Friday, April 26
Nacogdoches, Texas
1 p.m.
Stephen F. Austin
vs
Northwestern State
Photo by: SFA Athletics
Ladyjacks Host Northwestern State for Senior Weekend Southland Series
4/25/2019 11:25:00 PM | Softball
SFA softball looks to gain ground in Southland race three games from first place and tied for fourth, quintuplet of seniors to be honored Saturday
Northwestern State (24-21, 13-8 Southland) at SFA (30-17, 14-7 Southland)
Friday, April 26 | 1 p.m. | SFA Softball Field | Nacogdoches
Watch | Live Stats
Northwestern State (24-21, 13-8 Southland) at SFA (30-17, 14-7 Southland)
Friday, April 26 | 3 p.m. | SFA Softball Field | Nacogdoches
Watch | Live Stats
Northwestern State (24-21, 13-8 Southland) at SFA (30-17, 14-7 Southland)
Saturday, April 27 | 12 p.m. | SFA Softball Field | Nacogdoches
Watch | Live Stats
Game Notes
Friday, April 26 | 1 p.m. | SFA Softball Field | Nacogdoches
Watch | Live Stats
Northwestern State (24-21, 13-8 Southland) at SFA (30-17, 14-7 Southland)
Friday, April 26 | 3 p.m. | SFA Softball Field | Nacogdoches
Watch | Live Stats
Northwestern State (24-21, 13-8 Southland) at SFA (30-17, 14-7 Southland)
Saturday, April 27 | 12 p.m. | SFA Softball Field | Nacogdoches
Watch | Live Stats
Game Notes
NACOGDOCHES, Texas – After securing its first back-to-back 30-win season in 30 years and just the second of the program's NCAA Division I era Wednesday night in Monroe, Louisiana, the SFA softball team returns to game action this weekend when Northwestern State visits SFA Softball Field for a three-game Southland Conference series. Playing in Texas' oldest town for the first time in three weeks following a lengthy eight-game road trip, the Ladyjacks (30-17, 14-7 Southland) will host the Lady Demons (24-21, 13-8 Southland) in a doubleheader Friday afternoon beginning at 1 p.m. before wrapping up the series with game three held Saturday, April 27 at 12 p.m.
Each game of the weekend's Southland series will be streamed everywhere on Facebook LIVE via SFA softball's Facebook page, while in-game statistics can be followed at SFAJacks.com.
Saturday afternoon's series finale will serve as SFA's 2019 senior day with a quintuplet of Ladyjack seniors, Lauren Becker, Courtney Brown, Margarita Corona, Shay Vegas and Emily Wolfe, honored prior to the start of the game.
Tied for fourth place with Southeastern Louisiana in the Southland standings at 14-7 in league play, the Ladyjacks sit just three games from co-conference leaders Nicholls and Sam Houston State (17-4). The weekend's games will prove to be pivotal in the Southland race as Northwestern State, along with Lamar, are currently tied for sixth with 13-8 league marks. McNeese, who SFA took two out of three games from in March, are in second place at 15-6.
The Ladyjacks are seeking their sixth Southland series win of 2019 after winning their second-straight last weekend at Abilene Christian. With 30 wins on the season overall, SFA can reach last year's win total (31) with a victory and is looking to claim its most wins in a single season since 2008 (36).
The series marks the first Southland matchup between the two teams since 2016 as the Ladyjacks and Lady Demons have missed each other the last two years. SFA took on Northwestern State in a trio of non-conference games last season and owns an even 60-60 record all-time versus the out of state rival Lady Demons.
LAST TIME OUT
For the third-straight outing, the Ladyjacks notched 10 or more hits in a contest by lining 14 Wednesday night at the University of Louisiana at Monroe. Despite trailing 1-0 through the opening three innings of play, SFA staged a comeback after tying up the score in the top of the fourth on a two-out RBI single to center field by junior left fielder Madison Clements. The Ladyjacks' offense then erupted in the final two innings of SFA's final non-conference affair of the regular season. Scoring a total of seven runs across the sixth and seventh frames, SFA used a three-run, four-hit sixth and a four-run, three-hit seventh to pick up its 13th road win of 2019 (8-2). Behind the powerful arms of right-handers Kassidy Wilbur and Ashley Kriesel, the Ladyjacks limited the host Warhawks to four hits as four different batters had multi-hit performances. Led by senior first baseman Margarita Corona's 3-for-3, one RBI outing, redshirt sophomore center fielder Brittany Crawford registered three hits in four at bats and scored a trio of runs, while senior shortstop Emily Wolfe went 2-for-3 with two RBI and two runs scored. Clements finished the game 2-for-4 with her RBI and a run.
THANK YOU, SENIORS
This weekend will be extra-special for five SFA softball players as the quintuplet of Becker, Brown, Corona, Vegas and Wolfe step out onto SFA Softball Field for the final time of their Ladyjack careers Saturday. Prior to first pitch of the series finale, each will be honored with a special senior day ceremony on the infield. The quintuplet represents head coach Nicole Dickson's inaugural senior class as all five were recruited by Dickson and her staff. Becker, a three-year letter winner and two-time NFCA All-America Scholar-Athlete, came to Texas' oldest town following an outstanding freshman campaign under coach Dickson at Tyler Junior College. Wolfe, a two-year letter winner, arrived in Nacogdoches after starring at Paris Junior College her freshman year. Brown, Vegas and Corona, who have suited up in the Purple and White for two-straight seasons, all chose SFA following a 17-33 Ladyjack campaign in 2017 because they believed in what could be accomplished and wanted to begin to build something special. Brown, a 2018 NFCA All-America Scholar-Athlete, and Corona, a 2018 All-Southland honorable mention selection, both transferred in from Pima Community College in Tucson, Arizona, while Vegas arrived from nearby Angelina College in Lufkin.
