Softball Returns to Nacogdoches, Hosts Houston Baptist in Trio of Games over Weekend

Friday, March 22

Nacogdoches, Texas

1 p.m.

Stephen F. Austin

Houston Baptist

Corona_Wilbur_Gregory_Becker_National_Anthem_McNeese2019

Photo by: SFA Athletics

Softball Returns to Nacogdoches, Hosts Houston Baptist in Trio of Games over Weekend

3/21/2019 11:49:00 PM | Softball

Ladyjacks seek third consecutive series win over visiting Huskies, second Southland series victory of season

By: Luke Bolanos | Assistant Director of Athletic Media Relations

NACOGDOCHES, Texas – After stepping out of Southland Conference play and traveling to College Station, Texas, Wednesday evening, the SFA softball team returns to the friendly confines of the SFA Softball Field and Texas' oldest town for a three-game weekend league series with Houston Baptist. The Ladyjacks (15-13, 3-3 Southland) will take on the visiting Huskies (13-9, 3-3 Southland) in a doubleheader Friday starting at 1 p.m., before hosting Houston Baptist Saturday at 1 p.m. for the third and final game of the series.

Every game of this weekend's Southland series will be streamed live everywhere on Facebook LIVE via SFA softball's Facebook page, while in-game statistics can be followed at SFAJacks.com.

SFA is seeking its third consecutive series win over the Huskies and will be attempting to win back-to-back conference series after defeating reigning three-time Southland tournament champion McNeese last weekend in Nacogdoches. This weekend marks the sixth-straight year the Ladyjacks have faced Houston Baptist in league play. SFA is 15-11 (.577) against the Huskies since 2008 and has won the last five meetings between the two teams.

Houston Baptist enters the Southland series having won seven of its last 10 games and 10 of its last 15, while the Ladyjacks have only one lone blemish on their home record this season (4-1) and have outscored their opposition 25-10 at SFA Softball Field in 2019.

THRILLER IN COLLEGE STATION
SFA took Southeastern Conference stalwart Texas A&M to the brink Wednesday night at Davis Diamond in College Station, forcing 15 innings and holding the host Aggies scoreless through 14 and 2/3. Going down as one of the longest games in Ladyjack softball history, the four hour and 16-minute contest will long be remembered as it was the longest softball game (time wise) involving a Southland institution in 2019 and marked the first 15-inning outing for Texas A&M since 1994. Featuring a combined 105 at bats, 30 runners left on base and 23 strikeouts, the lengthy affair saw both teams tally nine hits with both team's pitching and defense on full display for the majority of the game. A two-out two-run shot over the left field wall by the Aggies' Kelly Martinez in the bottom of the 15th inning gave the home team a 2-0 win, but not before freshman right-handed pitcher Kassidy Wilbur struck out a game-high 10 in 10 and 1/3 innings of relief work. Wilbur faced 42 batters inside the circle as the SFA defense continued to make plays in the outfield and infield, not allowing Texas A&M to cross home plate until Martinez' home run. The Ladyjacks, who have already notched three Power Five wins this season, nearly collected their second road victory over a SEC opponent after claiming a 1-0 shutout of then 24th-ranked Mississippi State over opening weekend.

WILLING WILBUR
Wilbur has been nothing short of sensational for SFA in her inaugural collegiate season. The Bridge City, Texas (Bridge City HS), native picked up her second Southland Pitcher of the Week plaudit Monday after going 2-0 last weekend against McNeese with two complete game wins. In the series opener with the Cowgirls last Friday afternoon at the SFA Softball Field, Wilbur nearly collected a no-hitter as she gave up just one hit for her third complete game shutout of the season and first versus an opponent not ranked in the top 25. Fanning nine McNeese batters out of 25 faced, Wilbur walked just three. Last Saturday, Wilbur earned her eighth complete game win of the season with eight strikeouts. Allowing just two runs and two walks in 29 batters faced, Wilbur notched her ninth win of her freshman campaign. Finishing the weekend series with a 1.00 earned run average and 17 strikeouts in 14 total innings of work, Wilbur held McNeese to a .170 batting average and only two extra-base hits. She currently ranks sixth nationally with 132 strikeouts on the year, while leading the conference and ranking 39th in the nation in strikeouts per seven innings (8.6). Her 2.87 strikeout-to-walk ratio and 2.09 ERA also rank among national leaders, while her nine victories are second-most in the league and 50th-most in the nation. Wilbur was also named Southland Pitcher of the Week on Feb. 12 after going 4-0 over opening weekend with a two-hit complete game shutout of then 24th-ranked Mississippi State. She became SFA's first USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Week on the same day after not allowing an earned run in three games starts and 22 innings, setting the program record for most strikeouts by a Ladyjack making her debut with 15 in the season-opening win over Valparaiso (6-2).

