Her stats last season at SLU were not good. We definitely need arms. Trusting Dickson on this one.

Welcome, @imthe_rhb ❗️

Excited for you to be a member of the squad 👊#AxeEm#RaiseTheAxe pic.twitter.com/j5DGYmgH5Z

— SFA Softball (@sfa_softball) June 15, 2021

First pitch for each doubleheader is 1:00 PM.

Mark your 📆 !!!

We have 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐫 fall games coming up! 🥎

Open to public & doubleheaders on Fridays!#AxeEm#RaiseTheAxe pic.twitter.com/V7462DxpFE

— SFA Softball (@sfa_softball) September 28, 2021

SFAJack_76 said:

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Her stats last season at SLU were not good. We definitely need arms. Trusting Dickson on this one.

Welcome, @imthe_rhb ❗️

Excited for you to be a member of the squad 👊#AxeEm#RaiseTheAxe pic.twitter.com/j5DGYmgH5Z

— SFA Softball (@sfa_softball) June 15, 2021

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Sophie pitched three innings in Saturday's scrimmage, and looked really good. Nice addition. A couple of freshmen looked good also. We have pitching depth beyond Wilbur!

SFAJack_76 said:

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SFAJack_76 said:

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Her stats last season at SLU were not good. We definitely need arms. Trusting Dickson on this one.

Welcome, @imthe_rhb ❗️

Excited for you to be a member of the squad 👊#AxeEm#RaiseTheAxe pic.twitter.com/j5DGYmgH5Z

— SFA Softball (@sfa_softball) June 15, 2021

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Sophie pitched three innings in Saturday's scrimmage, and looked really good. Nice addition. A couple of freshmen looked good also. We have pitching depth beyond Wilbur!

---

I hope you're right. Wilbur just ran out of gas at the end of last season.

We saw six of the seven pitchers on the team throw on Saturday, including Wilbur. Every one of the five newcomers were better than our #2 last year.

SFAJack_76 said:

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We saw six of the seven pitchers on the team throw on Saturday, including Wilbur. Every one of the five newcomers were better than our #2 last year.

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That is great news.

Softball roster is posted. A few comments:

Second base is a significant gap with four year starter Bryana Novegil choosing not to use her Covid year. "Beans" is still at SFA working with the athletic department in addition to being a student. Really good young woman that was ready to move beyond softball.

Third base is a question with Alex Hedspeth rehabbing from off season knee surgery. She did not have a good year last season relative to prior years. There are a couple others ready to step in if she doesn't bounce back.

Center field is open. Amanda Carden played a lot last season as a freshman, and almost certainly would have been the starting center fielder this year. She chose to leave a scholarship at SFA to walk on at UH. She is not on the currently posted UH roster. Her parents were at most, if not all, games, home and away, last season. We have young depth to fill the outfield.

Our #2 pitcher last season, Reagan Chism, transferred to Tarleton. Our quality new comers will give Wilbur some innings off.

https://sfajacks.com/sports/softball/roster

SFAJack_76 said:

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Softball roster is posted. A few comments:

Second base is a significant gap with four year starter Bryana Novegil choosing not to use her Covid year. "Beans" is still at SFA working with the athletic department in addition to being a student. Really good young woman that was ready to move beyond softball.

Third base is a question with Alex Hedspeth rehabbing from off season knee surgery. She did not have a good year last season relative to prior years. There are a couple others ready to step in if she doesn't bounce back.

Center field is open. Amanda Carden played a lot last season as a freshman, and almost certainly would have been the starting center fielder this year. She chose to leave a scholarship at SFA to walk on at UH. She is not on the currently posted UH roster. Her parents were at most, if not all, games, home and away, last season. We have young depth to fill the outfield.

