Friday, February 15
Lafayette, La.
11 a.m.
Stephen F. Austin
vs
Austin Peay
Photo by: SFA Athletics
Ladyjacks Look to Continue Hot Start at 33rd Annual Louisiana Classic
2/14/2019 7:38:00 PM | Softball
SFA softball to face Austin Peay, Jackson State and No. 13 Louisiana in the Pelican State over weekend
SFA (5-1) vs. Austin Peay (3-2)
Friday, Feb. 15 | 11 a.m. | Lamson Park | Lafayette, La.
Live Stats
SFA (5-1) vs. Jackson State (0-7)
Friday, Feb. 15 | 1:30 p.m. | Lamson Park | Lafayette, La.
Live Stats
SFA (5-1) at No. 13 Louisiana (6-0)
Saturday, Feb. 16 | 12:30 p.m. | Lamson Park | Lafayette, La.
Watch | Live Stats
SFA (5-1) at/vs. TBD
Saturday, Feb. 16 | 3 p.m. or 5:30 p.m. | Lamson Park | Lafayette, La.
SFA (5-1) at/vs. TBD
Sunday, Feb. 17 | 10 a.m. or 12:30 p.m. | Lamson Park | Lafayette, La.
Friday, Feb. 15 | 11 a.m. | Lamson Park | Lafayette, La.
Live Stats
SFA (5-1) vs. Jackson State (0-7)
Friday, Feb. 15 | 1:30 p.m. | Lamson Park | Lafayette, La.
Live Stats
SFA (5-1) at No. 13 Louisiana (6-0)
Saturday, Feb. 16 | 12:30 p.m. | Lamson Park | Lafayette, La.
Watch | Live Stats
SFA (5-1) at/vs. TBD
Saturday, Feb. 16 | 3 p.m. or 5:30 p.m. | Lamson Park | Lafayette, La.
SFA (5-1) at/vs. TBD
Sunday, Feb. 17 | 10 a.m. or 12:30 p.m. | Lamson Park | Lafayette, La.
LAFAYETTE, La. – Off to its best start through five games this century, the SFA softball team continues its challenging non-conference slate this weekend at the 33rd Annual Louisiana Classic in Lafayette, Louisiana. Hosted by the University of Louisiana at Lafayette Friday-Sunday, Feb. 15-17, at Lamson Park, the Ladyjacks will face Austin Peay, Jackson State and 13th-ranked Louisiana across the three days.
Fresh off of a 4-0 Wednesday afternoon home opening victory over the University of Louisiana at Monroe, SFA will open up the tournament against the Ohio Valley Conference's Austin Peay Friday morning at 11 a.m. The Ladyjacks will then take on the Southwestern Athletic Conference's Jackson State at 1:30 p.m., before seeing host No. 13 Louisiana Saturday at 12:30 p.m.
Following each of the four team's three round robin games, two seeded-play games will take place. The No. 1 and No. 3 seeds will play each other first at 3 p.m. Saturday, before the No. 2 and No. 4 seeds face off at 5:30 p.m. Saturday. On Sunday, the 33rd Annual Louisiana Classic's championship game will take place at 12:30 p.m. with the consolation contest being played at 10 a.m. Sunday morning.
SFA's Saturday afternoon game against 13th-ranked Louisiana will be streamed live on the Ragin' Cajuns Digital Network, along with any other Ladyjack contest involving tournament host Louisiana. Live statistics of each of SFA's five games at the 33rd Annual Louisiana Classic can be followed via RaginCajuns.com. Twitter updates throughout the weekend will be provided at @SFA_Softball.
The Ladyjacks look to continue their hot start to the 2019 season and extend their four-game win streak, having shut out their previous two opponents. Prior to its midweek home opening win, SFA captured the 2019 Bulldog Kickoff Classic in Starkville, Mississippi, where the Ladyjacks knocked off 24th-ranked Mississippi State 1-0 in the tournament's championship game this past Sunday afternoon. The shutout triumph was the first time since 2014 SFA defeated a nationally-ranked opponent and was the first Power Five win for the Ladyjacks since March 4, 2017 (Maryland, 5-4).
Perhaps what has been most impressive, other than SFA's 5-1 start despite what may be the toughest non-conference schedule in the Southland Conference, are the Ladyjacks' pitching performances. Freshman right-hander Kassidy Wilbur burst onto the national scene in her first weekend competing as a Division I softball player, claiming SFA's first USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Week honor after going 4-0 with three complete game wins, 32 strikeouts and a shutout in 22 innings of work. She was also named Southland Pitcher of the Week and ranks second in the country in strikeouts (32), while her 15 strikeout performance in the season opener against Valparaiso is tied for the second-best pitching outing by any Division I softball player so far this season. Junior Galveston College transfer righty Ashley Kriesel has also turned heads after just three games donning the Purple and White. After giving up just four hits and striking out five in the Ladyjacks' first bout with power-hitting No. 24 Mississippi State, Kriesel fanned 11 of 27 batters faced in SFA's shutout of ULM Wednesday.
