RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – Brooke Goad launched a one-out three-run home run to centerfield in the top of the seventh inning to give SAU a 7-5 lead in game two, and Peyton Jenkins earned her first save of the season in the bottom half of the inning as #23 Southern Arkansas bounced back from a 2-0 series-opening loss to split Friday afternoon's Great American Conference doubleheader with #5 Arkansas Tech at the Chartwells Women's Sports Complex.
 
The first matchup of top-25 teams in Great American Conference softball history saw a pitcher's duel in the series opener as two of the best arms in the league squared off in SAU's Kimmy Beasley (17-2) and ATU's Jalissa Gum (14-1). The Lady Muleriders (32-5, 24-5 GAC) received six-strong innings from Beasley who allowed just two hits and recorded her sixth 10-plus strikeout game of the season, while the Golden Suns' pair of runs came unearned on a triple off the bat of Gum who broke a scoreless tie in the third inning.
 
The teams totaled just three hits in the first game and combined for 24 strikeouts as pitching and defense for both sides controlled the top-two offenses in the league.
 
Southern Arkansas found the scoreboard early in game two as Maddie Dow doubled down the left-field line scoring Goad to give Lady Mulerider starter Kaylee Garner an early 1-0 lead. Arkansas Tech (37-4, 27-3 GAC) answered in the home half of the first with an RBI-double and duplicated that sequence in the second inning as the Golden Suns led 2-1 after two innings.
 
In the third, it was Dow who answered with a three-run homerun, her 12^th of the season, that plated Liz Hudgins and Goad who reached with a leadoff single and walk, respectively, as SAU regained the lead 4-2 off of ATU starter Morgan Vaughan.
 
Garner worked into the fifth, but ATU tied the game at 4 courtesy of their third run-scoring double of the game and an RBI-single put the Golden Suns on top 5-4. Beasley entered in relief scattering two hits in 1.2 innings of work to pick up the win, while Jenkins entered in the seventh to pick up the aforementioned save as the latter two allowed just three ATU hits in the final 2.2 innings of play.
 
Down a run in their final at-bat, Hudgins led-off by singling through the left-side and a sacrifice bunt by Taylor Guin pushed Hudgins to second. Darian Harris followed suit with a single into right field that put runners at the corners for Goad who connected on the go-ahead and eventual game-winning three-run blast; her 17^th of the year.
 
Harris finished the day with three hits to lead SAU, while Dow, Goad and Hudgins all collected a pair of hits. Dow and Goad accounted for all seven of the Lady Muleriders' RBI on the day.
 
The highly-anticipated series will be decided tomorrow with a doubleheader first-pitch time slated for noon at the Chartwells Women's Sports 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.