Softball: March 20 Scoreboard
Southland Conference
Southeastern Louisiana 11, Stephen F. Austin 2 (6)
Southeastern Louisiana 5, Stephen F. Austin 3
Northwestern State 5, Sam Houston State 2
Northwestern State 8, Sam Houston State 0 (6)
McNeese State 9, Houston Baptist 1 (6)
McNeese State 10, Houston Baptist 0 (5)
Central Arkansas 5, Abilene Christian 4
Lamar 6, UIW 3
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 4, Nicholls 0
Southeastern Louisiana 11, Stephen F. Austin 2 (6)
Southeastern Louisiana 5, Stephen F. Austin 3
NACOGDOCHES, Texas – The Southeastern Louisiana softball team racked up 23 hits to back up two wins in the circle by junior Taylor Bishop, as the Lady Lions earned a Southland Conference doubleheader sweep of Stephen F. Austin Friday afternoon at the SFA Softball Field.
Southeastern (12-16, 7-1 Southland) clinched its third straight series victory to open league play, extending its Southland winning streak to six games. Stephen F. Austin fell to 7-20 overall and 1-7 in conference action. The 7-1 start to league play matches the best-ever for the program since it joined the Southland Conference prior to the 1998 season.
In the opener, junior designated player Amber Sather and freshman shortstop Sydney Booker each homered, while senior third baseman Megan Moore and junior centerfielder Katie Lacour had three hits apiece. Junior Sydney McCullough also drove in three runs, which was more than enough offense for Bishop (8-3), who scattered four hits in SLU’s 11-2 mercy-rule run.
The nightcap was much more competitive. Booker plated the game-winning runs with her team-high fifth triple of the season in the top of the eighth inning to give SLU a 5-3 victory. Freshman outfielder Kinsey Nichols finished with three hits and three runs scored, while Booker and Moore drove in two runs each and senior second baseman Vanessa Eng had two hits. Bishop and senior Tori Stamper both pitched well, holding SFA to four hits.
Langlois was also pleased with the pitching efforts of Bishop and Stamper.
Southeastern and SFA will close out the series on Saturday at 11 a.m., weather permitting. Langlois doesn’t want his team to be satisfied with Friday’s two wins.
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Northwestern State 5, Sam Houston State 2
Northwestern State 8, Sam Houston State 0 (6)
NATCHITOCHES, La. – Cassandra Barefield launched a pair of home runs including a grand slam over the right field wall in Game 1 to lift Northwestern State softball to a pair of wins against Sam Houston State on Friday afternoon at the Lady Demon Diamond.
Barefield’s grand slam was the first of her season and highlighted a 5-2 victory in the opener. Timely hitting, including a three-run fifth inning and four run sixth led to an 8-0 six-inning Lady Demon victory in Game 2.
With the wins, NSU (18-12, 8-0 Southland) has won nine straight games including eight consecutive in conference play. Sam Houston dropped to 8-19 overall and 1-7 in league play.
Barefield’s blast provided the difference in Game 1, plating Sidney Salmans, Brittany Virgoe and Kincannon. Meanwhile, Micaela Bouvier (9-4) was sharp in the circle, notching her sixth consecutive victory in as many appearances, tossing 6 1-3 innings, scattering eight hits and two runs while striking out three and walking three.
The Lady Demons jumped out on the Bearkats in the first when Jones singled to left field to plate Virgoe who registered a hit in the inning. In the process, NSU improved to 10-2 when scoring in the opening frame.
Mikayla Brown made two appearances on the day, shutting down the Bearkat offense in some key spots. In Game 1, she entered in relief with the bases loaded in the seventh and one out. After walking the first hitter in, she forced two pop ups, recording her first save of the season.
In Game 2, the freshman right-hander again came on with the bases juiced, this time with two outs. Brown came away unscathed again by getting Sam Houston leadoff hitter Jessica Slater to hit the ball back to the mound for a 1-3 putout.
Starter Baylee Gray (3-4) earned her third victory of the season, throwing 4 2-3 innings, allowing four hits and holding Sam Houston scoreless while striking out five and walking another.
After heading through the first three innings scoreless, Barefield hit her second long ball of the day, a solo shot into the Outfield Club to put NSU up 1-0.
In the fifth, Kincannon recorded one of her three hits in the game, this one, a RBI single that plated Hailee Rhodes. Two batters later, Brittney Jones doubled in Kincannon and Virgoe to push the NSU lead to 4-0.
The Lady Demons closed the door on the second game with a sixth inning leadoff home run from Kaytie Proctor – her second of the season – and a two-run long ball from Kincannon – her seventh. Natalie Landry doubled down the right field line to score Kayla Boening with the game’s final run.
