The Official Home of Stephen F. Austin Athletics

    SFA Hosts Nicholls State
    Ladyjacks wrap up longest home stand of season
    Freshman Briana Bishop led SFA at the plate last weekend against Central Arkansas
    Freshman Briana Bishop led SFA at the plate last weekend against Central Arkansas

    April 5, 2007

    NACOGDOCHES, Texas - Home Stand Concludes: The Stephen F. Austin Ladyjack softball team will wrap up its longest home stand of the season this weekend, when the Ladyjacks host Southland Conference foe Nicholls State in a three-game series. The slate will open Friday afternoon with a doubleheader, starting at 4 p.m. SFA will put the wraps on its seven-game home stretch Saturday with a noon start. The Ladyjacks (14-22, 7-5) entered the week as the sixth-place team in the SLC. Nicholls State is in fourth place in the league standings.

    Last Time Out: The Ladyjacks took two of three in an SLC series against Central Arkansas. Sophomore Kari Hugie (7-8) pitched her fifth complete-game shutout of the season in collecting a 1-0 win over the Bears in Saturday's opener. That strong showing dropped her season ERA to 2.87. The Ladyjacks then broke out the aluminum for Game 2, collecting eight hits -- including a home run -- in a 6-1 victory. Freshman third baseman Briana Bishop stroked a solo homer to left-center in the first inning to get SFA on the board. It was her sixth bomb of the year -- and second of the week -- and she would go on to add a run-scoring double in the game, as Ashley Wilburn (6-11) collected the complete-game victory. But SFA ran out of offense on Sunday. The Ladyjacks were shut out, and turned what had been a pitcher's duel into a lopsided 6-0 loss with two errors in a six-run UCA seventh inning. A win would have given SFA its second SLC series sweep of the season and moved the Ladyjacks into a second-place tie in the league standings.

    The Colonels: Nicholls State comes into this weekend's series with an 18-14 overall record and a 9-5 mark in Southland Conference play. The Colonels recorded a 6-4 win over Northwestern State in the second game of a Sunday doubleheader, but Nicholls had lost four straight games heading into that contest. The Colonels have twice this season put together winning streaks of greater than five games, including a season-high seven just after opening SLC play. Nicholls leads the Southland with a healthy .324 batting average. Kat Harrell, the conference hitter of the year in 2006, is at the top of the league and her team with a .523 average. Krystalin Ensminger leads the Colonels' pitching staff with an 11-8 record and a 3.61 ERA.

    The Coaches: SFA is coached by Jenifer Wells. Wells is in her second season at SFA, where she holds a 31-50 (.383) record. In her five-year collegiate coaching career, Wells is 167-158 (.514). The Colonels are coached by Jenny Parsons. Parsons' teams are 59-81 (.421) in her time at Nicholls State.

    • For complete notes, click the "Game Notes" link in the side bar of the Softball home page.

    - SFA -