Our #2 pitcher last season, Reagan Chism, transferred to Tarleton. Our quality new comers will give Wilbur some innings off.

https://sfajacks.com/sports/softball/roster

---

My ignorance about softball is about to show... Is there a difference in distance from the pitcher's rubber to the plate in high school vs, the one in college? If there is, I'm wondering if there's a transition that freshmen pitchers have to overcome when starting college ball. Obviously, Wilbur had no problems doing it when she started at SFA.

SFA Jack Fanatic said:

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SFAJack_76 said:

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Softball roster is posted. A few comments:

Second base is a significant gap with four year starter Bryana Novegil choosing not to use her Covid year. "Beans" is still at SFA working with the athletic department in addition to being a student. Really good young woman that was ready to move beyond softball.

Third base is a question with Alex Hedspeth rehabbing from off season knee surgery. She did not have a good year last season relative to prior years. There are a couple others ready to step in if she doesn't bounce back.

Center field is open. Amanda Carden played a lot last season as a freshman, and almost certainly would have been the starting center fielder this year. She chose to leave a scholarship at SFA to walk on at UH. She is not on the currently posted UH roster. Her parents were at most, if not all, games, home and away, last season. We have young depth to fill the outfield.

Our #2 pitcher last season, Reagan Chism, transferred to Tarleton. Our quality new comers will give Wilbur some innings off.

https://sfajacks.com/sports/softball/roster

---

My ignorance about softball is about to show... Is there a difference in distance from the pitcher's rubber to the plate in high school vs, the one in college? If there is, I'm wondering if there's a transition that freshmen pitchers have to overcome when starting college ball. Obviously, Wilbur had no problems doing it when she started at SFA.

---

Both are exactly 43' from home plate to the pitcher's rubber. A lot of the difference is in college batters compared to most high school. Club ball is probably a better indicator of college potential. Also, who knows what you are going to get when an 18 year old goes to college. Some, like Wilbur, are mature, focused, and driven. Others not so much.

Different sport, but relative to club ball, last season Humphreys mentioned there was a recruit visiting. I asked her from what high school. She didn't know. It was her club ball that mattered because that is a higher level of competition. I found that interesting.

'Twas a good day! 😈#TimeToProveIt#AxeEm#RaiseTheAxe pic.twitter.com/J3euMSOVP0

— SFA Softball (@sfa_softball) October 10, 2021

Your 2022 Ladyjack Softball Schedule 😈

🗓️ https://t.co/6No53h2vuu

🎟️ https://t.co/WW9IH0OdCw#AxeEm#RaiseTheAxe pic.twitter.com/noyieQgz3n

— SFA Softball (@sfa_softball) December 16, 2021

High expectations, tough schedule await SFA softball team: https://t.co/3lQIAonDgr #sfa #axeem

— KTRE News (@KTREnews) January 11, 2022

📢 Announcing the #WACsb preseason polls and awards!

📰 - https://t.co/97wP6BUm0j@seattleusb and @sfa_softball are picked to win their divisions! 🏆

📺 - @Kendrasheehan_ has the story 🔽 pic.twitter.com/vsFQlUE9BT

— The Western Athletic Conference (@WACsports) February 3, 2022

Win over Jacksonville State 11-7!

SFAXE93 said:

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Win over Jacksonville State 11-7!

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Lost to La Tech, 11-4. Cold, wet, and windy. We looked cold, wet, and mentally tired. La tech did not have a game before we did today. No excuse for playing as poorly as we did, but it had to have influence on our performance.

Two more games in Monroe starting at 9 AM. Forecast temperature for first pitch is 36. Play Syracuse and then host ULM. Both of them have been playing good ball.

This year's games to make some national noise.

(RV) BAYLOR (FEB. 15)
(RV) TEXAS A&M (FEB. 20)
#15 LSU (FEB. 25)
#15 LSU (FEB. 27)
#23 LOUISIANA (MAR. 1) 2X
(RV) MISSISSIPPI (MAR. 10)
(RV) MISSISSIPPI (MAR. 11)
(RV) MISSISSIPPI (MAR. 12)
(RV) BAYLOR (APR. 26)

jboy93 said:

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Saw a billboard about the game against Baylor this morning in Tyler. Trying to get the word out!