Offensively, Barefield finished the day 3-for-6 with five RBIs and two runs. Jones notched an impressive 5-for-6 performance including three RBIs while Kincannon finished 4-for-7 with three runs and three RBIs. Not to be outdone, Virgoe went 3-for-6 scoring three runs.
NSU will seek its third straight Southland Conference sweep on Saturday at one o’clock against the Bearkats.
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McNeese State 9, Houston Baptist 1 (6)
McNeese State 10, Houston Baptist 0 (5)
LAKE CHARLES, La. – McNeese softball wasted no time in its Southland Conference 9-1 (6 inn.) and 10-0 (5 inn.) doubleheader run-rule victories over Houston Baptist Friday afternoon to remain undefeated at 8-0 in SLC action. The series will conclude with a single game at noon Saturday.
McNeese (22-9, 8-0 SLC) gave up the only run of the day to HBU in the first inning of the game one off a solo homerun by Nicole Shedd. From that point on it was all McNeese. The Cowgirls scored in five of the six innings play and took a 3-1 lead in the bottom of the inning on a RBI singles by Bryanna Castro and Hailey Drew.
A run in the second off an Emily Vincent single brought Castro home for a 4-1 lead. The Cowgirls scored two runs in the third and fourth innings to extend the lead to 8-1. McNeese capped the scoring off when Drew doubled to left center and scored on a Taylor Schmidt single to end the game.
McNeese outhit HBU 21-7 and collected 18 RBI on the day. When the Cowgirls reached first base, they went to second and sometimes third on steals, ending the day with eight stolen bases, six coming in first game.
Vincent helped her cause in the circle by going 3 for 4 with one RBI and scored two runs. Lauren Langner matched Vincent at the plate also with a 3 for 4 plate appearance with one RBI and scored a run. Both players also picked up one stolen base apiece. Schmidt ended the game with three of the eight Cowgirl RBI’s.
Vincent improved to 9-1 on the season with the complete game. The southpaw from Sulphur struck out five and walked only two. After giving up two hits in the first, Vincent didn’t give up another hit until Shay Orsak singled up the middle in the sixth.
In the nightcap, McNeese scored two runs in the first and fourth before blowing the game open in the fifth with six runs for its second run-rule win of the day.
Once again, it was Langner, Vincent and Schmidt doing the damage at the plate for the Cowgirls. Langner and Schmidt both picked up two hits apiece with of Schmidt’s being a double in the fifth. Schmidt also had two RBI in the game. Vincent had four RBI on one hit, a triple to right that cleared the bases to end the game.
Jamie Allred picked up the second game victory with her third shutout of the season. Allred gave up four hits, struck out two and didn’t allow a walk to improve to 5-5 on the year.
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Central Arkansas 5, Abilene Christian 4
ABILENE, Texas – The Central Arkansas softball team took to the field for their first Southland Conference road game of the 2015 season, facing off with the Wildcats of Abilene Christian University on Friday night. The Wildcats grabbed a 2-0 lead, but the Bears clawed their way back to pick up the 5-4 win and remain perfect in SLC play.
ACU (5-19, 1-6 SLC) took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning, when third baseman Holly Neese hit a home run to left field, and added an unearned run in the bottom of the third to push their lead to 2-0.
Centerfielder Amy Gunnells got the Bears (19-7, 7-0 SLC) on the board in the top of the fifth inning, leading off the frame with her first home run of the season. Third baseman Sam Forrest then singled through the left side and moved to third on a double to right-center from right fielder Briana Whisenhunt. UCA loaded the bases on a walk from second baseman Sarah Bigej, then got RBI walks from catcher Jessie Taylor and left fielder Hannah Stirton to take a 3-2 lead. Following a Wildcat pitching change, designated player Audrey Pratt lofted a sacrifice fly to right to drive in Bigej and make it 4-2 in favor of the Bears.
The Wildcats cut into the Central Arkansas lead thanks to an RBI double off the bat of shortstop Peyton Hedrick, but the Bears got the run back on a two-out single from Pratt in the top of the seventh.
The run would prove to be vital, as Abilene threatened in the bottom of the seventh. Second baseman Demi McNulty led off the inning with a double to left-center and advanced to third on a single through the right side from centerfielder Taylor Brown. McNulty came in to score on fielder's choice from left fielder Kristin Hedrick to cut the Bear lead to 5-4. An error put the tying run at second base, but Central Arkansas starter Kylee Studioso got a pair of strikeouts to end the game.
