MAGNOLIA, Ark. – Kaylee Garner and Kimmy Beasley each surrendered only two hits as both pitchers threw consecutive shutouts for the second day in a row, while Darian Harris collected a combined five hits (four XBH), six RBIs, and four runs scored as the Southern Arkansas Lady Mulerider Softball team turned in a pair of impressive five-inning performances during Day Two of the SAU Softball Invitational.
 
The Lady Muleriders (4-0) defeated Newman University 8-0 in their first game on Saturday afternoon, before ending the day with an 8-0 victory over Rogers State in the nightcap; taking both games via the run-rule.
 
In game one, Garner faced 17 batters, forcing eight to fly out, while recording five strikeouts. SAU provided her with early run support as Tyler Casada connected on her first home run of the season in the bottom of the first; a three-run shot that plated Harris and Ashton Atwell.
 
Liz Hudgins drew a two-out walk in the second inning and eventually scored on a wild pitch to put Southern Arkansas up 4-0, before the Lady Muleriders pushed across another run in the bottom half of the third inning after the Jets were retired in order by Garner in the top half. Atwell led off the third inning with her first double of the season and Summer Ehrig pushed Atwell across via a single into centerfield as SAU took a 5-0 lead into the fourth inning of action.
 
Newman recorded their first hit with one out in the fourth inning, but Garner followed by inducing a lineout and pop-out to send the Lady Muleriders to the plate where they would add two more runs in the fourth inning as Harris mashed a double into left field scoring Atwell and Sydney Johnson, who pinch ran for Maddie Dow after she was hit-by-pitch.
 
In the fifth inning, Taylor Guin ended the game with a solo home run to right field with one out in the inning that gave SAU an 8-0 win; their second-consecutive win by a run-rule home run.
 
The second game of the two game set was everything but a carbon copy of the opening game as Beasley dominated in the circle, while Harris swung an even hotter bat in the nightcap. Beasley struck out six batters, walking only one as she surrounded just a pair of base knocks that came in back-to-back at-bats to lead off the fourth inning.
 
Harris' three hits against Rogers State all went for extra bases as she banged out a pair of triples in the first and fifth innings, while launching her first homerun of the year on the first pitch she saw in the fourth inning. Harris' first triple plated Atwell and she would score on an RBI double from Casada to give Beasley a 2-0 lead after an inning of play.
 
Atwell plated the pinch-running Johnson in the second via sac-fly, before Harris left the yard with the aforementioned three-run shot the following inning that put Southern Arkansas up 6-0. Later in the inning, Hudgins reached on a two-out fielding error that scored Guin who reached after a two-out single, before moving to third on a single by Chelsea Jordan.
 
Beasley took care of things by herself in the fifth as she induced a pop-out to herself in the circle that was bookended by a pair of strikeouts looking that sent SAU to the plate in the fifth with an opportunity to end the game by virtue of their fourth run-rule of the young season.
With two outs, Harris cranked a triple off of the wall that was just shy of hitting the scoreboard in right field and she would cross home on the next at-bat as Casada bounced a payoff pitch up the middle that resulted in an error after the junior beat the throw to first to end the game.
 
Atwell, Casada, Brooke Goad and Guin all collected three hits on the afternoon. Casada produced four RBIs and Atwell, Ehrig and Guin each added an RBI. Atwell led the team with five runs scored, while Dow manufactured three walks and a hit-by-pitch.
 
The Lady Muleriders' 16 runs came off of 21 hits and defensively they totaled 19 putouts; 13 fly-outs and six groundouts while committing only one error.
 
Southern Arkansas returns to action tomorrow in the final day of play on their opening weekend with a pair of games beginning at 2 p.m. The first matchup for SAU will be against Texas Woman's University, followed by a 4 p.m. contest with Cameron University that will conclude play in the three-day tournament. Follow this link for day two box scores of all eight Saturday games in the SAU Softball Invitational: http://muleriderathletics.com/sports/2015/12/8/SAU_Softball_Invitational.aspx?path=softball.

Be sure to visit muleriderathletics.com for pregame and postgame recaps, coach's shows and other information and news regarding the 2016 Lady Mulerider Softball team.