2017 Southland Conference Softball Tournament Begins Wednesday
Southland Conference
FRISCO, Texas – First pitch of the 2017 Southland Conference Softball Tournament is slated for 11 a.m. Wednesday at Farris Field in Conway, Ark. The winner of the six-team, double elimination tournament will earn the league’s automatic qualifier for the NCAA Championships.
The field poses a repeat at the No. 1-3 seed as a season ago. McNeese earned consecutive regular season championships behind a program-best 24 conference wins and enters the tournament as the top seed. Nicholls claimed the No. 2 seed for the second-straight season after defeating Lamar in two of three games in the last series of the regular season. The Cardinals head into the tourney as the No. 3 seed.
Lamar will get the tournament started with a contest against No. 6 Northwestern State. In the regular season, the Cardinals swept the Lady Demons at home. The game is scheduled for 11 a.m. Wednesday. The winner will take on the Colonels at 4 p.m. later that day.
Tournament host Central Arkansas won its last three conference series to clinch a spot in the postseason. The Bears will be the No. 5 seed and face No. 4 Sam Houston State at 1:30 p.m., following the opening game. The Bearkats took two-of-three games from the Bears in the regular season. The victor will play the defending-tournament champions, McNeese.
Four games are set for Thursday at 11 a.m., 1:30 p.m., 4 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Game nine will take place Friday at 11:30 a.m. with the championship that day at 3 p.m. A second game will be played between the teams in Game 10 to determine the champion if it is the first loss for the losing team. The date for game 11, if necessary, is Saturday at 11 a.m.
Games 1-9 will be streamed live on the Southland Digital Network with Chris Mycoskie, Steve Owens and Chris Kane sharing play-by-play duties. The games will be available via
southland.org/live and the
Southland Conference app. In addition to the mobile app, the app is now available for Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Android TV and Roku.
The championship round will be an exclusive presentation of ESPN3, which can be viewed via
WatchESPN.com and the WatchESPN app with Mycoskie and former Southeastern Louisiana pitcher Kati Morse on the call.
McNeese’s Erika Piancastelli Three-Peats Southland Player, Hitter of the Year
Piancastelli pulled off the three-peat in both awards after leading the Cowgirls to a school-record 24 conference wins. The product of Carlsbad, Calif. (Carlsbad H.S.), earned the honors in a 2017 season that saw her lead the conference statistics in slugging percentage (.809), on base percentage (.584), RBIs (29), walks (28) and share the league-lead for homeruns (7). Piancastelli’s 56 walks this season in all competitions etched her name in the McNeese and Southland record books as the career leader in walks. In addition to her two individual superlatives, Piancastelli was named to the all-conference first team. This is now the fourth-straight year a Cowgirl has swept the two awards.
The Cowgirls’ Rachel Smith Snags Pitcher of the Year
Smith becomes the third McNeese pitcher to win the conference’s honor and first since Jamie Allred was named it in 2014. In conference play, the senior from Sterling High School (Baytown, Texas) led the league in opponents batting average (.179) and was second in ERA (1.15) and wins (11). Smith was also an all-conference first team selection.
Abilene Christian’s Sidney Holman Hoists Freshman Accolade
The Wildcats’ found its freshman ace earn the team its first Southland individual superlative in the sport. Holman, a Belton, Texas, native, was the only pitcher in the conference to earn 20 wins across overall play. The right-hander earned 13 of Abilene Christian’s 20 league wins, which placed the Wildcats second in the Southland standings. She posted a 1.25 conference ERA, struck out 83 conference opponents along the way and landed a spot on the all-conference first team.
Southeastern Louisiana’s Mahalia Gibson Garners Newcomer of the Year
Newcomer Mahalia Gibson is the first Lion to be selected for the honor. The junior from Hattiesburg, Miss., appeared in all 55 of Southeastern Louisiana’s games this season and led the team in hits (52), doubles (10), triples (5), RBIs (36), total bases (81) and slugging percentage (.494). The first baseman was selected to the all-conference second team.
First-Year Head Coach James Landreneau Lands Coach of the Year
McNeese saw its first-year head coach earn the program its fifth coaching honor. After spending the last four seasons as an assistant coach on the Cowgirls’ squad, Landreneau did not let the Cowgirls skip a beat. The team claimed a school record 24 Southland wins and won all nine of its conference series this year. McNeese won its second-straight regular season championship and fourth in five years.
Eleven Schools Represented on All-Conference Teams
Eleven schools earned at least one selection between the three teams. Abilene Christian, Nicholls and Lamar each had six selections while McNeese squeezed in five. Central Arkansas and UIW had three players each named to one of the three teams with Northwestern State and Southeastern Louisiana placing two. Sam Houston state, Stephen F. Austin and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi all had one player selected.