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Nice!

SFAJack_76 said:

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SFAXE93 said:

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Win over Jacksonville State 11-7!

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Lost to La Tech, 11-4. Cold, wet, and windy. We looked cold, wet, and mentally tired. La tech did not have a game before we did today. No excuse for playing as poorly as we did, but it had to have influence on our performance.

Two more games in Monroe starting at 9 AM. Forecast temperature for first pitch is 36. Play Syracuse and then host ULM. Both of them have been playing good ball.

---

OK, so what's the deal with the 1-4 Ladyjacks, 76? Pitching has been very bad. Wilbur has not looked good either. They got off to a bad start last year but turned it around. Can they do it again?

SFA Jack Fanatic said:

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SFAJack_76 said:

---

SFAXE93 said:

---

Win over Jacksonville State 11-7!

---

Lost to La Tech, 11-4. Cold, wet, and windy. We looked cold, wet, and mentally tired. La tech did not have a game before we did today. No excuse for playing as poorly as we did, but it had to have influence on our performance.

Two more games in Monroe starting at 9 AM. Forecast temperature for first pitch is 36. Play Syracuse and then host ULM. Both of them have been playing good ball.

---

OK, so what's the deal with the 1-4 Ladyjacks, 76? Pitching has been very bad. Wilbur has not looked good either. They got off to a bad start last year but turned it around. Can they do it again?

---

"Wilbur has not looked good" … did you see her pitch?

I will recap the Monroe tournament later.

1-7 start last season, so they are just getting into season form, before they take off.

2021, the infield was set with returning starters. At question was the outfield, with Dickson going through a number of lineups before setting it. 2022, with only two returning infield starters, 2B and 3B look to be true freshmen. Outfield is still unsettled, with Benson in LF being the only probable starter. RF in particular is not settled. Garcia is set as the #1 catcher. Kass is still the ace of the team, but a transfer from SLU and two freshmen give us some depth we did not have last year.

The ULM tournament was made up of ten teams, each playing five games over three days. SFA played a 10:00 AM game on Friday, two afternoon games on Saturday, and two on Sunday with the first game starting at 9:00 AM. We were the home team for one of our five games. I don't know how matchups were determined, but we played the best teams there, which is what we want. Our five opponents went 18-2 in games not against us. The four teams we did not play went 2-18 with 11 of those losses being run ruled. For reference, the weather on Friday was very good, Saturday noon on was perhaps the worst cold, windy, wet conditions I have ever sat through, and Sunday morning was just above freezing, but sunny and relatively calm.

Wilbur struggled some with control in the first game with five walks and 10 K's. She was charged with three ER, but a misjudged two out fly ball to RF gave up 2 of those runs. Her second start was in the miserable Saturday afternoon conditions. She simply had no control saying later that she couldn't feel her fingers. A spinner can't be successful is she can't feel her fingers. On Sunday, she entered the first game in the 2nd with runners on second and third, and no outs. She struck out two, then watched as a routine ground ball went through the legs of our freshman second baseman. (She was replaced at 2nd for the balance of the game.) Wilbur pitched the balance of that game and a complete game 3-0 loss to ULM, who was the best team there.

Overall, our defense was shaky. Four of the six charged errors were made by freshmen in the infield. There were other plays that should have been made, but were scored as hits. Our hitting was, other than Shay and Cam, simply bad. The biggest disappointment was Garcia, who was a near .400 hitter last season.

Three of our four losses were winnable games with some hitting. The La Tech game was not winnable. Although we both played in the same conditions, we had played a game while La Tech was warm and dry in their hotel. We looked miserable in that game. I know I was miserable in the stands.

Expect more losses in the very challenging non conference schedule. Our freshmen are talented, but they are freshmen.

