Friday, April 27
Nacogdoches, Texas
6 p.m.
Stephen F. Austin
vs
McNeese
Softball Welcomes McNeese to Nacogdoches in Battle of League Leaders
4/26/2018 4:56:00 PM | Softball
Ladyjacks seek sixth-straight Southland Conference series win and seventh of season
McNeese (33-16, 15-6 Southland) at Stephen F. Austin (27-17, 15-6 Southland)
Friday, April 27 | 6 p.m. | SFA Softball Field | Nacogdoches, Texas
Saturday, April 28 | 12 p.m. | SFA Softball Field | Nacogdoches, Texas
Saturday, April 28 | 2 p.m. | SFA Softball Field | Nacogdoches, Texas
Watch | Live Stats
Friday, April 27 | 6 p.m. | SFA Softball Field | Nacogdoches, Texas
Saturday, April 28 | 12 p.m. | SFA Softball Field | Nacogdoches, Texas
Saturday, April 28 | 2 p.m. | SFA Softball Field | Nacogdoches, Texas
Watch | Live Stats
NACOGDOCHES, Texas – After a six-game road trip to complete its 2018 regular season away schedule, the Stephen F. Austin softball team will return to the friendly confines of SFA Softball Field this weekend for a three-game Southland Conference series with fellow league-leader McNeese. The Ladyjacks (27-17, 15-6 Southland) welcome the Cowgirls (33-16, 15-6 Southland) to Nacogdoches for a single Friday, April 27 at 6 p.m. to begin the series, before hosting McNeese in a doubleheader Saturday, April 28 at 12 p.m. and 2 p.m. All three games will be streamed on Facebook Live via SFA's softball page, while live statistics of each contest can be followed via SFAJacks.com.
Friday and Saturday's series between SFA and McNeese proves to be pivotal in the Southland race as both teams are vying to clinch a spot in the 2018 Southland Softball Tournament, which gets underway in less than two weeks (Tuesday-Friday, May 8-11). Both the Ladyjacks and the Cowboys need just one victory this weekend or a Lamar loss to clinch a spot in the conference tournament. SFA is attempting to reach the league's championship after a one-year hiatus.
The Ladyjacks are in a three-way tie for first place in the league standings with both McNeese and Nicholls, each owning a 15-6 Southland record. The trio stand just one game ahead of Southeastern Louisiana, who sits in fourth place with a 14-7 conference mark. SFA owns a three-game lead on Central Arkansas and Abilene Christian, who are tied for fifth in the Southland standings with league records of 12-9. Northwestern State (11-10) and Sam Houston State (10-11) sit in seventh and eighth place, respectively, in the conference standings, while Lamar is just one game out of the top eight at 9-12.
Seeking its sixth-straight Southland series win, the Ladyjacks have won six of their seven conference series thus far this spring. SFA's only Southland series loss came at fellow league-leader Nicholls as the Ladyjacks were edged in three one-run games, including two that were decided in walk-off fashion. The Ladyjacks own home series wins over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (3-0), Sam Houston State (2-1) and Central Arkansas (2-1), while ousting Lamar (2-1), Houston Baptist (3-0) and Incarnate Word (3-0) on the road. With a 7-2 record in Southland games at SFA Softball Field this season, SFA is 8-4 in conference road games.
The Ladyjacks are currently on a six-game winning streak after earning their second consecutive Southland series sweep and third total of 2018 at UIW last weekend. In fact, SFA has now claimed victories in eight of its last 10 contests. Matching their longest winning streak of the season, the Ladyjacks have outscored their opponents 32-10 over the last six games. In the series finale against the Cardinals this past Saturday, SFA picked up its second run-rule victory in league play with a 11-2 rout in five innings, marking the most runs the Ladyjacks have score in a Southland game this year.
With a pitching staff that owns the 53rd-lowest earned run average in the nation at 2.52, which is second-best in the league, SFA's defense has been stout as of late. The Ladyjacks have given up more than two runs just once over their last eight games. Behind strong arms of senior right-handers Makayla Sikes and Callee Guffey, SFA has struck out the second-most batters in the Southland this season (248) and is holding opponents to a .247 batting average, the third-lowest in the conference.
Sikes ranks third in the league with a 2.05 earned run average and is fourth in strikeouts (107). Owning a 16-6 record inside the circle, Sikes is tied for the second-most victories in the Southland and has notched a pair of saves. She has been the Ladyjacks' work horse on the rubber, tossing 136 and 1/3 innings while holding opponents to a .233 hitting mark. Guffey, who has claimed eight wins including two last weekend against the Cardinals, has dialed up 77 strikeouts in 87 innings of work. She ranks third in the conference in strikeouts per seven innings (6.2).
