Ladyjacks Strike Out 26, Clinch Fourth Southland Series Win of 2019

Friday, April 12

San Antonio, Texas

12 p.m.

Stephen F. Austin

25-16, 10-6

UIW

4-31, 2-14

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
Stephen F. Austin	0	1	0	0	3	0	0	4	8	0
UIW	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	3	0

Photo by: SFA Athletics

Ladyjacks Strike Out 26, Clinch Fourth Southland Series Win of 2019

4/12/2019 7:10:00 PM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

Softball sweeps Friday afternoon doubleheader at Incarnate Word as the pitching duo of Kassidy Wilbur and Ashley Kriesel fan 26 batters

By: Luke Bolanos | Assistant Director of Athletic Media Relations

SFA (24-16, 9-6 Southland) at Incarnate Word (4-32, 2-15 Southland)
Friday, March 12 | 12 p.m. | H-E-B Field | San Antonio, Texas
Watch | Live Stats

SAN ANTONIO – The SFA softball team clinched the program's third 25-win season in the last four years and fourth in the last six Friday afternoon with a doubleheader sweep of the University of the Incarnate Word at H-E-B Field in San Antonio. The Ladyjacks (26-16, 11-6 Southland) outscored the host Cardinals (4-32, 2-15 Southland) 7-1 across the two games to earn their fourth Southland Conference series win of 2019.

Extending its road win streak to six, SFA got outstanding pitching performances from freshman Kassidy Wilbur and junior Ashley Kriesel. The right-handed duo tossed 26 strikeouts on the day and combined to hold Incarnate Word to eight hits and just one run with both Wilbur and Kriesel notching complete game wins.

The Ladyjacks lined 15 combined hits in the doubleheader as senior first baseman Margarita Corona connected on her 10th home run of the season in game one and junior left fielder Madison Clements knocked out her first career long ball in game two.

"Both (Ashley) Kriesel and (Kassidy) Wilbur were top notch this afternoon, they had great command from the circle and showed excellent composure," head coach Nicole Dickson said following the pair of victories. As a team we played consistent from start to finish with really good energy everywhere. Today's doubleheader was exactly what we needed from every player on our team. We want to close out the week with the same energy and consistency tomorrow."

Game One | Win | SFA 4 – UIW 1
Collecting eight hits and limiting the hosts to only three, SFA took a 1-0 lead in the top of the second inning and added a trio of runs in the top of the fifth before holding off the Cardinals in the bottom of the seventh.

A sacrifice fly to right field from junior catcher Lindsay Gregory following a leadoff double to center field by sophomore designated player Triniti Kendzior gave the Ladyjacks their first run of the day in the top of the second. After two and a half scoreless innings of play, SFA got three runs on three hits in the top of the fifth. A two-out double to left field by sophomore second baseman Bryana Novegil preceded an RBI single by senior third baseman Lauren Becker and then Corona's two-run homer over the center field wall. The long ball put the Ladyjacks ahead 4-0.

UIW would score their lone run of the day in the bottom of the seventh when catcher Jenna Bleibe went yard over left field on a one-out 0-0 pitch.

Wilbur (14-11) posted her 13th complete game win inside the circle, striking out 13 of 27 total batters faced. Novegil finished the game 3-for-4 with a run scored as Kendzior went 1-for-2 with a run.

The Cardinals' Brett Coleman (3-13) went six complete innings to take the loss after allowing four earned runs and striking out just two.

Game One | Win | SFA 3 – UIW 0
Runs came at a premium in the second game of the doubleheader but SFA once again took a 1-0 lead following the top of the second inning and scored in both the fifth and sixth frames after tallying seven hits.

A leadoff single to the shortstop from redshirt sophomore center fielder Brittany Crawford led to a Clements RBI single to center field in the top of the second. Much like the series opener, two and a half scoreless innings would ensue before the Ladyjacks took a 2-0 lead in the top of the fifth behind a pair of hits. Kendzior singled up the middle with two outs for an RBI following a Novegil leadoff single and a Becker sacrifice bunt.

Clements rocked the first bomb of her career in the top of the sixth, taking the first pitch see saw with two outs over the center field wall to give SFA a 3-0 lead that it would not relinquish.

UIW collected two hits in the bottom of the seventh to put runners in scoring position but Kriesel wrung up her 13th batter to clinch the doubleheader.

Kriesel (10-5) matched her career high in strikeouts (13) and earned her sixth complete game win on the rubber after not giving up a walk in 26 batters faced. Clements turned in a 2-for-3 performance at the plate with two RBI and a run scored.

Cardinal center fielder Lexi Shaw finished the game 2-for-3, while Renee Hoffman (1-13) took the loss after striking out just one and giving up three earned runs.

Up Next…
The Ladyjacks look to complete the three-game Southland sweep of UIW Saturday with the series finale taking place at 12 p.m. from H-E-B Field. Tomorrow's game will be streamed live via StretchInternet, while in-game statistics can be followed by visiting UIWCardinals.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-