MAGNOLIA, Ark. – With a 5-0 win over East Central in the Great American Conference series opener, No. 20 Southern Arkansas established a new program record for wins in a single season with 38, and then used a three-run third-inning in game two to secure the DH sweep on Senior Day at Dawson Field inside the Mulerider Softball Complex.
The Lady Muleriders (39-8, 31-8 GAC) locked up the second seed in the upcoming Great American Conference Tournament by taking Saturday's twin-bill. The 39 wins are the most in school history, surpassing the 2014 team that finished with 37 wins and as GAC Tournament Champions, while advancing to the first NCAA Regional Tournament in program history. Southern Arkansas' 10 total runs on the day came on a combined 17 hits, while the SAU pitching staff limited ECU to just eight hits in 14 innings of action.
Game one starter
Kimmy Beasley (19-3) tossed her eighth shutout of the season in her 17
th complete game of work as she went the distance, scattering four hits, while striking out eight. In the second game,
Kaylee Garner (20-3) worked six strong innings allowing just three hits and two runs, while picking up six strikeouts, before
Chancy Williams entered in relief to seal down the seventh for her first save of the season.
Timely hitting allowed Southern Arkansas to strike first on Saturday as
Chelsea Jordan rocked an 0-1, two out pitch into the left centerfield parking that scored
Ashton Atwell to give SAU and Beasley a 2-0 lead. In the third inning, SAU again plated a two-out run, as Atwell drew a four-pitch freebie that chased home
Liz Hudgins.
With Beasley in control, the Lady Muleriders pushed across an insurance run in the fifth as Atwell delivered with a sacrifice fly that scored
Brooke Goad, while Hudgins cranked a solo homerun in the sixth that hooked around the right field foul pole to produce the game's final run and eventual final score of 5-0.
Garner encountered some trouble early on in Saturday's finale as East Central plated a pair of runs on a two-out single that placed the club with a 2-0 lead. As Garner settled, the Lady Mulerider bats heated up as a three-run third inning put Southern Arkansas on top 3-2.
In that inning, timely hitting again contributed to the run-scoring frame as a two-out double by
Taylor Guin put Jordan at third after the latter led-off with a hit-by-pitch. Goad followed by lacing the first-pitch she saw of the ensuing at-bat into right field, plating Jordan and Guin and tying the game at two runs apiece off of ECU starter Lacey Paulk.
Darian Harris followed Goad with an RBI-single that gave Southern Arkansas the one-run advantage after three.
Jordan singled home Atwell in the fourth and Atwell singled home Guin with two outs in the fifth as SAU added a pair of runs late to help secure a 5-2 victory and a sweep on Senior Day.
Guin led SAU with four hits as two were doubles, while also scoring a pair of runs. Goad, Harris and Jordan each followed with three hits, while Atwell, Goad and Jordan each scored a pair of runs. Atwell and Jordan collected three RBI each and Goad followed with a pair.
Sunday's DH will conclude the 2016 regular season and will also be "Sexual Assault Awareness Day" at the ballpark sponsored by SAU's Title IX Committee. Fans are encouraged to wear teal. First-pitch for the season finale in scheduled for high noon at the Mulerider Softball Complex.
Be sure to check www.MuleriderAthletics.com or follow us on Twitter @MuleriderSports for the most up to-date news on Lady Mulerider Softball.