Wilbur, who "didn't look good", struck out 29 in 19.2 innings. Opponents batted 0.183. Twelve BB's is too many, but half of those were in that La Tech game. She's okay. She needs some defense and hitting help.

Ladyjacks start strong. Nice strike into right field produces a run. Wild pitch = one more. #7 for the Ladyjacks is so small. You could put her on a little league team, no one would notice a difference in size.

Interesting lineup changes. 12:02 first pitch. First game went 8.

Your Ladyjack lineup 🪓

🆚 Kansas
⌚11:30 a.m.
📈 https://t.co/niiKLJTRn2#TimeToProveIt x #AxeEm pic.twitter.com/jra7QF8RfJ

— SFA Softball (@sfa_softball) February 18, 2022

Lose to Kansas 5-1. Wilbur struggled with the strike zone. Seven walks in six innings. Nine K's. Our defense was good except for an error by 3B. Hits were even with Kansas at 7. Shay and Cam are doing a good job at the plate.

Ladyjacks let a 4 run lead, courtesy of two Shay Govan bombs, get away to lose 6-4 to Pittsburgh.

There were some bright spots, but LF, RF, and 3B continue to be concerns. Pitching was up and down, though Sophie looked the best we have seen her.

Two more on Saturday, and a single game early on Sunday. The Tuesday, La Tech home game has been moved to Ruston due to the weather forecast. So, we finish up five games in CS on Sunday, go to Ruston on Tuesday, then to Baton Rouge for another five games. Rough schedule.

The no-hitter!

SFA beats Purdue again 7-1 to improve to 4-10

Wilbur (3-5) with the win with 6 Ks

Ladyjacks beat Drake, scoring 2 in the bottom of the 7th to win 3-2. Freshman Brooke Gainous with the complete game win. Our defense was not particularly good, and hitting was spotty at best until the final inning. We started freshmen at P, C, 2nd, 3rd, and CF. Shay Govan is out with a hand issue.

Ladyjacks are 3-1 in the tournament with one more on Sunday against LSU.

Garcia to catcher, Carithers to 2b, Benson to RF. Hebert at 1b. Govan out with injury. Wilbur in the circle.

30 minutes from first pitch 😈

💻📱https://t.co/6GnhDuZPgZ
📈 https://t.co/sR1z9PUMFl#TimeToProveIt x #AxeEm x #RaiseTheAxe pic.twitter.com/IbMjAraS64

— SFA Softball (@sfa_softball) March 4, 2022

Always good to start a series with a W, particularly on the road. @alex_dubose16 with a 2 run homer. @WilburKassidy with the 13 K, complete game shutout. Let’s go Jacks! 💜🪓🥎#PurpleLights x #TimeToProveIt x #AxeEm x #RaiseTheAxe https://t.co/aj5z2nh9pg

— Alan Jones (@Alan_SFA76) March 5, 2022

Two run HR by Hebert in the first holds up as Wilbur comes within one out of her second no hitter of the season.

Ladyjacks are on the road to Oxford, MS for three with a very good Ole Miss team. One Thursday, and two on Friday. This was supposed to be a tournament, but other teams pulled out.

'Jacks on top! 🔥#TimeToProveIt x #AxeEm x #RaiseTheAxe pic.twitter.com/ANRK1MAmqe

— SFA Softball (@sfa_softball) March 8, 2022

Nice three game conference road sweep. Two complete games by Wilbur and one by SLU transfer Sophie Hannabas. 7-2 in WAC play ahead of 8-4 ACU in the division. All without preseason POY Shay Govan who is out with an injury. Junior catcher, Gaby Garcia went 6-8 in the series. After a slow start to the season, she is now batting a robust .593 in WAC play.

Mid week on Tuesday at home against PV, then a home series against Sam.

3 for 3 this weekend! Let's hear it for your Ladyjacks 🤩 🥳#TimeToProveIt x #AxeEm x #RaiseTheAxe pic.twitter.com/vvurna8vd2

— SFA Softball (@sfa_softball) March 26, 2022