Ladyjacks Open Up Southland Conference Play in Hammond

Friday, March 8

Hammond, La.

5 p.m.

Stephen F. Austin

Southeastern Louisiana

Tickets

Photo by: SFA Athletics

Ladyjacks Open Up Southland Conference Play in Hammond

3/7/2019 8:48:00 PM | Softball

SFA begins 27-game league schedule Friday at Southeastern Louisiana, takes on Lady Lions for first time since 2016

By: Luke Bolanos | Assistant Director of Athletic Media Relations

HAMMOND, La. – After taking on one of the most challenging non-conference tournament schedules in the nation, the SFA softball team will begin Southland Conference play this weekend in Hammond, Louisiana, facing Southeastern Louisiana in a three-game series Friday and Saturday, March 8-9. For the first time in three years, SFA will take on the Lady Lions after each ended the 2018 regular season tied with McNeese for second place in the Southland standings with 18-9 league marks.

All three games of this weekend's conference series will be streamed live on LionVision, however, a pass must be purchased to watch each contest. Live statistics will be available via LionSports.net.

The Ladyjacks are looking to start league play 3-0 for the second consecutive year after sweeping Texas A&M-Corpus Christi to begin Southland action in 2018. SFA went 2-1 in its most recent matchup with Southeastern Louisiana, taking the first two games of the series in Hammond in 2016.

TOUGHEST NON-CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT SLATE IN THE LEAGUE?
Prior to beginning their 27-game Southland schedule, the Ladyjacks took on one of the toughest stretches of non-conference tournaments in the nation and perhaps the most challenging among league members. Facing a nationally-ranked opponent a total of eight times over the first four weeks of the season, SFA took on several other highly successful programs. The Ladyjacks began their 2019 journey by traveling to Southeastern Conference mainstay Mississippi State for the Bulldog Kickoff Classic, before heading to national powerhouse the University of Louisiana at Lafayette for the 33rd Annual Louisiana Classic, South Alabama for the Mardi Gras Invitational and perennial powerhouse LSU for the Purple & Gold Challenge. Throughout their non-conference tournament play, the Ladyjacks faced then 24th-ranked Mississippi State twice in true road games, in addition to seeing a pair of games at both then No. 13 Louisiana and then 10th-ranked LSU. SFA also took on Big Ten Conference stalwarts then 25th-ranked Illinois and then No. 16 Indiana in neutral-site affairs in Mobile, Alabama, and Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

IMPRESSIVE NON-CONFERENCE VICTORIES
Going 12-9 across the first four weeks of the season, the Ladyjacks posted a 3-5 record in contests against top-25 opponents and went 3-3 versus Power Five programs. SFA began its 2019 campaign by capturing the Bulldog Kickoff Classic with a 1-0 shutout of then No. 24 Mississippi State. Starting the season 7-1, the Ladyjacks reached their second-straight tournament championship game the following weekend at the 33rd Annual Louisiana Classic where they picked up an impressive 5-1 win over the Ohio Valley Conference's Austin Peay. At the Mardi Gras Invitational, SFA notched its second victory over a nationally-ranked opponent by downing then 25th-ranked Illinois 7-2 as both sophomore second baseman Bryana Novegil and redshirt sophomore center fielder Brittany Crawford both picked up all-tournament team honors. Last weekend in Baton Rouge, the Ladyjacks claimed their third triumph over one of the nation's best teams by handing then No. 16 Indiana its first loss of 2019. SFA defeated the Hoosiers 1-0 to improve to 2-0 against Big Ten programs this year. The Ladyjacks also notched notable non-conference neutral-site victories over Valparaiso (6-2), Middle Tennessee twice (7-1 and 2-1) and Hofstra (7-3).

THIRD TRIP TO THE PELICAN STATE
This weekend's trip to Hammond marks the third time in the last four weeks SFA has spent its Friday and Saturday in the Pelican State. The Ladyjacks were in Lafayette, Louisiana, Feb. 15-17 and Baton Rouge last weekend (March 1-3). SFA has gone 4-6 in games played in Louisiana this season, including going 3-2 at the 33rd Annual Louisiana Classic in Lafayette.

