Lumberjacks Cage Tigers, Sweeping Doubleheader in Dominating Fashion

Wednesday, March 13

Nacogdoches, TX

3:00 p.m.

Stephen F. Austin

6-20

Texas Southern University

6-6

Texas Southern

Stephen F. Austin

Lumberjacks Cage Tigers, Sweeping Doubleheader in Dominating Fashion

3/13/2024 8:30:00 PM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

By: Peter Trainor, Student Assistant for Strategic Communications

NACOGDOCHES, Texas. - The Stephen F. Austin Softball team (7-20, 0-0) returned home for the first time in 10 days and came away with a much-needed home sweep over the visiting Texas Southern Tigers (6-7, 0-0) thanks to a lights-out pitching performance in game one, and an offensive explosion in the nightcap of the doubleheader, as SFA has now won the last 12 meetings against Texas Southern and will enter conference play with plenty of momentum.

Game 1: SFA 4, Texas Southern 1

The first game of the doubleheader saw Aydenne Brown draw the start in the circle for SFA. Brown started the game off strong by striking out the first three Texas Southern hitters. The 'Jacks wasted no time getting Brown run support early as they got the scoring started in the bottom of the first as Chloe Reneau hit a one-out single, showed some amazing hustle to beat out a play at second base, and later came around to score as Brittany Coe sent a bullet back up the middle to score Reneau and put SFA ahead 1-0 early. Following a Lexi Benson single to move Coe to second, Ellie Vance stepped in and took full advantage of the opportunity as she lined a hustle triple to right to score both Veronica Cully who pinch ran for Coe and Lexi Benson to extend the 'Jacks lead to 3-0 after one full inning.

In the top of the second, Brown continued to mow down Tigers hitters as she made quick work of the Tigers in the top of the second by striking out all three hitters and had six strikeouts through the first two innings. Brown would get help from her defense today as Kelby Robbins made a diving catch on a line drive hit towards the 5-6 hole, and got up to throw the runner out at first to turn a 5-3 double play to get the 'Jacks out of the top of the fourth with another Nolan Arenado esque play at the hot corner.

The Lumberjacks would tack on an insurance run in the bottom of the fifth as Lexi Benson continues to go triple crazy this season, smacking her fourth triple of the season to straightaway center that went off the base of the wall to easily score Arwin Callaway and push the 'Jacks further ahead 4-0 heading to the sixth inning. The Tigers would push across a run in the top of the seventh, but Aydenne Brown shut the door on the Tigers from there on and secured the 4-1 win for SFA to kick off the doubleheader on a positive note.

The Lumberjack offense continues to keep the hits rolling as they recorded at least seven hits for the fourth time in their last six games, finishing today with eight hits with four of the hits coming in the first as a fast offensive start for SFA helped power them to a 4-1 win. Lexi Benson (2-3, 3B, R, RBI), and Ellie Vance (2-3, 3B, 2 RBI) led the Lumberjack offense today as SFA recorded their second game in their last three with a triple. Brittany Coe (1-3, RBI) helped the Lumberjack offense get off on a strong foot in the first as her RBI single started the scoring for SFA, while Madison Nguyen (1-3), Chloe Reneau (1-3, R), and Kelby Robbins (1-3) all got into the hitting frenzy for SFA. Mallory Webb (0-0, BB) drew an eight-pitch walk for the 'Jacks lone walk of the day, while Veronica Cully and Arwin Callaway entered the game as pinch runners and showcased their blazing speed as both scored runs for SFA.

As strong as the 'Jacks offense was today, Aydenne Brown's performance on the mound for SFA was just as spectacular if not better than SFA's offense today. Brown pitched a seven-inning gem for SFA that saw her carry a no-hitter into the seventh inning, allowing just a single hit and one run, while punching out nine Tigers today. Brown started the day just as hot as the SFA offense as she struck out the first six hitters of Texas Southern to help set the tone early for her dominant performance on the bump. Brown picked up her third win of the season today, while pitching her fourth complete game of the campaign, and lowering her season era to 3.29 in the process.

Game 2: SFA 11, Texas Southern 0

Brooke Gainous would draw the starting nod on the bump for game two of the doubleheader and she picked up right where Aydenne Brown left off in game one as she pitched a quick 1-2-3 first inning for SFA. Lexi Benson would work a two-out walk in the first and Amiah Galcatcher would waste no time getting SFA on the board as she hit a towering double to right center field that hit off the middle of the wall to score Lexi Benson from first and put SFA ahead 1-0 early. Brooke Gainous made quick work of the Tigers in the second as she needed just six pitches to get another 1-2-3 inning in the second for SFA, with the 'Jacks leading 1-0 heading to the bottom of the second.

