Islanders tomorrow at 12 p.m., before embarking on a nine-game road trip. SFA will play a single non-conference game at Prairie View A&M Wednesday, March 14 and then head down to Beaumont, Texas, for a three-game Southland series at Lamar next weekend.
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-
The game two triumph marked the first run-rule victory in league play for the Ladyjacks (12-9) in three seasons, the last taking place on April 10, 2015, when SFA routed Abilene Christian 12-4 in six innings.
"Today was the best of both worlds," head coach Nicole Dickson said after the doubleheader sweep. "You got to see your team stay calm and come from behind to win, something we haven't done yet so far this season. For us to open conference with a come-from-behind victory was awesome to see. It showed us that we can compete and we can fight and we can work together to come back, even being down 3-0."
The Ladyjacks scored 15 runs on 15 hits between the two games, while striking out 15 Islander batters and forcing A&M-Corpus Christi to leave 10 base runners stranded.
Win, 5-4 vs. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (8-14, 0-1 Southland)
SFA had to battle back from an early three-run deficit and overcame a pair of errors to top the Islanders in Friday's conference opener. Both the Ladyjacks and A&M-Corpus Christi recorded six hits in the contest as senior pitcher Makayla Sikes (Gilmore, Texas) rung up a career-high nine batters.
The Islanders jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the top of the opening inning off of a RBI single by shortstop Kaylon Dunn and a two RBI single from designated player Whitney Wendel. SFA would respond in the bottom of the frame with an RBI single up the middle from senior third baseman Amber Landry (Ponchatoula, La.), scoring senior right fielder Autumn Holloway (Cypress, Texas) to make it a 3-1 game.
After two and a half scoreless innings, the Ladyjacks moved to within a run in the bottom fourth as junior designated player Margarita Corona (Tucson, Ariz.) singled to right field for an RBI, allowing senior catcher Taylor Fraccastoro (Orange, Texas) to score an unearned run from third base. The Islanders would then make it a two-run game once again at 4-2 in the top of the fifth after Wendel singled up the middle for an RBI as Dunn scored.
SFA had its breakout inning in the fifth, leading off with a single to the shortstop by junior pinch hitter Lauren Becker (Cypress, Texas). Following a pair of groundouts, Becker advanced to third and then made it home off of an RBI single from Holloway. With two outs, Fraccastoro took the first pitch she saw and crushed her third home run of the season over the left center field fence, giving the Ladyjacks a pair of runs and their first lead of the game at 5-4. The two-run shot proved to be the game winner as Sikes retired six straight to make the score final.
Fraccastoro finished 2-for-3 at the plate as Holloway went 1-for-2 with two runs scored and an RBI. Sikes (6-5) picked up her third complete game win of the season in the circle, striking out nine of 30 batters faced and walking just two.
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi center fielder Kayla Sheridan went 2-for-4 and scored a run, while Wendel finished 2-for-3 with two RBI. The Islanders' Ashley Smith (2-6) took the loss after going the distance on the rubber and striking out two.
"I thought Sikes (Makayla) did a good job keeping her composure once again," commented coach Dickson. "We made plays, we made adjustments, we fought and we scored in a couple of innings. Then Fraccastoro (Taylor) just squared up the ball, it was awesome."
Win, 8-0 (5) vs. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (8-15, 0-2 Southland)
The Ladyjacks' offense exploded in the second game of the afternoon, scoring 10 runs on nine hits. SFA scored at least two runs in each of its four innings at the plate and held the visitors to just five hits in the contest.
An RBI triple down the left field line from Holloway followed by a Fraccastoro RBI single to right field gave the Ladyjacks a 2-0 lead after the first inning. Freshman second baseman Bryana Novegil (Houston, Texas) then doubled down the right field line for an RBI in the second inning and SFA got a run off of a fielder's choice as junior center fielder Courtney Brown (Tucson, Ariz.) scored. Leading 4-0, Novegil scored on a wild pitch to make it a five-run game after two complete.
The Ladyjacks scored a trio of runs in the third inning as well, reaching home in a variety of ways. First, freshman shortstop Emily Evans (Santa Fe, Texas) reached on a fielder's choice to third base, allowing freshman designated player Triniti Kendzior (Deer Park, Texas) to score. Brown then connected on a sacrifice fly to left field for Corona to reach home, before Novegil tripled to center field for an RBI. Leading 8-0 heading into the fourth inning, the Ladyjacks tacked on a pair of runs in the bottom of the frame off of Landry's two-run shot over the left center field fence.
Novegil finished the contest 3-for-3 at the plate with two RBI and two runs scored, while Landry's two-run homer was her team-best sixth of the season. Senior Callee Guffey (Waco, Texas) earned her second complete game win in the circle, improving her record to 4-3 with a season-high tying six strikeouts and no walks.
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi designated player Kandace Johnson went 2-for-2 for the Islanders at the plate as starting right-hander pitcher Alexis Tovar (1-3) took the loss after 2 and 1/3 innings in the circle.
"In game two, it was the other extreme," Dickson added, "We just put our foot on the gas and scored in every inning. I feel like both the top and the bottom of our lineup contributed. We did a good job with situational hitting, deep sacrifice flies, hit the ball hard and even pulled off a squeeze. Callee Guffey did a great job and Fraccastoro did a really good job behind the plate. I thought Autumn Holloway had quality at bats today as well and Bryana Novegil, once again, was setting the tone at the top and finding ways to get on base. Today was two good team wins, a great way to start Southland play."
Up Next…
The Ladyjacks wrap up their three-game series with the Islanders tomorrow at 12 p.m., before embarking on a nine-game road trip. SFA will play a single non-conference game at Prairie View A&M Wednesday, March 14 and then head down to Beaumont, Texas, for a three-game Southland series at Lamar next weekend.
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-
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Sikes, Makayla (6-5)
L: Ashley Smith (2-6)
Batting:
RBI: Kaylon Dunn 1 ; Whitney Wendel 3
Base Running:
RUNS: Kayla Sheridan 1 ; Keagan Helson 1 ; Kaylon Dunn 2
SB: Kayla Sheridan 1 ; Kaylon Dunn 2
Batting:
HR: Fraccastoro, Taylor 1
RBI: Holloway, Autumn 1 ; Fraccastoro, Taylor 2 ; Landry, Amber 1 ; Corona, Margarita 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Holloway, Autumn 2 ; Fraccastoro, Taylor 2 ; Becker, Lauren 1
HBP: Holloway, Autumn 1
Game Leaders
AB
3
R
2
H
2
RBI
2
AB
2
R
2
H
1
RBI
1
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
1
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
INF
/ Softball
OF
/ SoftballINF/C
/ Softball
INF
/ SoftballC/UTIL
/ Softball
P
/ SoftballOF
/ Softball
INF/C
/ SoftballC/INF
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
P
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