Softball Clinches No. 2 Seed for 2018 Southland Tournament
5/6/2018 5:12:00 PM | Softball
Ladyjacks claim double-round bye, to play Wednesday, May 9 at 1:30 p.m. at Joe Miller Field in Lake Charles, Louisiana
Tournament Bracket | 2018 Southland Softball Tournament Central
Southland Digital Network | Live Stats
Southland Digital Network | Live Stats
FRISCO, Texas – One of the biggest one-year turnarounds in all of NCAA Division I softball will continue next week as the Stephen F. Austin softball team has clinched the No. 2 seed in the 2018 Southland Softball Tournament. The eight-team, single and then double-elimination championship event will take place Tuesday-Friday, May 8-11 on the campus of McNeese at Joe Miller Field in Lake Charles, Louisiana.
The Ladyjacks have secured a double-round bye and will play in the sixth game of league tournament held Wednesday, May 9 at 1:30 p.m. SFA's opponent will be determined after Tuesday evening's game four, which features tournament host and No. 3 seed McNeese. The Cowgirls (36-19, 18-9 Southland) will face the winner of Tuesday afternoon's single-elimination opening round contest between sixth-seeded Abilene Christian (23-25, 15-12 Southland) and No. 7 seed Northwestern State (27-23, 14-13 Southland).
Nicholls, who claimed the Southland regular season title with a 21-6 conference mark and 38-13 overall record, earned the top seed at the tournament. Southeastern Louisiana is the No. 4 seed after going 18-9 in league play and 35-19 overall, while Central Arkansas earned the No. 5 seed with a 28-24 overall record and a 16-11 league mark. Sam Houston State, who went 22-31 overall and 13-14 in conference action, claimed the No. 8 seed for the final spot in the Southland Tournament.
Despite finishing the regular season in a three-way tie with McNeese and Southeastern Louisiana, all with an identical 18-9 Southland record, the Ladyjacks earned the No. 2 seed based on the league office's tiebreaker procedures. SFA was the Southland West Division champions, boasting a 12-3 record against western division opponents, while the Cowgirls and the Lady Lions each posted 9-6 records in the Southland East Division. Due to the Ladyjacks not facing Southeastern Louisiana this spring, a head-to-head tiebreaker procedure could not be used and the conference office had to turn to each team's record against divisional opponents.
"Going into the tournament having that extra day and that extra bye is huge," head coach Nicole Dickson said. "Especially with our current injury list, that extra 24 hours is going to be key for our players to recover. Also, we'll have a full day to scout and do things like that. Going in we're not taking anybody lightly or anything for granted."
SFA will be making its ninth Southland Tournament appearance, first since 2016 and just third since the 2010 season. The Ladyjacks have posted a record of 17-13 (.566) at the Southland Tournament in their previous eight appearances. In 2016, SFA went 3-2 and reached the finals of the back draw before bowing out to third-seeded Lamar. The Ladyjacks went 2-2 in the 2014 version of the Southland Tournament before being knocked out in the back draw finals as well.
After going 17-33 overall and 9-15 in Southland play just one year ago, SFA has nearly doubled its win total this season. The Ladyjacks finished ninth in the final Southland standings in 2017 and have now finished the 2018 regular season tied for second in the league. Heading into the Southland Tournament, SFA owns an impressive 31-20 overall record after going 18-9 in conference play. The Ladyjacks earned seven Southland series wins out of nine league series played, dropping series only to regular season champion Nicholls and ACU. The 31 wins are the most in a single season for SFA since 2008, while the seven conference series wins and 18 Southland victories represent the most since 2010 when the Ladyjacks captured the regular season title.
Games 1-11 of the 2018 Southland Softball Tournament will be streamed live online via the Southland Digital Network and through the Southland Conference app, available on Roku, Apple TV, Android TV and Amazon Fire. The championship round of the tournament on Friday, May 11 will shift to the ESPN family of networks. Championship game 12 will be televised nationwide on ESPNNews, while the if necessary game 13 will be broadcast on ESPN3, both available on WatchESPN.com and the ESPN app. Live statistics for each game of the tournament can be followed via Southland.org.
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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