DEALING IN THE CIRCLE
Wilbur is not the only Ladyjack who has been impressive this season inside the circle as SFA's pitching staff ranks eighth nationally in total strikeouts (217) and is 51st in the nation and tops in the Southland with a 2.52 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Junior Ashley Kriesel, who owns three complete game wins in 2019 and four total, has already collected a no-hitter (Feb. 16 versus Jackson State) and a save (Feb. 20 against Texas Southern) in her first year as a Ladyjack. The right-hander was efficient Wednesday at Texas A&M, striking out three and not allowing a run in the opening four and 1/3 innings. She ranks 50th nationally with 8.4 strikeouts per seven innings and is second only to Wilbur in the Southland in that category. Kriesel also ranks among conference leaders in total strikeouts with 67 in 56 innings of work. Fellow junior Jordan Llinas has provided a steady arm from the bullpen this season as well. The righty owns a 2-0 record in 22 and 2/3 innings pitched and has notched 17 strikeouts in seven game appearances.

AMONG LEADING MID-MAJORS IN FIRST RPI RANKINGS
With the NCAA's first release of the RPI softball rankings Monday, SFA is No. 68 in the nation and sits as the second-highest Southland program. The Ladyjacks, who have posted a 9-2 record in neutral site games in 2019, rank ahead of notable Power Five programs such as California, Syracuse, NC State, Iowa, Purdue, Boston College, Utah, Duke, Rutgers, Nebraska, Virginia, Michigan State and Penn State.

STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE
Out of 297 total Division I softball teams, the Ladyjacks currently own the 69th-most difficult schedule based on past, future and cumulative opponent's records. The teams SFA has faced already this season are currently a combined 408-329 (.554) overall. For perspective, the team with the most difficult schedule as of right now is the SEC's Kentucky, who's past opponents currently own a combined winning percentage of .672. The Ladyjacks currently own the second-toughest schedule among Southland programs with only Sam Houston State (34th) owning a more difficult schedule in 2019.

ABOUT HOUSTON BAPTIST
Led by 28th-year head coach Mary-Ellen Hall, who owns nearly 800 career wins all at HBU, the Huskies look to be much improved from their 1-3 start. Picked to finish dead last in the Southland after finishing 11th a season ago with a 6-21 conference record and going 9-34 overall, HBU has already eclipsed its win total from 2018 by four games and has posted half the amount of league wins it had all of last year. The Huskies have gone 10-6 in non-conference contests and defeated Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in a Southland road series two weeks ago to begin conference play. After claiming wins in the final two games with the Islanders (3-0 and 4-2), HBU took the opening game from Southeastern Louisiana (7-4) last weekend in Houston, before dropping the three-game series with 5-2 and 4-3 losses. Wednesday evening, the Huskies picked up a 6-5 non-conference road win at the Sun Belt Conference's UT Arlington and are 4-6 in road games this season. HBU ranks third in the Southland with a .288 batting average and is second in slugging (.411). With 32 doubles and 46 total extra-base hits in 22 games, the Huskies lead the league in doubles per game (1.45).

Up Next…
The Ladyjacks will step back out of Southland play Wednesday, March 27 for a non-conference midweek affair at the Southwestern Athletic Conference's Prairie View A&M, before heading to Corpus Christi, Texas, for a three-game league series at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi next weekend, Friday-Saturday, March 29-30. First pitch from Prairie View, Texas, is slated for 3 p.m. Wednesday.

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

-SFA-