Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

MAGNOLIA, Ark. – A two-run homerun by Maddie Dow in the bottom of the first inning would prove to be all the run support Hanna Gill would need in the circle as she was dominant against Arkansas-Monticello, holding them to one run on four hits, en route to pitching the Southern Arkansas softball team to a 5-1 win in the opener of a doubleheader on Wednesday afternoon at Lady Mulerider Field.
 
The second game of the mid-week Great American Conference twin-bill would go into extras with the Cotton Blossoms (23-21, 14-17 GAC) scoring five runs in top of the ninth to outlast the Lady Muleriders (24-18, 19-13 GAC) by a score of 6-1.
 
In the opener, Gill (7-3) would retire the Cotton Blossoms in order in the top of the first. In the bottom of the frame, Shelby Miller attacked the first pitch she saw and singled up the middle. Three pitches later, Maddie Dow blasted her 10th homerun of the season as she left the yard out to left field. Three batters later, Darian Harris gave the Lady Muleriders a 3-0 lead as she singled up the middle, scoring Audrey Farfan.
 
After being staked to an early lead, Gill would receive two more runs of support as Courtney Hudgins drove in a run in the fourth and Miller hit a sacrifice fly in the sixth. The five runs of support only strengthened Gill's dominance in the circle as she continued to have her way with the Cotton Blossom hitters. UAM would only be able to muster three baserunners against Gill through the first six innings with two of those being walks. In the top of the seventh, the Cotton Blossoms would break up the shutout bid with a two-out RBI by Channing Tharpe, but Gill would strike out Sarah Matthews looking to end the game.
 
In the second game of the day, offense was at a premium for both teams as the Cotton Blossoms had the lone tally until the Lady Muleriders scored a run in the bottom of the sixth on a single through the left side by Sarah Higginbotham.
 
The stingy starting pitching efforts by SAU's Miller and UAM's Katie Slaughter sent the game into extra innings, tied at one-all. After neither team scored in the eighth, the game played on to the ninth. In the top of the ninth, Miller would record two quick outs, but a walk and a hit-by-pitch sparked an eventual five-run rally for the Cotton Blossoms in the inning as UAM captured a 6-1 lead. That would be the eventual final as the Lady Muleriders were turned away in order in the bottom of the ninth.
 
The Lady Muleriders will be back in action on Friday as they play host to former conference foe Delta State. The home doubleheader is scheduled for a first-pitch of 2 p.m. at Lady Mulerider Field.