Wednesday, April 11
Nacogdoches, Texas
5 p.m.
Stephen F. Austin
vs
Louisiana Tech
Softball Hosts Conference USA Leader Louisiana Tech Wednesday
4/10/2018 3:44:00 PM | Softball
Ladyjacks seek 13th non-conference win of season, ninth home victory of 2018
Louisiana Tech (23-17) at Stephen F. Austin (21-16)
Wednesday, April 11 | 5 p.m. | SFA Softball Field | Nacogdoches, Texas
Watch | Live Stats
Wednesday, April 11 | 5 p.m. | SFA Softball Field | Nacogdoches, Texas
Watch | Live Stats
NACOGDOCHES, Texas – Conference USA leader Louisiana Tech will visit the friendly confines of SFA Softball Field Wednesday, April 11 for a single non-conference game against the Stephen F. Austin softball team. First pitch of the matchup between the visiting Lady Techsters (23-17) and the Ladyjacks (21-16) is slated for 5 p.m. The game will be streamed on Facebook Live via SFA's softball page, while live statistics can be followed via SFAJacks.com. In-game updates of the contest will be provided on Twitter at @SFA_Softball.
SFA enters the midweek affair in search of its 22nd overall win of the season, while attempting to claim its 13th non-conference victory of 2018. The Ladyjacks own a 12-10 record against non-league opponents this year and are 8-3 at home. Most recently, SFA picked up its third consecutive Southland Conference series win with a 6-0 game three shutout of Central Arkansas this past Sunday.
Sunday's rout of the Bears proved to be the Ladyjacks' third-straight decisive game three victory in conference series as SFA claimed its fourth Southland series win of the season. The Ladyjacks have now won four out of its five league series played to date. With a 9-6 Southland record, SFA has matched its conference win total from a year ago and currently sits in a three-way tie for fourth place among the 12 teams.
With a 5-4 win over UCA in game one of the series against the Bears this past Friday, the Ladyjacks secured just their fifth 20-win season since 2008. Wednesday evening, SFA will be attempting to pick up its second consecutive win over Louisiana Tech in Texas' oldest town. The Ladyjacks topped the visiting Lady Techsters 3-1 at SFA Softball Field on April 26 of 2016 but fell in an 8-0 contest last season in six innings in Ruston, Louisiana.
"I am a big Louisiana Tech fan," head coach Nicole Dickson said during her Monday morning press conference. "I picked them to be a top-25/top-30 team going into this year but record wise they have dropped some games. Offensively, I don't feel like they are clicking as well as they should be. It's going to be a tough game at home, they have everybody back from a year ago and they have great pitching, power and speed."
"For us it's a good matchup," coach Dickson continued. "Competition makes you better. I am excited to play Louisiana Tech, excited to play them at home."
When SFA's offense has been clicking this season, the Ladyjacks have been nearly unstoppable. SFA is an impressive 18-2 when scoring four or more runs in any game this spring, however, the Ladyjacks are 3-14 when scoring three or fewer runs. Ranking third in the Southland with a .404 slugging percentage as a team, SFA has tallied the second-most triples (12) and third-most home runs (22) in the 12-team league.
The Ladyjacks' defense owns the third-lowest earned run average as a team in the conference at 2.74, which ranks 74th nationally, as SFA is holding opponents to a .250 batting average for third-best in the Southland. Much of that is thanks in large part to the pitching of Makayla Sikes (Gilmer, Texas), who ranks 46th nationally and is second in the league in wins with a 13-6 record. She has tossed seven complete game wins this season, including three complete game shutouts, and owns the fifth-best ERA in Southland at 2.23. Sikes has pitched a team-high 109 and 2/3 innings in 23 game appearances this season and tallied 84 strikeouts, allowing just 5.87 hits per seven innings for the fifth-lowest average in the conference.
At the plate it has been freshman second baseman Bryana Novegil (Houston, Texas) who has proven to be one of the Ladyjacks' top weapons. The leadoff hitter's .425 batting average is the 43rd-highest in the nation and second-highest in the Southland, while her .538 on-base percentage leads the league and ranks 19th nationally. Second in the conference in hits (45), Novegil's five triples this year lead the Southland and are tied for 11th-most nationally.
