Ladyjacks Continue Road Swing in San Antonio Friday and Saturday

Friday, April 12

San Antonio, Texas

12 p.m.

Stephen F. Austin

UIW

Photo by: SFA Athletics

Ladyjacks Continue Road Swing in San Antonio Friday and Saturday

4/11/2019 7:35:00 PM | Softball

Softball steps back into Southland play, seeks fourth league series win of 2019 and second-straight sweep of host Incarnate Word

By: Luke Bolanos | Assistant Director of Athletic Media Relations

Game Notes

SAN ANTONIO – Less than 48 hours removed from its finest offensive outing of 2019, the SFA softball team returns to game action this weekend when the Ladyjacks step back into Southland Conference play at the University of the Incarnate Word. Making the trip to San Antonio for the second-straight year and continuing its lengthy eight-game road swing, SFA will take on the host Cardinals (4-30, 2-13 Southland) in a Friday afternoon doubleheader beginning at 12 p.m. The Ladyjacks (24-16, 9-6 Southland) will wrap up the three-game series at Incarnate Word Saturday in a 12 p.m. first pitch from H-E-B Field.

Each game of this weekend's Southland road series will be streamed live via StretchInternet, while in-game statistics can be followed by visiting UIWCardinals.com. In-game updates will be made available via SFA softball's Twitter account, @SFA_Softball.

After claiming Southland series wins over McNeese, Houston Baptist and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, the Ladyjacks are seeking their fourth league series victory of the season and second away from the friendly confines of SFA Softball Field. In fact, SFA has won four-straight road games dating back to March 29 and has claimed wins in five of its last six contests played away from Nacogdoches.

The Ladyjacks are going for their second-straight road series sweep of UIW after taking all three games from the Cardinals in 2018. SFA owns a convincing 10-2 lead in the all-time series with UIW, defeating the Cardinals five times in San Antonio and another five times in Texas' oldest town.

With any win this weekend, the Ladyjacks can clinch their third 25-game win season in the last four years and fourth in the last six.

OFFENSIVE EXPLOSION
Wednesday afternoon at Memorial Park in Houston, SFA's offense erupted for a season-high 16 hits as the Ladyjacks picked up their fourth-straight road victory and won their third consecutive midweek non-conference road tilt with 10-1 rout of Texas Southern in six innings. Earning its third run-rule triumph of 2019, SFA was red-hot at the plate with five different players notching multiple hits, six players recording an RBI, four players collecting a double and three players making sacrifice hit. Senior first baseman Margarita Corona, who was the Ladyjacks' designated player for the game, registered her sixth-straight multi-hit game by going an impressive 3-for-3 at the plate with three RBI, two runs scored and a walk. Corona was not the only batter to have a big day as redshirt sophomore center fielder Brittany Crawford had a 2-for-2 performance with a pair of RBI and a run scored and freshman catcher Mackenzie Bennett went 3-for-4 with an RBI. Freshman first baseman Cassidy Tucker finished the game 2-for-4 at the plate with an RBI and a pair of runs scored, while senior shortstop Emily Wolfe was 2-for-3 with an RBI. SFA opened up the contest with a five-run, six-hit first inning and tacked on a trio of runs on three hits in the top of the second before a Bennett RBI single and a sacrifice fly by sophomore second baseman Bryana Novegil in the top of the sixth put the Ladyjacks ahead 10-1 for good.

WILLING WILBUR
Freshman right-hander Wilbur is off to a fantastic start to her collegiate career, seemingly gaining additional attention with each passing week. The Bridge City, Texas (Bridge City HS), native picked up her second-straight and third Southland Pitcher of the Week plaudit of the season on Monday, March 25 after striking out 21 in 13 innings of work week. This past weekend, Wilbur held a perfect game through the opening four innings of the Ladyjacks' game three bout with visiting Lamar. Striking out five and walking just one, Wilbur retired the first 12 batters she faced en route to picking up her 12th complete game win of 2019 and 13th overall. She currently ranks seventh among all NCAA Division I pitchers with 185 strikeouts on the year, while second in the league and ranking 40th in the nation in strikeouts per seven innings (8.5). Her 13 victories are the 50th-most nationally and second-most in the Southland as her 1.78 earned run average is the 59th-lowest ERA in the nation. Wilbur also ranks among national leaders with a 2.89 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Named Southland Pitcher of the Week on Feb. 12 and March 18 as well, Wilbur is allowing just 5.03 hits per seven innings to rank among the nation's top 60 in that category. After going 4-0 over the opening weekend with a two-hit complete game shutout of then 24th-ranked Mississippi State, Wilbur became SFA's first USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Week. Not allowing an earned run in three games starts and 22 innings across her first weekend as a Division I softball player, Wilbur set the program record for most strikeouts by a Ladyjack making her debut with 15 in the season-opening win over Valparaiso (6-2).

