Ladyjacks Host Prairie View A&M Tuesday Afternoon for Third Midweek Non-Conference Tilt

Wednesday, February 27

Nacogdoches, Texas

4 p.m.

Stephen F. Austin

Prairie View A&M

Photo by: SFA Athletics

Ladyjacks Host Prairie View A&M Tuesday Afternoon for Third Midweek Non-Conference Tilt

2/25/2019 5:44:00 PM | Softball

SFA looks to remain perfect at home, reach 12th win of 2019 before heading back to Pelican State this weekend

By: Luke Bolanos | Assistant Director of Athletic Media Relations

Prairie View A&M (8-7) at SFA (11-5)
Tuesday, Feb. 26 | 3 p.m. | SFA Softball Field | Nacogdoches, Texas
Facebook LIVE | Live Stats

NACOGDOCHES, Texas – After another impressive weekend and a second top-25 victory this season, the SFA softball team returns to the friendly confines of the SFA Softball Field for a Tuesday afternoon matchup with Prairie View A&M. First pitch from Texas' oldest town is slated for 3 p.m.

The Tuesday afternoon tilt will be streamed everywhere on Facebook LIVE via SFA softball's Facebook page, while in-game statistics can be followed at SFAJacks.com.

The Ladyjacks (11-5) look to remain perfect at home in 2019 and extend their home game win streak to four, which dates back last year. SFA is an unblemished 3-0 against Southwestern Athletic Conference opposition this season after defeating fellow SWAC member Texas Southern 8-0 in six innings in Nacogdoches last Wednesday. On Wednesday, Feb. 13, the Ladyjacks opened up the home potion of their schedule with a 4-0 shutout of Louisiana-Monroe. With their two shutout victories, SFA has yet to give up a run at the SFA Softball Field this season and has outscored its opponents 12-0.

At the University of Louisiana at Lafayette's 33rd Annual Louisiana Classic a week and a half ago, the Ladyjacks swept Jackson State for their other two wins over SWAC programs this season. SFA posted a 7-3 victory over the Lady Tigers on Friday, Feb. 15 and picked up its first run-rule rout of the year with a 13-2 defeat of Jackson State in five innings Saturday, Feb. 16.

Over the weekend, the Ladyjacks upended 25th-ranked Illinois 7-2 at Jaguar Field in Mobile, Alabama, Saturday afternoon before defeating Hofstra 7-3 Sunday. The triumph over the Fighting Illini marked the first time since 2014 SFA has notched multiple top-25 wins in the same season. During opening weekend, the Ladyjacks claimed the Bulldog Kickoff Classic title with a 1-0 win over then 24th-ranked Mississippi State. Illinois entered the weekend ranked as high as 18th nationally according to the latest Softball America poll.

SFA finished South Alabama's Mardi Gras Invitational with a 2-2 record on the weekend as both sophomore second baseman Bryana Novegil and redshirt sophomore center fielder Brittany Crawford claimed all-tournament team honors for their performances over the weekend. Novegil hit a team-best .417 across the four games, going 5-for-12 with a triple and an RBI. She also posted a .583 slugging mark and a .462 on-base percentage. Crawford tallied six RBI between Saturday's two games, including going 2-for-3 with four RBI in the 7-2 upset of 25th-ranked Illinois, and finished the weekend with a team-high eight RBI and .636 slugging percentage. Her third home run of the season came at a great time as she blasted a two-run shot over the left center field fence in the bottom of the third inning to give the Ladyjacks a 4-1 lead over the Fighting Illini.

With seven different batters who have seen at least 30 at bats hitting at a clip over .300 through 16 games, SFA is averaging a .310 at the plate as a team to rank among the nation's top 50. Speed has also become a weapon for the Ladyjacks in the non-conference season as SFA is a perfect 25-for-25 on stolen base attempts and ranks 50th nationally in stolen bases per game (1.56).

The Ladyjacks' pitching staff has also been impressive during the early part of the season with SFA owning the top earned run average (2.13) among the 12-team Southland Conference and ranking 44th in the nation in that category. Having already tallied 130 strikeouts as a staff, the Ladyjacks rank 24th in the country and No. 1 in the Southland with a 3.17 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Newcomers Kassidy Wilbur and Ashley Kriesel have been lights out, each ranking among the nation's best in strikeouts and strikeouts per seven innings. Freshman right-hander Wilbur has rung up 72 batters already this season and is tied for fourth in the nation in total strikeouts while 30th in strikeouts per seven innings (9.6). Her counterpart, junior Galveston College transfer righty Ashley Kriesel leads all Southland pitchers and ranks 22nd nationally in strikeouts per seven innings (9.8) and is 37th in total strikeouts (47).

About Prairie View A&M

2019 Record | 8-7, 0-0 Southwestern Athletic Conference
• Prairie View A&M was picked to finish atop the SWAC Western Division according to the league's preseason poll after claiming the 2018 SWAC Tournament title a year ago. The Lady Panthers went 20-23 overall last season, 11-6 in conference play, and reached the Texas A&M NCAA Regional after gaining the SWAC's automatic bid.
• Entering the week with an 8-7 record, Prairie View A&M began 2019 3-0 but went 1-3 this past weekend at the UT Arlington Maverick Tournament where the Lady Panthers suffered run-rule losses to host UT Arlington (10-0) and fellow Southland member Abilene Christian (9-0).
• Prairie View A&M is 2-2 against Southland opposition so far this year after earning a doubleheader sweep at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi last Wednesday (5-4 and 3-2). The Lady Panthers were shut out 7-0 at Southeastern Louisiana on Feb. 15 as part the Southeastern Louisiana Lion Classic II.
• Hitting .252 on the season as a team, Prairie View A&M features preseason SWAC Hitter of the Year senior first baseman Laurisa Hernandez who is batting at a .357 in 2019. Redshirt senior second baseman Destinee Williams is hitting at .395 with a .500 slugging mark, while freshman outfielder Diavionne Dewalt leads the Lady Panthers with a . 400 batting average and a .667 slugging percentage.
• SFA swept Prairie View A&M in a home-and-home series last season, defeating the Lady Panthers 9-2 in Nacogdoches and 6-2 in Prairie View, Texas.
• The Ladyjacks are a perfect 9-0 against Prairie View A&M since 2008 and have outscored the Lady Panthers 74-14 in those contests.

Up Next…
The Ladyjacks will hit the road once again this weekend for their final non-conference tournament of the season in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, at LSU's Purple & Gold Challenge, held Friday-Sunday, March 1-3. SFA will see two nationally-ranked teams in the Big Ten Conference's Indiana and host LSU, in addition to Illinois State and USC Upstate.

Stay tuned to SFAJacks.com, as well as SFA's social media platforms, for complete coverage of Ladyjack softball throughout the 2019 season.

-SFA-