SOUTHERN ARKANSAS LADY MULERIDERS 14-7, 6-3 GAC	(RV ) ARKANSAS TECH GOLDEN SUNS 14-6, 5-3 GAC
Saturday, March 21 | DH | 4 p.m. - Sunday, March 22 | DH | 2 p.m. Chartwells Complex - Russellville, Ark.  LIVE STATS

 

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GAME NOTES | SAU | ATU

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Leading Off
The Southern Arkansas softball team enters play this weekend with a 14-7 overall record and are 6-3 in the GAC. Earlier this week, the Lady Muleriders picked up an
impromptu home doubleheader against Avila University from the NAIA ranks. The six scheduled games prior to that DH vs. Avila were canceled due to rain, including the
entirety of the four-game conference sereis at Harding.

Weather is still an issue as rain continues to fall relentlessly, forcing the home series vs. Arkansas Tech to be moved to Tech. The games will still be home games for SAU as they will bat last.

The Arkansas Tech softball team enters play this weekend with a 14-6 overall record and are 5-3 in the GAC. Additionally, the Golden Suns are receiving votes
in the NFCA National Softball poll and would be ranked No. 27 if the poll were extended out. ATU is recently coming off of a doubleheader split against Arkansas-
Monticello last weekend.

Statistically, the Lady Muleriders are hitting .325 as a team and have three starters hitting .350 or better. Ashton Atwell currently leads the team in average at .427 (32-for-75). Atwell also leads the team in RBIs with 27 and homeruns with 9. In terms of pitching, SAU has 4.50 team ERA. Miranda Cuff leads the staff in wins with five. Jami Godwin leads the team in ERA at 2.28. Godwin is also 3-0 in 11 apperances (five starts).

For ATU, they are hitting .343 as a team and have five players over .360. Kambri Hill leads the team in batting at .415 (22- for-53). Ashley Savage is tied for the team lead in homeruns with 8 and leads the club in RBIs with 24. In terms of pitching, ATU has a 3.98 team ERA. Victoria Huie leads the team in wins with five. Morgan Vaughan has
the lowest ERA at 2.53 and is 4-1 on the season.

Tabbed Second in GAC
Coming off of a season in which the Southern Arkansas softball team won the Great American Conference Championship and advanced to their first-ever NCAA Regional Tournament, the Lady Muleriders were voted by the head coaches of the GAC to finish the 2015 season in second-place in the GAC. This year's team returns the services of seven position players who started over 55 games last year and three others who started at least 20 games. Additionally, the Lady Muleriders have bolstered their roster with the addition of 13 talented newcomers.

#BombSquad
Last season the Lady Muleriders belted 71 homeruns, ranking them second in the GAC and among the top-20 in all of NCAA Division II. This year, the Lady Muleriders, through 21 games, have hit 29 homeruns. Through 21 games last year, SAU had hit 24, putting them ahead of their record-pace in 2014.

Anderson Takes Over
Jason Anderson was named as the sixth head coach of the Southern Arkansas softball program on July 2 following the resignation of now former head coach Corey Lyon.
A nderson comes to SAU as a proven winner. In his seven previous seasons as a head coach, Anderson had garnered an outstanding career coaching record of 307-73 (.807). A NCCAA National Coach of the Yeat and five-time NCCAA Regional Coach of the Year, Anderson would guide his 2010 team at Central Baptist (NAIA) to a remarkable 52-1 (.981) record en route to winning the NCCAA National Championship. In his past two seasons as a head coach, Anderson has been in the NCAA DII
ranks and has won 40 or more games each season.

Record-Setters
Last season was one literally for the record books as the 2014 SAU softball team established, and in some cases, demolished previously-held records. In all, last year's Lady Mulerider softball team would set 54 new records. 20 of those records were team single-season records, 15 were individual season records, nine were individual career records, eight were team game records, and two were individual game records.

Bats on Fire at 8-State Classic
Equiped with a potent lineup, the Southern Arkansas offense got things going in their four games at the 8-State Classic as they hit .391 (43-for-110) as a team and scored 38 runs on 43 hits. Nearly half of those hits on the weekend went for extra bases as SAU hit eight doubles and hammered out 12 homeruns to help give the Lady Muleriders a .791 slugging percentage as well.

Atwell and Farfan Return Home
In what was supposed to be SAU's home-opener against Northwestern Oklahoma, the Lady Muleriders ended up moving their series to a neutral site in Rockwall, Texas. The change of venue turned into an unexpected homecoming for Rockwall natives Ashton Atwell and Audrey Farfan, who played their high school softball on that very field. Both would make the most of their homecoming with Atwell hitting .563 (9-for-16) with three doubles, two homeruns, and seven RBIs while Farfan hit .500 (6-for-12) with one double, one homerun, and six RBIs.

Record Watch: Dow Career HRs 
Just 21 games into her sophomore season, but SAU designated player Maddie Dow is just one homerun shy of tying the Southern Arkansas career record for homeruns as she enters play this weekend with 26 career longballs. Last season, as a freshman, Dow exploded onto the scene with 21 homeruns, setting new single-season marks at SAU and in the GAC

Rain, Rain, Go Away
I n what has been one of the wettest springs in some time across the Natural State, the Southern Arkansas softball schedule has been turned on its head as the team tries to get games in. Nine games so far have been canceled due to the weather and when the games have not been forced to be canceled, re-aranging of the schedule has had to take place. In fact, the Lady Muleriders have not played a weekend conference series as scheduled yet this season. Their only Friday-Saturday series was moved from Magnolia to Rockwall, Texas in order to get the games in against Northwestern Oklahoma.