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Southern Arkansas LADY MULERIDERS (6-8, 1-3 GAC) |
at Ouachita Baptist LADY TIGERS (6-8, 2-2 GAC)
Friday, February 28 @ 2 p.m. | DH
Saturday, March 1 @ 1 | DH
Arkadelphia, Ark. (Sully Anderson Field)
Live Stats |
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GAME NOTES (PDF)
Leading Off
The Southern Arkansas softball team looks to rebound from a tough opening weekend in GAC play as they lost the series to Northwestern Oklahoma 1-3 with a pair of one-run defeats in the final two games of the series. While it was not the weekend the team wanted in terms of wins, they did continue to get tremendous contributions from their young players on the roster. True freshmen
Maddie Dow and
Brooke Goad combined to hit .542 (13-for-24) with three homeruns and five RBIs while classmate
Shelby Miller pitched all but six innings in the circle, going 0-1 with a save and a 3.15 ERA.
On the year, Dow, Goad, and Miller led the team in hitting as all three are over .400. Additionally, the trio combine for 11 homeruns and 33 RBIs. In the circle, the Lady Muleriders have been without the services of ace
Hanna Gill over the past two weekends, but in her absence, Miller has emerged as the workhorse as she has appeared in all eight games and pitched 28.2 innings in that time.
For OBU, they are led in hitting by Macy Nantz as she has a .440 average and is tied for the team lead in RBIs with seven. In the circle, the Lady Tigers are led by Abbi Frakes. On the year Frakes has made eight starts and as a 3.88 ERA.
Dow Powers to GAC POW
Freshman designated player
Maddie Dow powered her way being named co-Great American Conference Player of the Week as she turned in an opening weekend to remember. In her first collegiate game, a 3-1 win over Shorter University, Dow hit her first career homerun as she belted a go-ahead two-run homerun in the fifth inning. On Monday, Dow closed out the weekend in style as she set GAC and SAU records for at-bats in a game (7) and RBIs in a game (7) in SAU's wild 22-17 win over Midwestern
State.
All told for the week, Dow hit .292 (7-for-24) with two doubles, two homeruns, and nine RBIs.
It's Miller Time
Freshman utility player
Shelby Miller has had a tremendous start to her collegiate career. A native of Brazoria, Texas, Miller currently leads the pitching staff in strikeouts (24) and is tied for the team-lead in wins (2). While Miller has been good in the circle, she has been even better in the batter's box as she is second on the team with a .404 average (20-for-52). Six of those hits
have gone for extra-bases as she is third on the team in slugging percentage (.615).
Power Surge
Through the first 14 games of the season, the Lady Muleriders have showed their lineup has some potent power potential as they have clubbed out 37 extrabase hits. 16 of those left the yard while 19 went for doubles and two have gone for triples.
Youth Movement
So far this season, head coach Corey Lyon has penned a familiar lineup each game and it is one that features a lot of young and talented players. Through 14 games, three true freshmen have started every game.
Gill returns as SAU's Ace
Having pitched just two season at SAU, junior starting pitcher
Hanna Gill has already set nine school records and is on the cusp of adding several other records to her name in 2014. Last year, Gill anchored the Lady Mulerider pitching rotation and her outstanding year in the circle landed her All- GAC First-Team honors.
