SOUTHERN ARKANSAS LADY MULERIDERS 21-18, 11-14 GAC	SOUTHERN NAZARENE CRIMSON STORM 16-23, 12-15 GAC
Sunday, April 19 | DH | 2 p.m. - Monday, April 20 | DH | Noon Lady Mulerider Field - Magnolia, Ark. LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO (Weather Permitting)

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SERIES NOTES | SAU

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Leading Off
The Southern Arkansas softball team enters play this weekend with a 21-18 overall record and are 11-14 in the GAC. The Lady Muleriders had the bye weekend in the
GAC last weekend, but were still able to get in four games, two of which were in league play, as they played mid-week doubleheaders against Arkansas-Monticello and Christian Brothers. SAU would lose the first game to UAM, 4-1, but rebounded for a 3-2 win in the nightcap to split the DH and give the Lady Muleriders the season-series 3-1. The Lady Muleriders then turned around the following day and took two from Christian Brothers, 11-5 and 14-5.

The Southern Nazarene softball team enters play this weekend with a 16-23 overall record and are 13-15 in the GAC. The Crimson Storm is coming off of a series
split against Arkansas-Monticello last weekend. SNU took the first two games of that series, but dropped the final two games, being shutout in each game.

Statistically, the Lady Muleriders are hitting .312 as a team and have five starters hitting .300 or better. Ashton Atwell currently leads the team in average at .415 (56-for-135). Atwell also leads the team in RBIs with 43 and homeruns with 13.

In terms of pitching, SAU has 4.68 team ERA. Jami Godwin leads the team wins with seven and in ERA at 3.61.

For SNU, they are hitting .307 as a team and have six players over .300. Jill Clemence leads the team in batting at .438 (57-for-130). Melissa Padilla leads the team in homeruns with five and also leads the club in RBIs with 40. In terms of pitching, SNU has a 5.95 team ERA. Kateyln Brown leads the team in wins with eight (8-12). Kayla Wyatt has the lowest ERA at 4.18 and leads the GAC in strikeouts with 183.

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 39 games, have hit 50 homeruns. Through 39 games last year, SAU had hit 46, 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.
Anderson 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 fivetime 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 softballteam 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
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