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Box Score 2
MAGNOLIA, Ark. – The Southern Arkansas softball team completed their four-game sweep of Arkansas Tech on Sunday afternoon as the Lady Muleriders used a combination of great pitching and timely hitting to beat the Golden Suns in both ends of Sunday's doubleheader by scores of 9-1 and 2-0 at Lady Mulerider Field.
The timely hitting for the Lady Muleriders (12-8, 4-0 GAC) started in the first inning of the opening game as
Mackenzie Spanko hit a one-out grand slam homerun to give SAU a 7-0 lead. Prior to Spanko's bomb; the Lady Muleriders had already scored three runs as they were able to take advantage of a rough start by the Golden Suns' (4-9, 0-4 GAC) starting pitcher Victoria Huie. To that point in the game, Huie had hit two batters, uncorked a throwing error, and recorded just one out on a sacrifice bunt by
Brittany Wood.
The monster offensive outburst by the Lady Muleriders would be all that SAU starting pitcher
Hanna Gill would need as she dominated in her start by scattering four hits while striking out 11 batters in six innings of work. Gill (8-3), who would earn the win, surrendered her lone earned run of the series in the top of fourth inning.
The run would not hurt the Lady Mulerider cause; however, as they plated single runs in the fourth and sixth innings to give them the 9-1 win in just six innings.
Game two would be a prototypical pitcher's duel as the game remained scoreless until the bottom of the fifth inning when the Lady Muleriders manufactured a pair of runs on three hits to take a 2-0 lead.
Prior to that inning, the Lady Muleriders were unable to give run support to game two starter
Taylor Clifton, who was virtually unhittable in her five innings of work. In that time, Clifton allowed only one base runner as that came on a leadoff double in the second inning. Aside from that, Clifton retired 15 of the 16 batters she faced.
Once the Lady Muleriders took the lead, Gill entered the game from the bullpen to close out the win. Gill, who had earned the win in the three previous games against Tech, picked up the save as she shut the door over the final two innings by not allowing a hit while striking out three.
The Lady Muleriders will now look to keep their momentum rolling as they will travel to Durant, Okla. to take on NFCA-ranked No. 2 Southeastern Oklahoma in a four-game set starting on Friday, March 1st. First-pitch of the series is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. on Friday.
