Stephen F. Austin
Tarleton State University
SFA Heads to Stephenville to Face off Against Tarleton
5/3/2023 3:00:00 PM | Softball
Stephen F. Austin at Tarleton State
Dates/Times: May 5th at 4 and 6:30 p.m., May 6th at 12 p.m.
Livestream: ESPN+
Location: Stephenville, Texas
Field: Tarleton Softball Complex
Series: SFA leads 6-2
STEPHENVILLE, Texas: The Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks travel to Stephenville this weekend to face off against the Tarleton Texans. SFA sits at 25-21 for the year and 13-8 in the WAC. Tarleton is sitting at 28-24 on the year and 12-9 in the conference.
A look at the Lumberjacks: SFA is coming off a big series sweep over New Mexico State this past weekend. The star of the series was Mackenzie Bennett, who had a great series and raised her average to .361. She also is second on the Jacks in home runs (9) and OPS (1.049). Gaby Garcia leads SFA with a 1.069 OPS with 15 homers, as she will look to continue her very impressive season. Sydnee Hebert has also quietly had a solid season, leading the Jacks with a .467 on base percentage, thanks in part to her team-high 33 walks. We also can't forget about Camryn Middlebrook or Lexi Benson. Middlebrook has been a terror on the base paths with 13 steals, and Benson has 8 bombs and 7 doubles to her name. It's safe to say this Lumberjack lineup has plenty of firepower to back up their pitchers, and they'll look to continue putting up runs this weekend.
The Jacks are once again led by the pitching duo of Alexis Telford and Brooke Gainous. Neither one has an ERA above 3.00, and they have a combined 109 strikeouts. If the Jacks score any runs for either of the two, they'll be in good shape. We also have to give props to Sophie Hannabas, who threw a complete game in the final game of the NMSU series, only allowing 3 runs. The Jacks should be feeling confident about their pitching going into the weekend.
A look at the Texans: The Texans are led by their high-powered offense, with five players hitting above .300. Katy Schaefer leads the way, with a .368 batting average, 10 home runs, 45 RBI's, and a 1.071 OPS. All of those numbers lead her team. Austin Germain is also having a solid season with a 1.050 OPS and a team high 14 doubles. The Texans are coming off a sweep of UTA, a series in which they put up 20 runs across three games, so they'll be hoping that momentum carries over to the series vs the Jacks. Grace Garcia and Tristan Bridges are the names to look for on the mound for Tarleton. They have both pitched a large amount of innings, with Garcia leading her team with 122. Garcia has been good for the Texans, having a 3.84 ERA, while Bridges has a 5.53 ERA with 11 wins. Kennedy Ferguson has also pitched a good amount of innings for the Texans, and has a 4.24 ERA with a 1.60 WHIP.