STRENGTH IN THE CIRCLE
A pair of newcomers have quickly made their presence felt on the rubber as the Ladyjacks are off to a great start inside the circle. Freshman right-hander Kassidy Wilbur burst onto the scene and garnered national attention following her opening week performances in Starkville, Mississippi. The Bridge City, Texas, native became SFA's first ever USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Week after posting an unblemished 4-0 record with a perfect 0.00 earned run average and 32 strikeouts in 22 innings of work at the Bulldog Kickoff Classic. Also claiming Southland Pitcher of the Week accolades, Wilbur set the program record for most strikeouts by a Ladyjack making her debut after fanning 15 batters in the season opening 6-2 victory over Valparaiso. The freshman owns a team-best six complete game wins on the season, which includes two, two-hit complete game shutouts over top-25 opponents, and a 2.11 ERA. Wilbur's 91 strikeouts through 21 games this season leads the Southland and ranks eighth nationally among all Division I pitchers. Her 9.1 strikeouts per seven innings is 35th-best in the nation and second-best in the 11-team conference, while Wilbur's 3.25 strikeout-to-walk ratio is the third-highest in the league. Fellow newcomer junior Galveston College righty transfer Ashley Kriesel is also off to a fantastic start to her SFA career, owning three complete game wins and achieving a no-hitter on Feb. 16 in a 13-2 victory against Jackson State in five innings. Kriesel ranks 20th in the nation and is atop the Southland in strikeouts per seven innings (9.7), while ranking 51st nationally and third in the conference in total strikeouts (58). Her 3.25 strikeout-to-walk ratio is also third-best in the league as the Ladyjacks' pitching staff ranks 30th in the nation and leads the Southland in that category (3.07). SFA's 3.00 ERA as a team is the fourth-lowest in the conference.

NEED FOR SPEED
Through 21 games in 2019, the Ladyjacks have already surpassed last season's stolen base total. SFA was 20-of-26 on stolen base attempts in 2018 but has already claimed 26 stolen bases this season and been thrown out just once. Senior shortstop Emily Wolfe leads all Ladyjacks on the base paths with a perfect 8-for-8 conversion on stolen base attempts, while freshman Alex Hedspeth is 6-for-6 and Novegil 5-for-5. Averaging 1.24 stolen bases per game, SFA ranks sixth in the conference and 98th nationally in that category.

LADYJACKS IN HAMMOND
During their most recent trip to Hammond in 2016, the Ladyjacks took the opening two games of a three-game Southland series by winning game one 9-7 in eight innings and coming out victorious 4-2 in game two. The second extra-inning game of the weekend series went the way of the Lady Lions as Southeastern Louisiana won game three 1-0 in eight innings. SFA is 23-18 (.561) all-time in Hammond.

ABOUT SOUTHEASTERN LOUISIANA
Touted as the fastest team in the nation, the Lady Lions lead the country in stolen bases (94) and stolen bases per game (4.70). Southeastern Louisiana is 94-for-104 on stolen base attempts, while also ranking 41st nationally and second in the conference in team batting average (.308). The Lady Lions are led by senior infielder Jaquelyn Ramon on the base paths as her 1.55 stolen bases per game are tops in the nation. Owning the third-highest batting average on the team (.362), Ramon has successfully stolen 31 bases in 33 attempts and holds a .486 on-base percentage. Junior outfielder Bobbi Smith and freshman Lindsey Rizzo also rank among the nation's top 50 in stolen bases per game. Smith, who is 13-for-14 on stolen bases ranks 35th nationally and third in the Southland with 0.65 stolen bases per game, while Rizzo is 50th nationally and fifth in the league with 0.60 stolen bases per contest. Rizzo's .358 hitting mark is the fourth-highest among all Lady Lions this season as sophomore catcher Ella Manzer leads the team with a .396 batting average.

Senior infielder Rebecca Skains is Southeastern Louisiana's leader at the plate, owning a team-best .371 batting average and .600 slugging mark with 26 hits and 16 RBI. Her nine doubles in 2019 are the most of any Southland batter and rank third nationally, while her 26 hits rank 45th in the nation and are third-most in the conference. Skains also ranks 40th nationally and leads the the league in doubles per game (0.45) and is 59th nationally and third in the Southland in total bases (42).

Led by fourth-year head coach Rick Fremin, Southeastern Louisiana is coming off of its best season in program history. The Lady Lions earned the No. 4 seed for the 2018 Southland tournament after tying for second in the final conference standings with an 18-9 league mark. Southeastern Louisiana went 38-21 overall last year and set a school record for wins, both overall and in conference games. The Lady Lions also set single-season records for runs scored (319), triples (20) and RBI (253).

SFA is 40-27 (.597) all-time against Southeastern Louisiana with the two programs' first meeting coming on April 14, 1985. The Ladyjacks claimed victories in the first four contests of the all-time series.

Up Next…
For the second consecutive week the Ladyjacks will not have a midweek game, prior to hosting the Cowgirls of McNeese next weekend, Friday and Saturday, March 15-16, for their first home Southland series of 2019.

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

-SFA-