LETHAL KRIESEL
Wilbur is not the only Ladyjack newcomer who has been impressive inside the circle for SFA this season as junior righty Ashley Kriesel now owns nine wins on the rubber and has claimed five complete game victories. She 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. Striking out two and facing 32 total batters at Baylor last Tuesday, Kriesel was steady as she did not allow more than one hit in any inning and retired six straight between the second and fourth frames to help lead SFA to a 4-1 road win in Waco. Wednesday at Texas Southern, Kriesel threw another fine game. She fanned 10 Lady Tiger batters and walked just two in five innings of work to earn her ninth win of the year. At Prairie View A&M two weeks ago, Kriesel entered the game in the bottom of the third inning and retired all 13 batters faced in order. Racking up nine strikeouts, Kriesel was nearly as efficient as you can be without allowing a walk and needing just 53 pitches to complete the feat. She ranks among the top 65 nationally in strikeouts per seven innings (8.0) and is among the top 95 in hits allowed per seven innings (5.40). Ranking among conference leaders in total strikeouts with 103 in 90 and 2/3 innings of work, Kriesel is among the nation's top 95 pitchers in that category. Led by the duo of Wilbur and Kriesel, SFA's pitching staff ranks seventh nationally in total strikeouts (312) and is 40th in the nation and tops in the Southland with a 2.58 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Furthermore, the Ladyjacks' 2.58 team ERA is the 52nd-lowest nationally and second-lowest in the 12-team Southland.

AMONG LEADING MID-MAJORS IN THE RPI
With the NCAA's fourth weekly release of the RPI softball rankings Monday, SFA is No. 82 in the nation and sits as the second-highest Southland program behind only Sam Houston State (No. 77). The Ladyjacks, who have posted a 9-2 record in neutral-site games in 2019 and own three top-25 wins, have defeated four teams who are top 60 in RPI, three of which are top 40. SFA owns impressive non-conference neutral-site victories over then 25th-ranked Illinois (No. 36) and then 16th-ranked Indiana (No. 39), not to mention its road wins at then 24th-ranked Mississippi State (No. 25) and at Baylor (No. 60). In the RPI, the Ladyjacks rank ahead of notable Power Five programs such as Maryland, Iowa, Syracuse, Rutgers, Nebraska, Utah, Penn State, Boston College, Virginia, Michigan State and Kansas.

AGAINST POWER FIVE AND TOP-25 OPPONENTS
Owning a 4-4 record against Power Five programs this season, SFA has picked up three top-25 wins against the nation's most powerful conferences. After last Tuesday night's victory over the Lady Bears of Baylor, the Ladyjacks now own victories over a Southeastern Conference, Big 12 and Big Ten Conference team this year. SFA began its 2019 campaign by capturing the Bulldog Kickoff Classic in Starkville, Mississippi, where they knocked off then 24th-ranked Mississippi State out of the SEC in the title game with a two-hit, 1-0 shutout. Two weeks later, the Ladyjacks took down then 25th-ranked Illinois out of the Big Ten at South Alabama's Mardi Gras Invitational in Mobile, Alabama, with a 7-2 victory. The following weekend, SFA made it back-to-back weeks knocking off one of the nation's top teams by picking up perhaps their most impressive non-conference win of the season thus far. The Ladyjacks handed then 16th-ranked Indiana its first loss of 2019 with SFA's second 1-0 shutout of a top-25 opponent at LSU's Purple & Gold Challenge in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

ABOUT UIW
Led by second-year head coach Joe DiPietro, the Cardinals have struggled as of late and are currently on a seven-game slide. In fact, UIW has lost 15 of its last 17 games and owns just one Southland series win on the season. The Cardinals' lone wins in conference action came at Abilene Christian where UIW won the final two games of the three-game series (9-5 and 7-4). Owning a 1-8 record at the newly renovated H-E-B Field in 2019, the Cardinals' lone home triumph came on March 6 when UIW outlasted Texas Southern 6-5 in eight innings. Picked to finish 10th in the league according to the Southland's preseason poll, the Cardinals have been swept by McNeese and Nicholls in road series and Central Arkansas and Southeastern Louisiana at home. After giving up 54 runs in three games to the Lady Lions last weekend, UIW was swept by Nicholls during the week as the two teams played a rare midweek conference series due to the series being postponed earlier in the year because of sickness.

Up Next…
The Ladyjacks will enjoy a much needed week-long break from game action next week without a midweek affair. Next weekend, SFA will continue its road trip at Abilene Christian, taking on the Wildcats in a three-game Southland series Friday and Saturday, April 19-20.

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

-SFA-