March 20, 2008

NACOGDOCHES, Texas - The Stephen F. Austin Ladyjack softball team will try to keep its Southland Conference momentum rolling this weekend, when it takes on UT-Arlington in a three-game road series. The set is scheduled to begin Friday with a doubleheader starting at 4 p.m. and conclude with a single game Saturday, slated for a 1 p.m. start.

The Ladyjacks come into the series second in the SLC standings with a 7-2 league mark. SFA is fresh off a three-game home sweep over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi that made the Ladyjacks (20-12) the first team in the SLC to post 20 wins this season and has won five straight league games overall.

The Ladyjacks have won with a balanced effort so far. They are ranked second in the conference in both team batting average (.279) and team earned run average (2.21). Only one other league school, this weekend's opponent UTA, is ranked in the top three in both statistical categories.

SFA leads the SLC in runs scored (171), hits (229), slugging percentage (.463), triples (12) and home runs (30). Four Ladyjacks are batting better than .300 entering this weekend's action. Sophomore Kendal Harper leads the team with a .396 batting average. Her 30 runs scored are the most of any player in the SLC, and she ranks second in the league in both doubles (7) and triples (4). Junior Kari Hugie's .338 average is second on the team, as are her five home runs. Freshman Ashley Struchtemeyer is batting .323 with seven home runs, which ties her for second-most in the conference. Senior Jessica Tullos is hitting .303 with five homers and 16 RBI.

The Ladyjacks are also solid in the circle. In addition to posting the league's second-best ERA through 32 games, SFA leads the conference in strikeouts. Freshman ace Monika Covington is a big reason why. Her 97 punchouts this season are tops in the SLC, as are her 11 wins. She is 11-5 overall with a 1.37 ERA that ranks fourth in the conference. Classmate Lauren Luetge is developing into a solid No. 2 pitcher. Despite a slightly higher ERA at 3.18, Luetge has found a way to win games, posting a .667 winning percentage at 6-3 for the season. With 53 strikeouts, she is actually retiring batters on strikes at a slightly faster pace than Covington, when the numbers are pro-rated for strikeouts per inning.

SFA can take a big step toward overtaking Texas State for the overall SLC lead with a series win this weekend. The Mavericks were picked to finish second in both preseason polls and, like SFA, come into Friday's showdown with a five-game winning streak. UTA took the last two games of its series with UTSA before sweeping a road set at Northwestern State last weekend to improve to 7-5 in league play. The Mavs are 10-11 overall.

-- SFA --