WACO, TEXAS (February 15, 2009) The Stephen F. Austin Ladyjack softball team picked up its first two victories of the season Friday via a pair of 3-2 verdicts on the opening day of the Baylor Getterman Classic. SFA took a one-run victory in extra innings against Ole Miss in the opener then held off Southland Conference foe Northwestern State in the second game to move to 2-5 on the season.
Stephen F. Austin got three RBI from Ashley Struchtemeyer and a solid outing from starter Monika Covington in an eight-inning 3-2 win over Ole Miss in the first game.
SFA pushed across a run in the top of the eighth inning, then Covington fanned two batters to strand the tying run at third in the bottom half as SFA knocked off Ole Miss in the tournament opener.
The Rebels came into the tournament fresh off a pair of wins at No. 6 Louisiana-Lafayette that netted them 23 votes in the most recent ESPN/USA Softball Top 25 poll. Ole Miss was just two spots outside of the top 25.
The Rebels struck first, scoring on back-to-back doubles with one out in the bottom of the first inning. But SFA answered with a pair of runs in the top of the second.
Freshman Kayla Gutowski led off with a single to center then came around to score when Struchtemeyer launched a home run to right-center. It is her first bomb of the year and the ninth of her career.
The Rebels tied the score at two in the bottom of the third, on a single and a double, followed by a sacrifice fly. Covington escaped further damage in the inning, stranding a runner at third, with a ground-out and a pop-up.
The teams combined for six hits and stranded eight runners over the next four innings to send the game to extra frames. SFA left the bases loaded in the fourth and stranded two runners in the fifth.
The Ladyjacks began the eighth inning with Benet Higgs on second base. She moved to third when Briana Bishop grounded out to the right side of the infield. Higgs had to hold her ground when the next batter, Gutowski, lined out to third, but she trotted home on a single to right field by Struchtemeyer.
Ole Miss began its half of the inning by sacrificing its runner from second to third, but Covington (1-3) posted her ninth and 10th strikeouts of the game to seal the win for SFA.
The sophomore allowed two earned runs on five hits and a pair of walks. Her 10 strikeouts are the most she’s recorded in nine appearances, dating back to last season. The last time Covington posted double-digit strikeouts was against Northwestern State on May 3 of last season, when she registered 14 punch-outs against the Demons.
SFA banged out a season-high 10 base knocks, but Struchetemeyer’s homer was the only extra-base hit in the game. Junior Kendal Harper went 2-for-4, as did Gutowski. Jessica Arana, Karissa Jones, Higgs and Bishop each hit safely once.
In Game 2, SFA built a 3-0 lead early then weathered a late push that saw Northwestern collect four of its five hits in the last three innings to win back-to-back games for the first time this season.
The Ladyjacks got on the board in the first inning by playing small ball, as all four at-bats in the inning were resolved in the infield. Harper led off with a single to second, then moved up a station on a wild pitch. She took third on a ground-out by Arana and scored when Higgs grounded out to first base. Bishop popped out in foul territory on the first-base side to end the inning.
The Ladyjacks padded their lead with two runs in the third. Harper started things off with a triple down the right-field line, then scored when Arana rapped a double into the same spot. Arana moved to third on a ground ball by Higgs, then scored when Bishop grounded out to second.
The Demons used a walk, sac bunt and a single to push a run across in the top of the fifth, then added a score in the sixth on a pair of two-out hits to cut the margin to one run.
Northwestern State put a runner on with two out in the top of the seventh, but Lauren Luetge (1-2) induced a ground ball to end the game and pick up her first win of the season.
Luetge worked all seven innings, allowing two earned runs on five hits and a walk with five strikeouts.
Harper went 2-for-3 with two runs scored to lead SFA at the plate. Arana, Higgs and Bishop each drove in a run, and Arana joined Gutowski, Struchtemeyer and Jones with one hit apiece.
In the two games combined, SFA posted a .291 batting average, led by a 4-for-7 showing by Harper and Struchtemeyer’s 3-for-6, three-RBI day. Gutowski went 3-for-7 on the day.
The Ladyjacks will continue play in the Getterman Classic Saturday with games against UTSA and New Mexico. SFA will square off with the Roadrunners at 12:30 p.m., then take on New Mexico in the 3:30 game.
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