HOME RUN RITA
Corona is having a breakout year in her second season as a Ladyjack, turning in one of her best performances donning the Purple and White last weekend in Abilene when she went 4-for-4 at the plate with a trio of runs scored, an RBI and a walk in SFA's 10-3 rout of the Wildcats Friday night. The Tucson, Arizona (Tucson High Magnet School), native launched her 11th home run of the season some 40 feet beyond the center field wall to lead off the sixth inning, putting the Ladyjacks ahead 7-2. Corona leads the Southland in on-base percentage (.482), slugging (.686) and total bases (96), while second in the league in batting (.386), hits (54), home runs per game (0.23) and walks per game (0.57). She ranks among the top 133 NCAA Division I softball players in each of those seven offensive statistical categories, including owning the 63-most total bases in the nation. Her 11 home runs are just one shy of the single-season program record, which was set at 12 by Briana Bishop in 2009.
WILLING WILBUR
Freshman pitcher Wilbur is having quite the inaugural college campaign on the diamond and last Thursday she gained even more national attention by being named to the 2019 Schutt Sports/National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Freshman of the Year Top 25 watch list. She became the first Ladyjack in program history to be named to the NFCA Freshman of the Year Top 25 and is the first softball player from the Southland to earn a spot on the national award list in the last four years. Wilbur has already notched 15 complete game wins inside the circle and owns five shutouts. On Wednesday, she picked up her 17th victory of the season at Louisiana-Monroe after going five and 2/3 innings and striking out three. The Bridge City, Texas (Bridge City HS), native is among the nation's top hurlers in several statistical categories, including ranking ninth in total strikeouts (223), 36th in victories (17), 42nd in strikeouts per seven innings (8.3), 47th in earned run average (1.76), and 58th in hits allowed per seven innings (4.98). Touting a 17-11 record on the rubber in 2019, Wilbur's 223 strikeouts in 31 appearances this season are only 70 shy of the single-season program record, which was set in 1985 by Pam Clay (293), with seven regular season games to go. Two of her complete game shutouts this season came against nationally-ranked Power Five programs as she tossed a two-hit, 1-0 shutout at then 24th-ranked Mississippi State (Feb. 10) to help SFA capture the 2019 Bulldog Kickoff Classic. A few weeks later, Wilbur matched that performance by handing then 16th-ranked Indiana its first loss of 2019 with another two-hit, 1-0 complete game shutout. The Hoosiers entered the game as one of only six unbeaten teams in the country through three and a half weeks of the regular season. The righty was named Southland Pitcher of the Week on Feb. 12, March 18 and March 25, while also being tabbed USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Week on Feb. 12 following a near-perfect start to her collegiate career. Posting an unblemished 4-0 record across the opening weekend, Wilbur held an unscathed 0.00 ERA for the week with three complete game wins. Not allowing an earned run in 22 innings of work, Wilbur struck out 32 batters and gave up only one extra-base hit. In her first collegiate career start, Wilbur fanned 15 batters to set the program record for most strikeouts by a Ladyjack making her debut.
LETHAL KRIESEL
Wilbur is not the only Ladyjack newcomer who has been impressive inside the circle for SFA this season as junior Kriesel owns 11 wins inside the circle and has claimed seven complete game victories. She has already collected a no-hitter (Feb. 16 versus Jackson State) and picked up her second save of the season Wednesday at ULM. Entering the game in the bottom of the sixth with bases loaded and two outs, Kriesel forced a lineout before retiring three consecutive batters in the seventh and striking out one. Kriesel currently ranks 44th nationally in strikeouts per seven innings (8.3) and is among the nation's top 90 in both total strikeouts (127) and hits allowed per seven innings (5.41), while ranking among league leaders in all three statistical categories. Led by Wilbur and Kriesel, SFA's pitching staff ranks fifth nationally in total strikeouts (374) and is 52nd in the nation and second in the Southland with a 2.37 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Furthermore, the Ladyjacks' 2.43 team ERA is the 37th-lowest in the country and third-lowest in the conference.
ABOUT ACU
Led by 11th-year head coach Donald Pickett, the Lady Demons have won five of their last seven games and are coming off of a 2-1 midweek non-conference home win over the Southwestern Athletic Conference's Grambling State Wednesday night. Over the weekend, Northwestern State dropped two of three games at Lamar, winning game two 6-5 but falling 4-3 in the series opener and 5-0 in the decisive third game. The Lady Demons have scored Southland series sweeps in Natchitoches versus Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Southeastern Louisiana and Abilene Christian after opening up league play by taking two of three games at Sam Houston State. Northwestern State owns a 6-12 road record on the season.
Up Next…
The Ladyjacks wrap up regular season action next weekend, Friday and Saturday, May 3-4 at Sam Houston State in Huntsville, Texas. The three-game Southland series finale will get underway Friday afternoon with a doubleheader beginning at 4 p.m. before the final game of the regular season Saturday at 12 p.m.
Stay tuned to SFAJacks.com, as well as SFA's social media platforms, for complete coverage of Ladyjack softball throughout the 2019 season.
-SFA-
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