Lumberjacks Look to Tame Bearkats at Home

Tuesday, February 20

Nacogdoches, TX

3:30 p.m.

Stephen F. Austin

Sam Houston

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Lumberjacks Look to Tame Bearkats at Home

2/19/2024 9:07:00 PM | Softball

By: Peter Trainor, Student Assistant for Strategic Communications

Stephen F. Austin vs. Sam Houston State

Date: Tuesday, February 20th Doubleheader

Times: 3:30 & 6:00 p.m. CST

Live Stream: ESPN+

Stadium: SFA Softball Field

Series: Sam Houston Leads 80-69

NACOGDOCHES, Texas. - The Stephen F. Austin Softball Team (1-7, 0-0) returns home for a midweek double header against rival Sam Houston State (2-5, 0-0) looking to snap a four-game losing skid.

Lumberjacks at a Glance:

The SFA Lumberjack Softball team returns home following a three-game road trip that took them to A&M Corpus Christi this past weekend where the Lumberjacks put up valiant efforts in all three games but fell just short in all three. Over the weekend, the 'Jacks lost by a combined five runs in three nail biting losses to the Islanders, and will be looking to get their bats going as they return home against the Bearkats.

A trio of Lumberjacks recorded three hits over the weekend against the Islanders. Kelby Robbins led the way for SFA this weekend as she recorded three hits this weekend including a double, while drawing two walks, and scoring one run while hitting for a .375 average. On the season, Robbins leads the team in hitting with an exceptional .353/.833/.412 slash line on the season. Amiah Galcatcher hit .333 on the weekend recording three hits and driving in one run against the Islanders. Meanwhile, Ellie Vance stuffed the stat sheet for SFA this past weekend as she recorded a trio of hits, finishing with a .375 average, while also drawing two walks, and stealing one base over the three games. Brittany Coe showed excellent discipline this weekend at the plate as she drew a team-leading four walks over the course of the three games and has drawn six total walks on the season.

The dynamic pitching duo of Brooke Gainous and Alexis Telford was on full display this past weekend. Gainous threw six innings only giving up one run and striking out four hitters while forcing nine groundouts from the Islanders hitters. Alexis Telford set a new season-high in strikeouts in the series finale against the Islanders as she showed off her wipeout pitches by striking out eight batters over six innings on Sunday morning only issuing two walks.

Defensively, Brittany Coe was a busy bee as she recorded 13 putouts while recording two assists and finishing the weekend with a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage. Ellie Vance formed a nice defensive pair to Coe this weekend as she was equally busy this weekend as she finished with six putouts, and six assists while helping turn one double play to help back the strong pitching performances from Gainous and Telford. On the season, five Lumberjack starters have a 1.000 fielding percentage and have a .964 fielding percentage as a team.

Bearkats at a Glance:

The Sam Houston State Bearkats come into this midweek double header on a two-game win streak that saw them claim their first two wins of the new season. The Bearkats claimed a 4-3 win over Northern Colorado on Saturday, before closing out the Texas State Tournament with a 5-1 win over Tulsa.

On the season, Morgan Holliday has been a do-it-all hitter for the 'Kats as she leads the team in a number of major statistical categories. Holliday leads the team with a .462 average, while tying for the team lead in hits with six, and leading the team in doubles (two), homeruns (one), and rbis (five). Meanwhile, Allie Saville and Brodie Quinlan have been consistent hitters for Sam Houston all season as they both have batting averages over .300, while Carter Haleigh has taken advantage of hitting with runners in scoring position as she has three rbi's on the year.

Daryn Grams has been the ace of the Sam Houston pitching staff this season as she has pitched to the tune of a 2.76 era striking out eight hitters over 12.2 innings pitched. Amy Abke has been the strikeout pitcher for the Bearkats as she has 10 strikeouts in 14 innings while holding a 2-0 record on the season. Elia Hebel and Hannah Scheaffer both have over 30 putouts on the season defensively for Sam Houston while Haleigh Carter leads the team with 12 assists on the season.

Series: This storied rivalry continues another season as the first scheduled match between these two schools was cancelled due to rain. Thus, the Ladyjacks will get a pair of home games against the Bearkats looking to continue their recent success as SFA has won four of the last five games between the two programs. In their last meeting, Sam Houston and SFA split a double header with SFA taking the second game by a score of 5-2 on the road last season.