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GAME NOTES (PDF)

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Leading Off

For the third consecutive year, No.10 Southern Arkansas Softball has claimed a 4-0 start to the season after sweeping both of its doubleheader matchups last weekend against in-region competition at the Ronnie Hawkins Invitational in Arkadelphia, Arkansas that saw a pair of Lady Muleriders' stand-out performances earn the league's first GAC Softball Player/Pitcher of the Week honors for the 2018 season. 

Highlighted among the GAC Player/Pitcher of the Week honorees are senior shortstop Monica Islava and sophomore starting pitcher Victoria Taylor. Islava produced a slash line of .545/1.091/.615 to lead a Lady Mulerider offense that totaled 34 hits and scored 29 runs in a 4-0 weekend at the Ronnie Hawkins Invitational. She hit a pair of home runs and tallied 12 total bases in 11 at bats. She recorded a pair of multi-hit games. Both of her home runs came in a come-from-behind win against Rogers State.

Taylor dominated in two starts at the Ronnie Hawkins Invitational. She tossed a pair of complete-game shutouts and tallied 19 strikeouts in 14.0 innings in the circle. She allowed only six hits and two walks and limited the opposition to hit just .128 off of her. In the season opener, she notched a career-high 13 strikeouts and held Lincoln to only one hit.

In SAU's tournament debut, the Lady Muleriders shutout Southwest Baptist University, 3-0, in which Victoria Taylor registered her aforementioned career-high 13 strikeouts against the Bearcats. Northeastern State University suffered the 9-1 run-rule loss to the Lady Muleriders in the next game after five innings. Southern Arkansas concluded the final day of the tournament with a 5-0 victory over Lincoln in the first game followed by a come-back win in the second game that saw both teams combine for 22 hits and resulted in a 12-7 final decision to cap the 4-0 start to the season. 

The Lady Muleriders now shift their focus toward another four-game slate on the road, this time in Mesquite, Texas at the North Texas Softball Bash where they will again meet up with in-region competition in a pair of doubleheader clashes beginning with Texas A&M - Kingsville (11 a.m.) and Texas - Permian Basin (1:30 p.m.) on Friday, February 9. Texas A&M - Commerce (11 a.m.) and Newman (1:30 p.m.) will meet up with Southern Arkansas on Saturday, February 10, to close-out the tournament action in Texas.