Ladyjacks Pick Up 4-1 Road Victory Friday Afternoon in Corpus Christi

Friday, March 29

Corpus Christi, Texas

1 p.m.

Stephen F. Austin

19-14, 0

Texas A&M-Corpus Christi

5-27, 0

Stephen F. Austin

A&M-Corpus Christi

Photo by: Markus Sarate

Ladyjacks Pick Up 4-1 Road Victory Friday Afternoon in Corpus Christi

3/29/2019 6:14:00 PM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

SFA softball clinches second consecutive 20-win season with game two win, Kassidy Wilbur and Ashley Kriesel combine for 16 strikeouts

By: Luke Bolanos | Assistant Director of Athletic Media Relations

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – The SFA softball team secured its second-straight 20-win campaign Friday afternoon with a 4-1 Southland Conference road victory at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in game two of series-opening doubleheader. The Ladyjacks (20-14, 7-4 Southland) got a combined 16 strikeouts from their two starting pitchers as SFA lined five hits in the game two triumph and held the host Islanders (5-28, 2-9 Southland) to just six hits on the day.

"(Kassidy) Wilbur and (Ashley) Kriesel were lights out today in both games," head coach Nicole Dickson commented following the doubleheader. "I'm proud of our pitchers competing every pitch, and you have to tip your hat to A&M-Corpus Christi's (Kandace) Johnson for throwing a very solid game in the opener. We hit some balls hard right at people in game one and just didn't make the adjustments we needed to score with the wind."

"I thought we came out strong in game two, scoring in multiple innings and having some long at bats fighting," continued coach Dickson. "Tomorrow is about who is going to make adjustments and be mentally tough enough to find a way to get it done. We also need to take care of the ball more on defense, show more hustle and be clean."

Game Two | Win | SFA 4 – Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 1
The Ladyjacks wasted no time in getting on the board in the second game of the doubleheader, scoring a run in the opening inning to take an early 1-0 lead. A leadoff walk, followed by a sacrifice bunt, fielder's choice, an Islander fielding error and a single up the middle by redshirt sophomore center fielder Brittany Crawford loaded the bases with two outs. Moments later, senior third baseman Lauren Becker singled to right field for an RBI, scoring senior first baseman Margarita Corona for SFA's first run of the day.

A three-run, three-hit third inning gave the Ladyjacks a commanding 4-0 lead that they would not relinquish. Sophomore second baseman Bryana Novegil led off the frame with a walk as Corona reached on a fielder's choice, before sophomore designated player Triniti Kendzior doubled to right center field. A Crawford RBI groundout to second base gave SFA its second run of the afternoon, preceding Becker's second RBI single, this time to center field to mount the Ladyjacks' advantage to 3-0. SFA's final run of the inning came when junior catcher Lindsay Gregory singled to center field for an RBI, allowing Becker to reach home plate.

A one-out single to shortstop in the bottom of the second inning was the only offensive production for the home team through the first five innings of the contest as junior right-hander Ashley Kriesel picked up where she left on Wednesday inside the circle. A&M-Corpus Christi got a two-out double in the bottom of the sixth but a caught popup quickly ended the inning. The Islanders would collect their final two hits and lone run of the game in the bottom of the seventh off of a leadoff double and a two-out RBI triple to left center field. Kriesel then wrung up her fifth batter of the afternoon to secure the 4-1 victory.

Becker finished the game 2-for-3 with her two RBI and run scored, while Crawford and Gregory both went 1-for-3 with an RBI. Kriesel (7-4) struck out five and walked just one of 26 batters faced to record her seventh win on the rubber this season.

Islander starter Alexis Ruel (1-12) took the loss after striking out none and giving up all five Ladyjack hits and SFA's four runs with three walks in two and 2/3 innings of work. A&M-Corpus Christi reliever Alexis Tovar tossed the final four and 1/3 innings without allowing a hit and striking out three of 14 batters faced.

Game One | Loss | Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 1 – SFA 0
After four innings complete, neither team had scored a run as freshman right-hander Kassidy Wilbur owned nine strikeouts in 13 batters faced. With only the Ladyjacks collecting two hits, a bunt single from leadoff batter Novegil in the top of the first and a Crawford single to left field in the top of the second, through the opening four innings, the Islanders were the first to strike by scoring in the bottom of the fifth.

A&M-Corpus Christi collected its first hit of the afternoon in the top of the fifth, a leadoff double from left fielder Emilee Baker, before catcher Whitney Wendel singled on a bunt as Baker scored from second base on a SFA error. The unearned run broke the 0-0 tie and gave the home team a 1-0 lead prior to a popup and a pair of Wilbur strikeouts ending the inning.

The Ladyjacks would get two on in the top of the sixth after senior first baseman Margarita Corona was walked and freshman right fielder Alex Hedspeth was hit by a pitch. However, with two outs already a caught fly ball quickly thwarted SFA's chances of scoring. Wilbur held the Islanders to no hits in the bottom of the sixth but the Ladyjacks couldn't get anything going in the top of the seventh, making the 1-0 score go final.

Wilbur (11-10) finished the game with 11 strikeouts and allowed just two hits in 22 batters faced.

Texas A&M-Corpus Christi's Kandace Johnson (4-6) limited SFA to just three hits in the game as she struck out five and walked just one.

Up Next…
The Ladyjacks will wrap up their series in Corpus Christi Saturday as SFA goes for its third-straight Southland series victory and third consecutive series win over of the host Islanders. First pitch of the series-deciding game three is slated for 12 p.m. from Chapman Field.

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

-SFA-