Alva, Okla. – Strong pitching efforts along with timely hits proved to be enough for the Lady Mulerider softball team as they took two from Northwestern Oklahoma in the GAC series opener on Friday in Alva, Oklahoma with a 4-1 decision in game one and a 12-1 run-rule in five innings in game two. 
 
 
TEAM RECORDS 
(#7) Southern Arkansas Lady Muleriders (27-3, 16-2 GAC)
Northwestern Oklahoma Rangers (7-17, 6-12 GAC)
 
PITCHING DECISIONS – GAME 1
W – Victoria Taylor (11-0)
L – Madison Garza (1-8)
S – None
 
GAME 1 HIGHLIGHTS & HAPPENINGS

• The first two innings were scoreless until Southern Arkansas got on the board with a 2-0 lead in the top of the third.
• In that frame, the Lady Muleriders loaded the bases where they would eventually score their first run on a passed ball. The second run in the inning came on an RBI sacrifice fly off the bat of Monica Islava.
• SAU scratched two more runs in the fourth as Megan Godoyo and Hallie Saintignan both reached on fielding errors to set up the inning and Rachel Miller drove both of them in later with a 2-RBI base knock that pushed SAU to 4-0.
• Northwestern Oklahoma scratched a run in the bottom of that frame after leading off with a solo home run to left center that pushed the score to its eventual 4-1 final decision.

 
IN THE CIRCLE

•  Victoria Taylor pitched her way to her eleventh win in the circle this year for SAU after allowing just one run on three hits in the contest with five strikeouts.
• Madison Garza suffered the loss in the circle for the Lady Rangers after allowing four runs on a pair of hits through seven innings pitched.

 
AT THE PLATE

• Miller led the SAU offense with a pair RBI on a hit including a walk
• Islava had an RBI and a walk
• Sarah Pitre was 1-for-3 at the plate with a run scored
• Brooke Goad and Faith Otts each drew a pair of walks in the contest

 
 
PITCHING DECISIONS – GAME 2
W – Brooke Ford-Nelson (9-2)
L – Karly Murray (4-4)
S – None
 
GAME 2 HIGHLIGHTS & HAPPENINGS

• SAU jumped on the board early in the top of the first and took a 2-0 lead after Goad hit a solo homerun to right field to scratch SAU's first run and Maeson Grace delivered later in the inning with an RBI single through the right side.
• NWOSU would cut that deficit in half in the bottom-half of that inning with a one-out solo home run to left field that made it 2-1.
• Miller connected with a two-out solo shot out to left field in the next inning and then Faith Otts left the yard in the third that pushed SAU to a 4-1 lead before the Lady Mulerider offense exploded in the fourth with a five-run inning to extend their lead out to 9-1.
• Those five runs in that inning came on a 2-RBI dinger off the bat of Sarah Pitre to lead off the inning followed by a 2-RBI double laced into left field by Islava later in the frame, and finally a base knock from Duran that plated another pair of runs and pushed SAU to its aforementioned 9-1 advantage.
• The last of SAU's runs came in the fifth inning as Islava left the yard with two outs out to center field that pushed the Lady Muleriders to its eventual 12-1 final decision in the bottom-half of the frame.

 
IN THE CIRCLE

• Ford-Nelson collected her ninth win of the season in the circle for SAU as she allowed just one run on three hits through four innings of work and struck out a pair.
• Reagan Nichols came on in relief in the final inning for SAU and faced four batters where she would strike out one.

 
AT THE PLATE

• SAU combined for 12 runs on 16 hits in the contest
• Islava led the offense with 5 RBI and was 3-for-4 at the plate with two of those hits going for extra bases and three runs scored
• Duran was 1-for-3 with a pair of RBI
• Miller, Goad, Otts, Grace and Pitre each tallied an RBI all on home runs
• Miller and Otts were both 3for-4 at the plate
• Goad and Grace each tallied a pair of hits apiece