Pratt led the Central Arkansas offense on the night, going 1-for-3 with a pair of RBI, while Forrest went 2-for-3 with a run scored and a walk.
Studioso (15-3) earned the victory for the Bears, allowing three earned runs on six hits and two walks while striking out 12. Emily Seidel (3-16) suffered the loss, giving up four runs on four hits and six walks while striking out two batters in four innings. Julia Montoya held the Bears to one run on one hit and a walk in three innings of relief.
The Bears and Wildcats will try to play a doubleheader tomorrow, weather permitting. There is no official start time yet.
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Lamar 6, UIW 3
SAN ANTONIO, Texas – The Lamar offense opened the floodgates just tin time before the clouds opened up Friday, as the Lady Cardinals used a six-run fifth inning to rally past Incarnate Word by a 6-3 score in a Southland Conference softball game.
Lamar (14-11 overall, 7-0 Southland) scored three runs in the fifth before a 47-minute rain delay, and three more after play resumed to remain unbeaten in the conference. The second game of Friday's doubleheader was postponed.
Casey Cromwell had the key hit in the inning, a three-run double that gave Lamar a 3-2 lead. Stephanie Meeuwsen and Shannon Sain added RBIs after the delay as Lamar took control of the game. Cromwell extended her school record for career RBIs to 61.
Lamar starter Laura Napoli (10-6) pitched a complete game as she improved to 6-0 in Southland Conference games. Napoli scattered six hits and allowed two earned runs. She struck out three and did not walk a batter.
Incarnate Word (3-21, 0-7) scored single runs in the third and fourth innings to take a 2-0 lead before Lamar's fifth-inning eruption. UIW added another run in the fifth inning before Napoli settled down to retire seven of the last eight batters she faced.
Sarah Ragsdale and Meeuwsen had two hits apiece for Lamar. Meeuwsen extended her streak of reaching base safely to 19 games, one shy of the school record. Shannon Sain, who singled in the fourth inning, has now reached base safely in 18 consecutive games.
Christy Trevino and Kellen Robles each had an RBI for Incarnate Word. UIW starter Kristin Hebert (2-10) took the complete-game loss, allowing eight hits and just two earned runs, as Incarnate Word committed four errors.
The teams will try to play a doubleheader at 2 p.m. Saturday, but with inclement weather in the forecast for much of the day, the series could be extended until Sunday.
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Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 4, Nicholls 0
THIBODAUX, La. – The Texas A&M-Corpus Christi softball team outhit Nicholls 8-3 to earn its first Southland Conference win of the season, 4-0, at the Colonel Softball Complex. Junior Dani Tefft went 3-for-4 to help the Islanders (5-18-1, 1-6 SLC) snap a string of six straight losses.
Along with Tefft, senior Hayley Galloway finished 2-for-3 while sophomore Liz Carter, senior Mickayla Cochran and sophomore Mackinzee Griebel each chipped in one hit apiece for the Islanders.
Carter (4-11) pitched a solid game in the Islanders' circle, giving up just three hits en route to her first shutout of the season. The Austin, Texas, native also allowed just two walks while striking out two Colonels (16-10, 4-3 SLC) in seven innings.
The Islanders' bats got off to a strong start with five hits in the first three frames to take a 2-0 lead. In the opening frame, Cosette Hernandez reached on a fielding error by the Colonels before Tefft ripped a single to left field. With Islanders on first and second, Morse cranked a RBI sacrifice fly to center field to score Hernandez.
A&M-Corpus Christi then tacked on two hits in each of the third and fourth frames to extend their lead to 4-0. Tefft led off the top of the third with a shot through the left side. She then swiped second for her seventh stolen base of the season. After a fly out and ground out, Cochran stepped to the plate and blasted her sixth double of the season to left center to plate Tefft for the Islanders' second run of the game.
In the bottom of the fourth, Galloway kept the offense going with her third double of the season with a shot down the left field line and advanced to third on a groundout by Jessica Mendez. Griebel then reached on a fielder's choice before stealing second as Galloway stole home. Hernandez then followed with a groundout to move Griebel to third before Tefft recorded her third hit of the game with a RBI single through the right side to bring Griebel across home plate and give the Islanders a 4-0 lead.
A&M-Corpus Christi registered its eighth hit of the game after Carter led off the top of the fifth with a single through the left side. Nicholls' Hannah Haydel then retired the next nine Islanders she faced.
The Islanders held on to the lead as Carter allowed just one hit in the final three frames to propel the Islanders to victory.
The Islanders and Colonels will continue the series tomorrow in a doubleheader starting at 9 a.m.
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