Through five games, the Ladyjacks own an impressive earned run average of 0.68 as a team, which ranks 12th in the nation. SFA has recorded 49 strikeouts and walked just 15 in 41 innings played, averaging 8.2 strikeouts per game and ranking within the top 40 nationally with a 3.27 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
Senior first baseman Margarita Corona looks to continue to have a hot bat this weekend after going 3-for-3 with three RBI and a run scored against ULM. Her three-run shot over the center field fence in the opening inning proved to be enough for the Ladyjacks and was SFA's first long ball of the season.
"This weekend we've just got to be ready to go," head coach Nicole Dickson commented. "The goal is the same this weekend as it was at the start of the season. Obviously, we want to be above .500 at every tournament but right now we're not focused on wins and losses. We're just going to Lafayette to get better and compete. Hopefully by playing teams that are top 15 in the country, we're going to be prepared to play the McNeese's, the Nicholl's and Southeastern Louisiana's in league play. Right now as long as our team keeps getting better week-to-week and we keep building that confidence, I think we're going to be ready to go once the conference season starts."
The Opponents
Austin Peay
2019 Record | 3-2, 0-0 Ohio Valley Conference
• Picked to finish third in the OVC according to the league's preseason poll after going 39-19 overall last year and finishing second in the final conference standings with a 17-4 mark. Reached the national postseason after claiming third place at the 2018 OVC Championship, earning a National Invitational Softball Championship (NISC) at-large bid to the Eastern Kentucky regional.
• The Governors posted wins over ULM (10-0, 5 innings), Wright State (8-3), and UAB (18-4, 5 innings), while suffering setbacks against ULM (5-3) and UAB (11-6), in Birmingham, Alabama, last weekend at the UAB Tournament.
• After reaching base in all five games over the weekend and hitting .533 with four multi-hit performances, senior center fielder Kacy Acree was named OVC Player of the Week.
• Head coach Kassie Stanfill is in her first season leading Austin Peay after serving as Louisville's pitching coach the previous two years.
Jackson State
2019 Record | 0-7, 0-0 Southwestern Athletic Conference
• Picked to finish fifth in the SWAC Eastern Division by the conference's preseason poll after finishing in that spot a season ago with a 9-31 overall record and a 3-15 résumé in league play.
• The Lady Tigers have yet to win a game this season and are 0-7 with a pair of losses to fellow Southland member Central Arkansas and Belhaven University. Houston Baptist, Tennessee Tech and Southern Miss have also recorded victories over Jackson State so far this year.
• The Lady Tigers have been outscored 49-17 in their seven losses.
No. 13 Louisiana
2019 Record | 6-0, 0-0 Sun Belt Conference
• Picked to win the Sun Belt according to the conference's preseason poll after finishing second in the league last year with a 21-6 conference record.
• Despite bowing out to then 23rd-ranked Texas State in the 2018 Sun Belt Conference Tournament, the Ragin' Cajuns earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Championship where they reached the Baton Rouge Regional final and took a game from then 11th-ranked LSU. Louisiana finished its 2018 campaign with a 41-16 overall record.
• Louisiana showcases four preseason All-Sun Belt players in junior right-handed pitcher Summer Ellyson, senior catcher Lexie Comeaux, senior third baseman Kara Gremillion and junior shortstop Alissa Dalton. Ellyson was named Sun Belt Preseason Pitcher of the Year, while Dalton was tabbed Sun Belt Preseason Player of the Year.
• The Ragin' Cajuns laid claim to both Sun Belt weekly award this past week with sophomore outfielder Raina O'Neal being named Sun Belt Player of the Week after hitting .632 with nine RBI. Freshman righty Kandra Lamb claimed Sun Belt Pitcher of the Week accolades after tossing back-to-back no-hitters in her collegiate debut.
• Ellyson, who has struck out 33 in 25 innings of work, is the only Division I pitcher to have more strikeouts than Wilbur thus far this season.
• Head coach Gerry Glasco enters his second season at the helm of the Ragin' Cajun program after coaching within the coveted Southeastern Conference the previous nine seasons at Auburn, Texas A&M and Georgia.
• Coach Glasco's daughter, Geri Ann, tragically passed away Thursday, Jan. 24 following a fatal motor vehicle accident. She was a volunteer assistant for her father at Louisiana.
Up Next…
The Ladyjacks return to Texas' oldest town for a midweek matchup with Texas Southern at the SFA Softball Field Tuesday, Feb. 19 with a 3 p.m. first pitch. Next Weekend, SFA hits the road again to take on its third tournament of the season, this time in Mobile, Alabama, for South Alabama's Mardi Gras Invitational.
Stay tuned to SFAJacks.com, as well as SFA's social media platforms, for complete coverage of Ladyjack softball throughout the 2019 season.
-SFA-
Players Mentioned
2.1.24 | 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
