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#2 SOUTHERN ARKANSAS
LADY MULERIDERS
14-2 (4-0 GAC) |
OKLAHOMA BAPTIST
LADY BISON
6-4 (1-3 GAC) |
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GAME NOTES (PDF)
LEADING OFF
Ranked #2 in the nation for the second-consecutive week and coming off of a Great American Conference-opening four-game road sweep of East Central, Southern Arkansas (14-2, 4-0 GAC)heads back to Oklahoma, this time for a four-game set with Oklahoma Baptist (6-4, 1-3 GAC) in SAU's inaugural trip to Shawnee.
The Lady Muleriders, preseason favorites in the GAC, have played their last twelve games on the road either at a true away venue or at a neutral site. Since the start of league play last season, the Lady Muleriders are 37-8 in GAC play.
Of Southern Arkansas' league-leading 14 wins, six have come via the run-rule as the Lady Muleriders have scored ten or more runs in eight games this season. SAU has claimed three one-run wins so far this season with its two losses also coming by a single run each.
High offensive output has been the calling card for SAU so far this season as the Lady Muleriders are leading the GAC in batting average (.328), slugging percentage (.579), on-base percentage (.445), runs scored (144), hits (152), RBI (132), doubles (29), home runs (27), total bases (268), walks (79), and hit-by-pitch (21).
Nationally, Southern Arkansas ranks in the top 25 in five team categories: home runs per game (1.65 | 2nd), scoring (8.82 | 6th), slugging percentage (.580 | 9th), win/loss percentage (.882 | 15th), and doubles per game (1.88 | 24th).
Jill Roye leads Southern Arkansas with a league-best .500 batting average (30-for-60) and owns league-highs in hits (30) and RBI (29). Roye's 29 RBI are the third-most in the country and her 1.71 RBI per game also ranks third in Division II.
Maddie Dow is leading the GAC with the nation's tenth-highest slugging percentage at 1.068. The NCAA DII's active career home runs leader leads the nation with eight home runs. Dow's .409 average is the second-highest for SAU and the senior also ranks in the league's top three in runs scored (21), walks (14), hit-by-pitch (10) and RBI (22).
Dow also ranks in the nation's top 25 in seven additional categories: hit-by-pitch per game (0.59 | 5th), home runs per game (0.53 | 6th), RBI (24 | 11th), walks per game (0.94 | 14th)on-base percentage (0.616 | 19th), RBI per game (1.41 | 20th), and runs per game (1.29 | 23rd).
Both Roye and Dow have claimed GAC Player of the Week honors as well as a Fastpitch News National Player of the Week accolade.
Preseason All-America selection
Brooke Goad leads the GAC in runs scored (24), and walks (15), while placing in the top five in ten other offensive categories.
In the circle,
Victoria Taylor and
Kaylee Garner have combined for 13 of SAU's 14 wins, led by Taylor's league-high eight. The freshman is also leading the team with a 2.00 ERA in 56.0 innings pitched and the league's second-most strikeouts with 63. Taylor's eight wins (4th) and 75 strikeouts (7th) each rank in the top ten in Division II. Garner owns a team-best .221 opponent batting average. SAU owns a 2.68 team-ERA, which is the fifth-lowest mark in the conference.
First-pitch for tomorrow's doubleheader from Shawnee, Oklahoma, is slated for 3 p.m. Saturday's doubleheader is scheduled for a noon start. Be sure to visit www.MuleriderAthletics.com for continuing coverage of Lady Mulerider Softball including recaps of all the action in Shawnee.
SCOUTING OKLAHOMA BAPTIST (6-4, 1-3 GAC)
The Lady Bison are ten games into their 2017 campaign and are coming off a midweek doubleheader sweep of Oklahoma Panhandle. In their opening Great
American Conference series of the season, OBU staved off a four-game sweep by Henderson State after claiming a 4-3 win in the series' second game. OBU is 5-1 this season when playing at home with its only loss suffered to Hastings College (Neb.).
Oklahoma Baptist enters the second weekend of the league calendar with the best fielding percentage in the conference at .983, while being ranked eighth in
the GAC in batting average (.285) and tenth in team-ERA (4.67). The Lady Bison have also been successful on 22-of-24 stolen base attempts, led by Katie Reyes' perfect 12-of-12, which leads the league.
Madison Vaughan (.375 | 12-of-32) and Shelby Savage (.313 | 10-of-32) have played and started all ten games for the Lady Bison and own .300-plus batting averages. Vaughan leads the team in hits (12), home runs (5), RBI (8), and total bases (28) and slugging percentage (.875). Cheyenne Demaree is hitting .438 in eight games played.
In the circle, Haley Zimmerman is 4-1 on the season and owns team-bests in ERA (2.33), complete games (3), innings pitched (27.0), strikeouts (15) and a team-low opponent batting average of .243.
COACH
Pam Fink is in her 24th season as head coach of the Lady Bison Softball program. Fink, a Class of 2000 inductee into the OBU Athletic Hall of Fame, has claimed 601 wins in her career entering this season and has led the OBU program to 20 or more wins in a season 18 times. As a player at OBU, Fink is one of just six Lady Bison players to garner NAIA All-America honors and finished her playing career as a .342 hitter and is the all-time leader in assists.
LAST SEASON
Southern Arkansas and Oklahoma Baptist opened Great American Conference play last season and the Lady Muleriders swept the four-game series in
Magnolia, scoring 23 runs and tossing four shutouts, while surrendering 11 hits in 26 innings. This will be the first meeting between the programs in Shawnee and the fifth meeting overall.
