MAGNOLIA, Ark. – #5 Southern Arkansas needed its last at bat to move past Washburn on Friday evening at the SAU Softball Invitational and did so with one out in the home-half of the seventh inning as junior
Jill Roye slapped her fourth hit of the day through the right side scoring redshirt-junior
Brooke Goad to break a 2-2 tie and send the Lady Muleriders to the win column in the season opener.
RECORDS
Washburn (0-2)
#5 Southern Arkansas (1-0)
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Goad led-off the final inning with a walk and with one out the preseason All-American swiped second base giving Roye the walk-off opportunity that she took advantage of two pitches later.
- Southern Arkansas struck first in Friday's contest as Roye's first hit of the game, and first as a Lady Mulerider, came in the form of a two-RBI single to center field that plated Monica Islava and Goad who reached on a lead-off double and walk, respectively.
- Kaylee Garner received the start in the circle for the Lady Muleriders and worked a hitless first two innings, before the Washburn offense tied the contest at 2 in their third at bat.
- A pair of SAU errors led to the first Ichabod run via a Taylor Kemp sacrifice-fly and an RBI-double from the bat of Erica Harper tied the game at 2 runs apiece with two outs in the third inning.
- Garner worked a 1-2-3 inning in the fourth and Victoria Taylor entered for her first collegiate action in relief to start the fifth inning and retired the side.
- Taylor worked around runners at first and second in the sixth inning and a runner at second in the seventh inning to give the Lady Muleriders their aforementioned opportunity to win the game in the last at bat.
FOR SOUTHERN ARKANSAS
- Roye accounted for four of SAU's six hits and drove in all three runs in a 4-for-4 effort in her SAU debut.
- Goad walked twice and scored a pair of runs including the winning run and Islava added a run scored as well as the game's first hit with a lead-off double.
- Megan Godoyo collected a hit for Southern Arkansas in her Lady Mulerider debut.
- Garner allowed just one hit with four strikeouts in four innings of work and Taylor was excellent in the final three innings as she picked up her first collegiate win, while surrendering just two hits and picking up a pair of strikeouts.
FOR THE OPPOSITION
- Jordan Erickson and Ashley Ruder joined Harper in the hit column for the Ichabods. Harper's double was the lone extra base hit surrendered by SAU on Friday.
- Harper and Kemp drove in the two runs for WU, while Ruder and Megan Stegman scored the two runs.
- Lexi Crabtree suffered the loss for Washburn as she worked 6.1 innings giving up three earned runs on six hits, while striking out four and walking five.
OF NOTE
- The teams combined to strand 15 runners (SAU 8, WU 7) on the base paths.
- Southern Arkansas committed three errors on Friday night which was something they only did twice in 64 games a season ago; losing both contests.
UP NEXT