Freshman leadoff batter Bryana Novegil continues to impress on a national scale as the second baseman leads the Southland in hitting with a .431 batting average and ranks 27th nationally in that category. She is 13th in the nation and leads the league in on-base percentage (.540), while her five triples this season are tied for the most in the conference and tied for 18th nationally. Ranking in the top 10 in the Southland in slugging percentage (.577), Novegil's team-best 56 hits are second-most in the league. At UIW this past weekend, Novegil went 7-for-11 in the three-game series with five RBI, three runs scored, two doubles and her first career home run. She owned a .636 batting average across the three games with a 1.091 slugging mark and a .692 on-base percentage.
McNEESE – COWGIRLS
· Record: 33-16, 15-6 Southland (Tied for first)
· With a NCAA RPI of 48, McNeese is the lone Southland school with an RPI inside the top 50. The Cowgirls posted a 18-10 record in non-conference play and earned several major victories against high-quality opponents.
· McNeese defeated preseason No. 20 Tulsa in two home games, routed No. 9 Florida State (6-1) on the road and most recently, claimed a 7-3 win at No. 16 Baylor in Waco, Texas. The Cowgirls own three top-20 RPI victories on the year, including a 6-5 neutral-site win over Southeastern Conference mainstay Arkansas.
· With a 12-7 road record, McNeese has gone 7-5 in league games away from Lake Charles, Louisiana. The two-time defending Southland regular season and tournament champions began conference play by being swept at Central Arkansas, before rebounding by taking two of three at Sam Houston State. The Cowgirls have swept UIW at home, taken two of three at Northwestern State, swept Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in Lake Charles, defeated Nicholls in two of three games at home and went 3-0 at Lamar this last weekend.
· Anchored by three-time Southland Player and Hitter of the Year Erika Piancastelli, McNeese leads the league in several major offensive categories, including runs per game (5.80), on-base percentage (.408), slugging percentage (.466) and home runs per game (0.92). The Cowgirls rank among the nation's top 45 teams in each of those categories as well. Hitting .295 as a team, good enough for second in the 12-team conference and 47th nationally, McNeese's 2.45 stolen bases per game are fourth-most in the nation and second-best in the Southland. The Cowgirls have blasted 17 more home runs (28) than anybody else in the conference.
· McNeese is led by junior leadoff right fielder Justice McClain, who owns the second-highest batting average (.429) in the league and ranks 29th among NCAA Division I softball players in that category. Her 69 hits on the season are tops in the conference and sixth-most nationally, while her on-base percentage of (.508) is second-best in the Southland. McClain is also coring 0.96 runs per game to lead the league and rank 36th nationally.
· Senior third baseman Piancastelli and senior first baseman Morgan Catron provide the big bats for McNeese as Piancastelli leads the Southland and is eighth in the nation in homers (16). Piancastelli also leads the conference and is 15th nationally with a .832 slugging percentage, while her 114 total bases are 13th-best in the nation and tops in the league. Tied for the most RBI (47) in the Southland, Piancastelli ranks 26th nationally in that category as her 0.33 long balls per contest are 19th-best in the nation lead the league. With 42 RBI on the season, Catron ranks third in the conference in that category and is fourth in RBI per game (0.86). Catron's 10 home runs are tied for the second-most in the Southland, while her slugging percentage (.604) is tied for third-best and on-base percentage (.471) is the fourth-highest in the league.
· SFA is 14-18 against McNeese over the last 10 seasons but owns a 5-3 record over the Cowgirls in games played in Nacogdoches since 2009.
· McNeese will be making its first trip to Texas' oldest town since 2012, when the Ladyjacks swept the Cowgirls in a doubleheader (9-8 and 4-1). SFA also swept McNeese in a three-game Southland set at SFA Softball Field during the 2009 season, winning all three contests in shutout fashion, including two run-rule triumphs.
· A season ago, the Ladyjacks were swept in a three-game conference series with the Cowgirls in Lake Charles. SFA's last victory against McNeese came on Valentine's Day of 2015, when the Ladyjacks earned a 7-6, eight-inning win in Houston.
· SFA has not defeated the Cowgirls in a three-game series since 2010, when the Ladyjacks took all three games from McNeese on the road.
Up Next…
The Ladyjacks will step out of league action Tuesday, May 1 to complete their non-conference slate of 2018 by hosting Texas Southern at 3 p.m. Next weekend, SFA will host Abilene Christian in a three-game Southland series Friday-Saturday, May 4-5, to wrap up the regular season.
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
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