Seniors Amber Landry (Ponchatoula, La.), Taylor Fraccastoro (Orange, Texas), Autumn Holloway (Cypress, Texas) and junior Margarita Corona (Tucson, Ariz.) have combined for 92 of SFA's 144 RBI this season as Landry's .554 slugging percentage ranks ninth in the league. Fraccastoro and Landry have each recorded 29 RBI this spring as Fraccastoro leads the team with 17 extra-base hits, including nine doubles.
LOUISIANA TECH – LADY TECHSTERS
· Record: 23-17
· Louisiana Tech enters the game with the nation's 76th-best RPI and NCAA Division I's 28th-toughest non-conference strength of the schedule.
· With a 10-5 record in league games the Lady Techsters lead Conference USA and are currently on a seven-game wins streak. Louisiana Tech has posted a 13-10 mark in non-conference affairs this season.
· During their current seven-game win streak, the Lady Techsters have outscored their opponents 62-19 and have claimed three run-rule victories.
· Louisiana Tech has not dropped a non-conference game in over a month, falling to sixth-ranked Texas A&M 10-1 in five innings back on March 4.
· The Lady Techsters have gone 4-1 against Southland opponents so far this season, their lone loss in such games coming at Southeastern Louisiana (7-1) on Feb. 13. Louisiana Tech has topped then 24th-ranked McNeese (8-7), Central Arkansas (8-7), Lamar (3-2) and Northwestern State (9-7) this spring.
· With a total of three preseason All-Conference USA selections in junior pitcher Krystal De La Cruz, sophomore catcher Marilyn Rizzato and junior outfielder Morgan Turkoly, the Lady Techsters rank seventh nationally in stolen bases per game (2.3) and are second in their conference in that category.
· Louisiana Tech is hitting at an identical clip as the Ladyjacks as a team at .267 with reining C-USA Player of the Week Turkoly leading the Lady Techsters at the plate. Turkoly hit .500 last week as she went 7-for-14 with a double, two home runs, seven runs scored, seven RBI and three stolen bases. She leads C-USA with a .514 on-base percentage for the season, which is 39th-best in the nation, and ranks seventh in the conference in hits with 45. Freshman designated player Sloane Stewartson owns the top batting average on the team at .395 with a team-best .580 slugging percentage. She is one of three Louisiana Tech batters who is hitting above .300 in 2018 as Turkoly owns a .388 batting average and sophomore infielder Kimmie Atienza rounds out the trio with a .306 average.
· In the circle, right-handed pitcher Preslee Gallaway and left-hander De La Cruz have combined for 15 of the Lady Techsters' 23 wins this season as Louisiana Tech holds a 3.01 ERA as a team. Gallaway owns a 12-6 record in 108 innings pitched, 26 appearances and 16 starts, leading the squad with 85 strikeouts and owning a 2.53 ERA. De La Cruz has gone 3-7 in 19 game appearances and 13 starts, racking up 21 strikeouts in 55 and 2/3 innings of work and posting a 3.27 ERA.
· The Lady Techsters were chosen as preseason favorites to win the Conference USA title in 2018 after posting a 38-24 overall record and going 16-8 in C-USA play in 2017. Louisiana Tech claimed the 2017 C-USA Tournament title and advanced to the NCAA Tournament's Alabama Regional, where it earned an 8-1 win over Albany.
· SFA is 5-10 against the Lady Techsters over the last 10 seasons, owning a 2-2 record at home, a 2-3 mark in road games and going 1-5 in neutral-site contests versus Louisiana Tech.
Up Next…
The Ladyjacks step back into league action this weekend and begin a six-game road trip with a three-game series at Houston Baptist Friday and Saturday, April 13-14. SFA is scheduled to take on the Huskies in a 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. doubleheader Friday, April 13, before facing Houston Baptist in a single game Saturday, April 14 at 12 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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