Add another impressive feat to the 'Jacks early season accomplishments as SFA has scored seven runs, 10 runs, and now eight runs in a single inning so far this season. The bottom of the second saw SFA ensure that both Brooke Gainous and Kayla Palomino got all the run support they needed for SFA to cruise to an 11-0 run-rule win over the Tigers. The second-inning scoring explosion got started by Kelby Robbins sending a single back up the middle, with Mallory Webb following suit by issuing a walk to put a pair of runners on for SFA. Following a wild pitch, Alex Dubose would send a sacrifice fly to right field to score the pinch runner Ja'Aira Fletcher and put SFA ahead 2-0. Chloe Reneau would drive in Webb from third and put SFA ahead 3-0, which allowed Madison Nguyen to send a ball back up the middle to bring Reneau in from second and extend the SFA lead to 4-0. After both Lexi Benson and Amiah Galcatcher reached base for SFA, Emily Land sent a hot shot to right field to score both Benson and Nguyen and SFA found themselves ahead 6-0. SFA would bat around in the bottom of the second as Kelby Robbins would send her second hit of the inning to center field, scoring Amiah Galcatcher and making it 7-0 SFA in the process. The scoring wouldn't end there though as Mallory Webb reached base for the second time in the inning on a comebacker up the middle to score Emily Land from second and make it 8-0 SFA after two full innings.

After a third perfect inning from Brooke Gainous, the Lumberjacks kept dumping the runs on the Tigers as Amiah Galcatcher would work a one-out walk in the bottom of the third, and Emily Land would come just a few feet of her first homerun of the season as she would send a deep drive to left that hit off the upper half of the left field fence to easily plate the pinch runner Kyi'Marri Ester and launch SFA into double-digit runs at 10-0. The 'Jacks would leave no doubt about this one as in the bottom of the fourth, Kaylee Paul got into the hitting fun with a hustle triple of her own down the left field line to score Alex Dubose from first and pad SFA's lead to 11-0 heading to the fifth, with the Lumberjacks eventually instituting the run-rule and cruising out of the doubleheader with an 11-0 win.

Don't look now, but the Lumberjacks have now recorded seven or more hits in five of their last seven games and have done it in back-to-back games. It also looks like the 'Jacks are pretty comfortable hitting at home as they have now recorded three double-digit run games this season, two of them being at home, and finished the home doubleheader today with 17 hits between the two games. Many baseball experts and psychologists will go back-and-forth on the argument that hitting can be contagious, but today certainly offered a very compelling case that hitting can in fact be contagious. In game two of the doubleheader, seven different Lumberjacks recorded hits while six different Lumberjacks recorded a hit in game one of the doubleheader. As impressive as the hitting was, the discipline displayed by Lumberjack hitters between the two games might be even more impressive as they combined for seven walks and struck out a mere four times as a team between the two wins. Kelby Robbins (2-2, R), and Emily Land (2-2, 2B R, BB, RBI) continue their scorching hot hitting as Land has now recorded multiple hits in three of her last four games, while Robbins has recorded a hit in four of her last five games including a pair of multi-hit efforts. However, Robbins and Land are not the only Lumberjacks experiencing great success at the plate recently, as Madison Nguyen (1-3, R) and her four-game hitting streak should not be overlooked, while Mallory Webb (1-1, BB, R) has now quietly reached base safely in four straight games. Kaylee Paul (1-1, 3B), Amiah Galcatcher (1-2, 2B, R, BB, RBI), and Sydney Blakeman (1-1) all joined in on the offensive onslaught for SFA today as they recorded their fourth highest hit total this season. Meanwhile, both Chloe Reneau (BB, R, RBI), and Lexi Benson (2 BB, 2R) showed incredible patience on their respective walks as SFA clogged the basepaths with traffic in every inning of game two. Madison Nguyen and Ja'Aira Fletcher showcased the speedy lineup SFA possesses as both stole a base today, while the Lumberjacks have now hit a triple in three of their last four games.

Brooke Gainous and Kayla Palomino combined to throw a combined one-hitter over five innings, striking out five Tigers, and not issuing a single walk in the dominating win. Gainous pitched three no-hit innings, striking out four hitters, before handing it over to Palomino who had no trouble finishing the game as she allowed just one hit over the final two innings, striking out one Tiger, and inducing five groundouts from Texas Southern. Alex Dubose and Emily Land formed a dynamic defensive duo today as the pair combined for 11 putouts today, while Chloe Reneau and Kayla Palomino were equally efficient as a duo as the two each recorded three assists apiece.

The Lumberjacks will enter conference play on the perfect note as they will look to carry over their strong offensive performances from today with them to Utah when they get set to begin conference play with a three-game weekend series against the Southern Utah Thunderbirds with a doubleheader scheduled for Friday, March 15th, and the series wrapping up on Saturday, March 16th. The doubleheader Friday will commence with the first game starting at 4:00 p.m. CST, and the second game starting approximately 30 minutes after that, while the series will conclude on Saturday with first pitch of the series finale scheduled for 3:00 p.m. CST.