#8 SOUTHERN ARKANSAS LADY MULERIDERS 21-3 (10-2 GAC)	SOUTHWESTERN OKLAHOMA LADY BULLDOGS 1-19 (1-11 GAC)
vs. Southwestern Oklahoma Friday, March 16 | 4 p.m. | DH  Dawson Field at the Mulerider Softball Complex - Magnolia, Ark. LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO vs. Southwestern Oklahoma Saturday, March 17 | 11 a.m. | DH  Dawson Field at the Mulerider Softball Complex - Magnolia, Ark. LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO

 

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GAME NOTES (PDF)

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LEADING OFF
After spending the first six weekends playing on the road, the No. 8-ranked Southern Arkansas (21-3) is set to host its first GAC series at home this weekend as they will take on Southwestern Oklahoma (1-19) in a four-game series beginning with a twin-bill on Friday scheduled for 4 p.m. Saturday's doubleheader is slated for an 11 a.m. first-pitch.  

The Lady Muleriders enter the weekend having won 10 of their last 11 games on the schedule, including a pair of non-conference wins earlier this week against Texas A&M-Kingsville. For the sixth-straight week, the Lady Muleriders have garnered GAC Athlete of the Week honors and has been one of the top-15 nationally ranked teams in the NFCA DII coaches poll in that time span. 

The Lady Muleriders currently hold a 17-6 series advantage over the Lady Bulldogs in GAC play since 2013 which includes a 9-1 advantage in Magnolia. 

Powering the hot start to the season for the Lady Muleriders is an offense that leads the GAC in batting average (.340), on-base percentage (.414) and slugging percentage (.623), which also ranks fourth in the nation. Additionally, the SAU bats own top five marks in eight other offensive categories including runs scored, hits, RBI, walks, and home runs. The team's 50 dingers leads the league and its per game home run average of 2.08 is the top mark in the nation.
    
In the circle, the Lady Muleriders own the league's lowest team-ERA at 2.24 and opponent batting average at .229 As a staff, SAU has struck out 142 batters, ranking them first in the league in that category, and has allowed the fewest earned runs and hits, and the top-3 fewest runs and walks in the GAC.
    
Southwestern Oklahoma heads into the weekend with a 1-11 GAC record and has won its last most-recent league matchup in a 5-4 victory over Southeastern Oklahoma last weekend. The Lady Bulldogs own a team slash of .279/.398/.344 and ranks fourth in the league in stolen bases. 
    
The Lady Bulldog pitching staff, through 20 games, holds a 9.40 team-ERA with 38 strikeouts and has allowed 193 runs in 117.2 innings pitched. Defensively, SWOSU ranks 12th in the GAC in fielding percentage at .930.