SOUTHERN ARKANSAS LADY MULERIDERS 26-22, 16-16 GAC	HENDERSON STATE REDDIES 37-11, 27-7 GAC
Thursday, April 30 | 2 p.m.  Tiger Athletic Complex - Bentonville, Ark. LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO

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GAME NOTES | SAU | HSU

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Leading Off
The Southern Arkansas softball team enters play as the No. 8-seed in the Great American Conference Tournament after posting a 26-22 overall record and a 16-16 mark in the GAC. The Lady Muleriders, who went on a magical run in the 2014 GAC Tournament, are set to defend their tournament championship in 2015 and will take on No. 1-seed Henderson State in their first game on Thursday afternoon. Earlier this season, the two teams played just twice with each team coming away with a win to split the series.

The Henderson State softball team enters the GAC Tournament as the No.1-seed after posting a 37-11 overall record and a 27-7 mark in the GAC. The regular season championship was the first for Henderson State in their softball program history.

Statistically, the Lady Muleriders are hitting .319 as a team and have five starters hitting .300 or better. Ashton Atwell currently leads the team in average at .408 (69-for-169). Atwell also leads the team in RBIs with 53 and homeruns with 14. Behind Atwell in homeruns and RBIs is Maddie Dow with 13 HRs and 41 RBIs.

In terms of pitching, SAU has 4.88 team ERA. Jami Godwin leads the team wins (10) and in ERA at 3.44.

For HSU, they lead the GAC in hitting as a team at .341 as a team and have seven players over .300 and one over .400. Recently-named GAC Player of the Year Sarah Gipson leads the team in batting at .438 (71-for-162). Gipson also leads the team in homeruns with 9 and leads the club in RBIs with 59.

In terms of pitching, HSU sports the lowest team ERA in the GAC at 2.46. Newlyminted GAC Pitcher and Freshman of the Year Michelle Sorensen leads the team in
wins with 16 (16-8), strikeouts (128) and ERA (2.03).

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 48 games, have hit 56 homeruns. Through 48 games last year, SAU had hit 56, putting them on par with 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 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
E quiped 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.

Dow Career Record Holder: HRs 
As a sophomore, Lady Mulerider designated player Maddie Dow has set a significant career record at SAU as she is now the top homerun hitter in program history after she blasted her 28th career longball in game two against Arkansas-Monticello on Wednesday, March 25. As a freshman, Dow hit a SAU and GAC single-season record 21 homeruns and going into this weekend, Dow now has 34 career homeruns.

Atwell At The Top
Junior transfer Ashton Atwell has been a tremendous addition to the SAU softball team this season. Entering play this weekend, Atwell leads the team in eight offensive categories as she is the leader in batting average (.408 | 69- for-169), slugging percentage (.757), runs scored (47), hits (69), RBIs (53), doubles (17), Homeruns (14), and total bases (129). In the scope of the GAC, Atwell is in the top-10 in all eight of those categories, toping the league in homeruns, doubles, total bases, and slugging percentage.

Weaver Shutsout SNU
In her very first collegaite start, SAU freshman right-hander Abby Weaver tossed a four-hit shutout against Southern Nazarene this past weekend. In the shutout, Weaver was a groundball machine as she induced 13 groundouts. Not only was the shutout the first in the career of Weaver, it was the first for a SAU pitcher this season.