MAGNOLIA, Ark. – A 3-1 pitch from UAM's Kendra Coleman to Lady Mulerider Chelsea Jordan with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning found open real estate in the left center field gap scoring Tyler Casada as Jordan's walk-off single salvaged a DH split for Southern Arkansas as they took the final game of the Great American Conference series 5-4 over Arkansas-Monticello on Tuesday night at Dawson Field inside the Mulerider Softball Complex.
 
With Tuesday's split, the Lady Muleriders (34-7, 26-7 GAC) and the Blossoms (27-21, 21-15 GAC) finish the home-and-home midweek rivalry series with each club winning a pair of games. Southern Arkansas remains in second place in the Great American Conference standings, while UAM sits in fourth place. SAU is currently three wins away from tying the program's single season wins record set back in 2014.
 
In the nightcap, back-and-forth action took center stage in the latter innings as the Lady Muleriders plated the game's first run in the fourth inning as a Summer Ehrig single was misplaced in leftfield, allowing pinch-runner Sydney Johnson to score from second.
 
A wild pitch coupled with a throwing error by the SAU defensive allowed two UAM runs to cross in the fifth inning as the Blossoms carried a 2-1 lead into the bottom half of the frame. UAM's Mallory McWhorter entered in relief of Paisley Pratt to start the fifth and with two outs in the inning; Taylor Guin beat out an infield single scoring Brooke Goad to tie the series finale at two runs apiece.
 
UAM answered in the sixth as a lead-off solo home run and a two-out fielding error accounted for a run each as Arkansas-Monticello plated a pair of runs to take back the lead, 4-2.
 
Down to their final at-bat, Goad led-off the inning first-pitch swinging and collected a base hit into centerfield resulting in an immediate pitching change as UAM went back to Tuesday's game one starter in Kendra Coleman. Maddie Dow followed with a walk and Ashton Atwell reached on a fielder's choice and a one-out walk to Casada loaded the bases. In the ensuing at-bat, Guin recorded an RBI-groundout that plated pinch-runner Taylor Stricklin and brought SAU to within a run, but with just one out to play with.
 
With Jordan at the plate and two outs in the seventh, a passed ball scored Atwell to tie the game and moved Casada to third to set up Jordan's aforementioned walk off heroics.
 
SAU's game two starter Kaylee Garner (17-3) scattered five hits as she tossed her 13^th complete game of the season, allowing just two earned runs and a walk, while striking out six.
 
In Tuesday's opener, UAM needed extra-innings to top Southern Arkansas as Lady Mulerider starter Kimmy Beasley (17-3) tossed seven innings allowing just three hits and three unearned runs as she collected nine strikeouts, before Peyton Jenkins entered in the eighth to work a pair of innings as she took the loss.
 
A two-out RBI-double in the sixth inning and a two-run homerun from UAM broke a scoreless tie in the sixth inning, but Southern Arkansas answered in their final at-bat to send the game to extra-innings as Casada sent a 1-0 offering into the meadow behind the leftfield fence for a three-run dinger that produced bonus softball.
 
Both teams would come away empty in the eighth, but an RBI-fielder's choice and an RBI-groundout put UAM up 5-3 as SAU went down in order in the ninth.
 
Casada and Jordan led SAU with three hits on the day and all nine starters registered a base-knock in the walk-off win. Casada led with three RBI and Guin followed with a pair, while Jordan's lone RBI helped split the four-game series. Casada and Johnson each scored twice. The Lady Muleriders outhit UAM 18-8, but Southern Arkansas stranded 22 runners.
 
Southern Arkansas now turns their attention to a pivotal three-game Great American Conference road series with the league's current third-place club Southeastern Oklahoma State. First-pitch from Durant, Oklahoma, on Friday, April 15, is scheduled for 2 p.m., with Saturday's DH slated for high noon.
 
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