GAME NOTES (PDF)

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LEADING OFF
#5 Southern Arkansas begins the final weekend of action before opening Great American Conference play next weekend in Ada, Oklahoma. The Lady Muleriders (7-1) travel to Bentonville for the UAM 8-State Classic with four regional games slated against teams from the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association. SAU begins play in Northwest Arkansas with an early 9 a.m. first-pitch against Northwest Missouri State (2-2) on Friday, February 17, before matching up with Central Missouri (5-6) at 3 p.m.

A tournament page with matchups and game times can be found here: http://www.uamsports.com/sports/2016/2/10/2016-8-State.aspx?path=softball. 
    
The Lady Muleriders will play just one game on both Saturday and Sunday beginning with a 1 p.m. first-pitch with Fort Hays State (1-4) on Saturday and a 1 p.m. meeting with Missouri Southern State (2-9) on Sunday. Southern Arkansas is 7-5 in the Classic in three trips since 2013, but is 5-1 the past two seasons.

Through eight games, Southern Arkansas is hitting .345 (2nd | GAC), with a team-ERA of 3.64 (6th | GAC) and a fielding percentage of .951 (7th | GAC).
    
Junior First Baseman Jill Roye, reigning league player of the week, is leading the team with a .548 batting average, which is tops in the Great American Conference among players with at least 20 at-bats. Roye's 17 hits, 23 RBI and 25 total bases are also league-bests through the season's first two weeks. Redshirt junior Brooke Goad is leading the conference in on-base percentage at .647 and in runs scored with 16, while senior utility player Maddie Dow (13) and junior outfielder Megan Godoyo (12) are second and third respectively. The latter two are also pacing the GAC in home runs as both players have three dingers apiece through eight games.
    
Dow and senior catcher Tyler Casada each have 13 RBI, which is second behind Roye's ridiculous 23. Dow is just four total bases behind Roye's 25, while Goad's 19 total bases are fifth-most in the league.
    
Junior infielder Marina Duran owns the ninth-highest batting average in the league at .450 and ranks in the GAC's top-five in on-base percentage (.593 | 3rd), runs scored (8 | T-5th), home runs (2 | T-3rd), and walks (7 | 2nd). Goad leads the league in walks with 11. Freshman infielder Faith Otts' four doubles are tied for the league lead.
    
In the circle, freshman right-hander Victoria Taylor has pushed her strikeout total to 33, which stands as the second-most in the GAC, while her 5-0 record is the best in the league.
    
Be sure to visit www.MuleriderAthletics.com for continuing coverage of Lady Mulerider Softball including recaps of all the action in Bentonville.