ARKADELPHIA, Ark. - After a 6-run deficit in the second inning, the Lady Mulerider softball team quickly regrouped and used its powerful offense to pull off the remarkable 12-7 victory over Rogers State aided by Brooke Ford-Nelson's first career-win in the circle for SAU as the junior pitcher entered the game in relief and battled a scrappy Hill Cat lineup through five and a third innings of work without allowing a single run.

Faith Otts plated the first run of the contest in the second inning with a base-knock that scored Islava who drew a walk to lead off the inning.

Rogers State's big offensive surge came in the bottom of that frame and prompted a pair of SAU pitching changes as the Hill Cats scored seven runs on five hits to snag the lead from SAU, 7-1.

The Hill Cats loaded the bases in that frame and used its next three at-bats to take an aggressive 4-1 lead over SAU against starting pitcher Jenny Hittinger. Jill Roye would come in relief with two outs and surrender the remaining three runs in the inning off of a pair of hits before Ford-Nelson was given the job in the circle and ended the surge with a strikeout to avoid any more damage in the inning.

SAU quickly retaliated and tied the game at 7-all in the next inning with four hits that plated six runs. Rachel Miller scored the first run of that frame on a wild pitch after drawing a walk to lead-off the inning. Kiara Bonner reached on a fielder's choice in the inning and later scored on a deep sacrifice-fly in right field off the bat of Brooke Goad to make it 3-7, RSU
Roye followed that up with a base knock to right field and Monica Islava would clear the bases with a 2-run shot that brought the Lady Muleriders within two, 5-7. Marina Duran singled and Megan Godoyo reached on an error before freshman Sarah Pitre stroked a 2-run double in the left-centerfield gap that knotted the score at 7-all.

RSU's lead-off single followed by an issued hit-by-pitch posted a threat in the third, but Ford-Nelson kept her composure in the circle and retired the next 3 batters to get out of the inning without allowing any runs to score.

Ford-Nelson continued her efficiency into the bottom of the fourth as she worked through a one-out bases loaded jam with back-to-back strikeouts that sent the Lady Muleriders into their 3-run fifth inning that gave them the lead, 10-7.

The go-ahead run in that frame flew off the bat of Islava in the form of a solo blast that cleared the centerfield wall, 8-7 SAU. Duran later drew a walk and Pitre reached on a single to set up Miller's ensuing 2-RBI double that made it 10-7, SAU.

SAU added insurance again in the sixth inning after scoring a pair of runs on two hits to extend their lead out to 12-7.

Ford-Nelson worked comfortably through the sixth and seventh innings as she retired all six of the batters she faced to capture her first career-win in the circle for SAU, 12-7.
 
UP NEXT
The Lady Muleriders will look to continue their approach into next week as they prepare to travel to Mesquite, Texas for the North Texas Softball Bash. The first of their 4-game slate that weekend will be against Texas A&M - Kingsville on February 9 (11 a.m.) followed by a 1:30 p.m. start the same day against Texas – Permian Basin.