Offense Erupts in Softball’s 7-1 Rout of Middle Tennessee Saturday Morning

Saturday, February 9

Starkville, Miss.

10 a.m.

Stephen F. Austin

2-1

Middle Tennessee

1-2

Stephen F. Austin

Middle Tennessee

Photo by: SFA Athletics

Offense Erupts in Softball’s 7-1 Rout of Middle Tennessee Saturday Morning

2/9/2019 1:15:00 PM | Softball

Box Score

Ladyjacks line 11 hits en route to claiming their second win of the Bulldog Kickoff Classic in Starkville, Mississippi

By: Luke Bolanos | Assistant Director of Athletic Media Relations

SFA (2-1) vs. Middle Tennessee (1-2)
Saturday, Feb. 9 | 5:30 p.m. | Nusz Park | Starkville, Miss.
Live Stats

STARKVILLE, Miss. – In just its third outing of the 2019 season, the SFA softball team seemed to find its offensive rhythm by tallying 11 hits and scoring seven runs in a 7-1 victory over Conference USA's Middle Tennessee Saturday morning at Nusz Park in Starkville, Mississippi. The Ladyjacks (2-1) rebounded from a 1-0 second-inning deficit and scored a run in each of the next four innings, while holding the Blue Raiders (1-2) to just five hits.

In her second game donning the Purple and White, freshman right-handed pitcher Kassidy Wilbur turned in another fine performance. Going the distance and not allowing an earned run, Wilbur (2-0) struck out six and walked just two in facing 26 batters.

Another freshman, right fielder Alex Hedspeth, broke out for two RBI and two runs scored as she went 2-for-2 at the plate. Both junior North Texas transfer third baseman Lindsay Gregory and redshirt sophomore center fielder Brittany Crawford finished the game 2-for-3, while junior pinch runner/catcher Bailey Richards scored a pair of runs.

Following one and a half uneventful innings of play, Middle Tennessee struck first in the bottom of the second when Claire Smith reached home for an unearned run on a failed pickoff at third base. However, SFA responded with a pair of runs in the top of the third as Hedspeth connected on a double to right field for an RBI and senior first baseman Margarita Corona claimed a sacrifice bunt for Hedspeth to reach home.

The Ladyjacks made it a 3-1 game in the top of the fourth following freshman catcher Mackenzie Bennett's double to right field and a Blue Raider fielding error after Crawford flew out to right. Tacking on two more runs in the fifth, SFA got a one-out RBI single from sophomore second baseman Bryana Novegil and a two-out RBI single from Gregory. The Ladyjacks' final two runs of the game came in the top of the sixth when Wilbur doubled to right center for Richards to score her second run of the morning and Hedspeth hit a sacrifice fly to center field for Crawford to reach home.

Middle Tennessee's Lani Rodriguez finished 2-for-3 at the plate, while the Blue Raiders' right-handed starter Corrina Dodd (0-1) took the loss after going five complete innings inside the circle with just one strikeout and eight hits and four earned runs allowed.

Up Next…
The Ladyjacks will face Middle Tennessee later this afternoon at 5:30 p.m. for their fourth game of the Bulldog Kickoff Classic, live statistics of the contest can be followed via HailState.com.

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

-SFA-