Ladyjacks Open Up Series at Abilene Christian with Pair of Wins

Friday, April 19

Abilene, Texas

5 p.m.

Stephen F. Austin

28-16, 0

Abilene Christian

9-27, 0

Stephen F. Austin

Abilene Christian

Photo by: SFA Athletics

Ladyjacks Open Up Series at Abilene Christian with Pair of Wins

4/19/2019 11:02:00 PM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

Softball clinches second-straight winning season and spot in Southland Tournament with doubleheader sweep

By: Luke Bolanos | Assistant Director of Athletic Media Relations

SFA (29-16, 14-6 Southland) at Abilene Christian (9-28, 2-18 Southland)
Saturday, April 20 | 12 p.m. | Poly Wells Field | Abilene, Texas
Live Stats

ABILENE, Texas – With a pair of wins Friday night in a doubleheader at Abilene Christian, the SFA softball team punched its ticket to the 2019 Southland Conference Tournament, held this May in Natchitoches, Louisiana, and secured its second-straight winning season. The Ladyjacks (29-16, 14-6 Southland), who are just one victory away from clinching their first back-to-back 30-win seasons in 30 years, captured their fifth Southland Conference series victory with the doubleheader sweep.

SFA lined 22 hits across the two games, including posting a season-high 17 base knocks in the nightcap, and held the host Wildcats (9-28, 2-18 Southland) to 10 combined hits on the day. After claiming a gritty 2-1 win in the Southland series opener, the Ladyjacks' offense exploded in game two as SFA racked up 10 runs, compared to three by ACU, for the second-most in any league contest this season.

"I'm really proud of how locked in and focused we were tonight," head coach Nicole Dickson commented after the pair of victories. "Both at the plate and on defense, we played with determination and competed hard. I was pleased with how we battled in game one and found a way to win. Madison Clements made a clutch play at the dish, delivering the game-winning RBI. She stepped up when we needed it most and that set up the rest of the night. In game two, everyone fed off of each other and our seniors were outstanding. Margarita Corona did her thing and got her 11th home run of the season but multiple players had great at bats throughout the night."

Game One | Win | SFA 2 – ACU 1
The Ladyjacks took a 1-0 lead in the top of the opening inning following a one-out double to left field by senior third baseman Lauren Becker and then a two-out RBI single to center field by freshman right fielder Alex Hedspeth.

Four innings of scoreless ball would ensue before the home team tied things up at 1-1 in the bottom of the fifth. A pair of walks were followed by a one-out RBI single up the middle from left fielder Linsey Tomlinson, however, it would be the only run the Wildcats would score in the contest.

Sophomore second baseman Bryana Novegil led off the sixth with a single to the shortstop, but SFA couldn't get anything else going in the frame before breaking the tie in the top of the seventh. After sophomore designated player Triniti Kendzior led off the final inning with a walk, redshirt sophomore center fielder Brittany Crawford successfully laid down a sacrifice bunt and junior catcher Lindsay Gregory made a base-advancing groundout. With Kendzior on third and two outs, junior left fielder Madison Clements singled a 1-2 pitch to left field for the go-ahead RBI.

Leading 2-1 but with runners in the corners for ACU in the bottom of the seventh, freshman right-hander Kassidy Wilbur struck out her fifth batter of the game to secure the series opening win.

The Ladyjacks collected five hits in the affair with four different players recording a single, in addition to Becker's first-inning double. Wilbur (16-11) notched her 15th complete game win inside the circle, striking out five and allowing just one run.

The Wildcats' Tomlinson finished the game 2-for-4 at the plate with her RBI as Samantha Bradley (3-17) took the loss on the rubber after striking out four and walking one.

Game Two | Win | SFA 10 – ACU 3
Behind senior first baseman Margarita Corona's 4-for-4 performance at the plate, six different SFA batters registered multiple hits in the second game of the doubleheader. The Ladyjacks' offense clicked from the get go as SFA used a two-run, four-hit opening inning to take a 2-0 lead.

Novegil led off the first with a single to the pitcher and Corona singled to right center, before freshman designated player Cassidy Tucker hit a one-out RBI single to second base and Hedspeth an RBI single to right field. However, ACU quickly knotted things up at 2-2 in the bottom of the first after getting four hits of its own. A pair of singles began the Wildcats' bottom half of the opening inning prior to catcher Kayla Keeling doubling to left center field with one out for two RBI.

A quite second inning preceded the Ladyjacks taking a 3-2 lead in the top of the third. SFA would collect three more hits in the inning as a Hedspeth RBI sacrifice fly to left field allowed Corona to score. The Ladyjacks tacked on another run in the top of the fourth behind a Corona single to left center field and Tucker's second RBI of the night, a single to center field that brought Novegil to home plate.

The Purple and White jumped out to a 6-2 advantage in the top of the fifth when Crawford led off the inning with a double to right center field and Gregory singled on a bunt. A passed ball allowed Crawford to score SFA's fifth run of the contest, before freshman pinch hitter Mackenzie Bennett flied out to right field for a sacrifice RBI.

The Ladyjacks would increase their advantage to 7-2 in the top of the sixth when Corona crushed her 11th home run of the season, a leadoff full-count solo shot that landed at least 40 feet past the center field wall. The home team made a pair of hits in the bottom of the sixth and scored its final run of the night, getting a leadoff double to right center field from first baseman Anna Grace Johnson and then an RBI single through the left side from second baseman Briana Tijerina.

Scoring a trio of runs on three hits in the top of the seventh, SFA pushed its lead to 10-3. Clements began the final frame with a leadoff double to left center field before a Wildcat throwing error led to a Novegil RBI double to left field. Moments later, Hedspeth got ahold of a two-out two RBI double to left center field. The Ladyjacks did not allow a hit in the bottom of the seventh and junior right-handed pitcher Ashley Kriesel sat two down looking to make the 10-3 score go final.

Corona finished the game with three runs scored, an RBI and a walk, while Tucker went 3-for-4 at the plate with two RBI. Hedspeth tied her career-high with four RBI on a 2-for-4 outing as Novegil was 2-for-4 with three runs scored, an RBI and a walk. Kriesel (11-5) picked up her seventh complete game victory inside the circle by striking out nine of 34 batters faced.

ACU's Keeling Tijerina went 2-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI in the affair, and Keeling finished with two RBI. Wildcat starter Calie Burris (5-7) took the loss after giving up eight hits and three earned runs without a strikeout in three innings of work.

Up Next…
The Ladyjacks will go for their second-straight Southland series sweep and third of 2019 Saturday with game three beginning at 12 p.m. In-game statistics of the series finale can be followed by visiting ACUSports.com, while game updates will be made available via SFA softball's Twitter account, @SFA_Softball.

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

-SFA-