MAGNOLIA, Ark. - After spending the first six weekends of the 2018 season on the road, No. 7 Southern Arkansas is set for its home opener at Dawson Field inside the Mulerider Softball Complex. The Lady Muleriders will welcome in Texas A&M-Kingsville for a doubleheader on Monday, March 12, with a first-pitch time scheduled for 3 p.m.

SAU (19-3, 10-2 GAC) sits atop the Great American Conference standings and has spent five of the six weeks of the regular season ranked in the Top 10 in the country. Texas A&M-Kingsville comes to Magnolia with a 14-9 record overall and a 7-5 mark in Lone Star Conference play. The two programs have previously met this season with the Lady Muleriders claiming a 6-3 victory in their opener at the North Texas Softball Bash. The Javelinas have won eight of their past 10 games, while Southern Arkansas has been victorious in nine of their past 10 trips to the field. 

Through their first 22 games of the season, the Lady Muleriders are hitting a GAC-best .346 as a team and own the league's best team-ERA at 2.43. Southern Arkansas is leading the nation in home runs per game at an average of 2.11 and coming into this past weekend of play, SAU owned the nations' top slugging percentage at .643. Six players are hitting .300 or better with a trio of those players swinging at a clip of .400 or better led by senior Monica Islava who owns a .463 average with 31 hits. Almost half of Islava's hits have went for extra bases as she has banged out nine home runs and five doubles.

Classmate Brooke Goad follows with a .443 average and 27 hits. Goad continues to chase history as she has blasted 13 home runs so far this campaign and this past weekend became one of just five players in Division II history to hit 70 or more home runs in a career. She is the second Lady Mulerider to reach 70 career home runs and finds herself just four home runs away from becoming the program's career record holder in the category. Goad's 31 RBI lead the conference.

Sophomore Faith Otts owns a .426 average and is third on the team in hits with 26. Otts is one of the more tougher outs in the SAU order having only struck out three times in 61 at bats. Six players in the lineup own a .500 slugging percentage or better and six have an on-base percentage of .400 or better. Islava, Goad and Otts all rank in the top five in the GAC in hits, while Goad and Islava rank first and second, respectively in runs scored. Sophomore Rachel Miller ranks fourth in the league in runs scored. Southern Arkansas boasts the league's top three home run hitters as Goad, Islava and Marina Duran have combined to hit 29 of the Lady Muleriders' 49 jacks this season. 

In the circle, Southern Arkansas has been led by sophomore standout Victoria Taylor who is second in the GAC in strikeouts this season with 65. Her 1.77 ERA ranks third in the conference and second on the team behind junior Brooke Ford-Nelson's 0.97 ERA. Taylor is a perfect 7-0 this season and has went the distance in six of those wins, while Ford-Nelson has won five games, all in relief, and has earned a save. Junior Jenny Hittinger has picked up four wins.

For a complete statistical outlook on the Lady Muleriders this season, click here.

The Javelinas enter with a .260 team batting average and are led at the plate by Loren Kelly and Roxy Chapa who each are hitting over .340 this season. Kelly leads the team in hits with 29 and Chapa owns a team-high 17 RBI and a .587 slugging percentage with five home runs. In the circle, Sarah Gilbert and Breanna Smith have combined for 14 wins and 13 complete games and both pitchers own sub-3.00 ERAs. 

Texas A&M-Kingsville full statistical outlook this season can be found here.

Live coverage links can be found at  www.MuleriderAthletics.com.