SALEM, Va. – Leading 8-7 with two outs in the top of the seventh inning, senior Megan Godoyo emptied the bases for seventh-seeded Southern Arkansas in grand slam fashion and supplied four very important insurance runs, before junior relief pitcher Brooke Ford-Nelson followed with a poised outing in the circle in the bottom of the frame as the Lady Muleriders outlasted the Wildcats 12-11 in Friday evening's second elimination game of the 2018 NCAA Division II Softball World Series from the James I. Moyer Sports Complex.
 
Southern Arkansas (58-10) carried a five-run lead into the home half of the seventh inning, but Chico State (55-6) struck for four runs on three hits and three Lady Mulerider fielding errors, before Ford-Nelson induced a groundout to herself for the inning's second out and forced a pop out to sophomore Faith Otts at third-base for the final out of the game as she stranded the potential walk off run at second base.
 
Ford-Nelson's performance in the middle came courtesy of 4.2 innings of relief of SAU starter Victoria Taylor (2.0 innings) and reliever Jolie Trahan (0.1 inning). She allowed just two earned runs and five hits, while striking out four to just one walk.
 
Chico State scored the game's first run on a bases loaded walk in the second inning. The Lady Muleriders answered with the first of the game's combined five four-run innings as SAU batted around in the top of the third inning and received run-scoring hits from seniors Brooke Goad, Jill Roye, and Marina Duran, with the former's tying the game at a run apiece, as well as a two-out RBI from freshman Sarah Pitre.
 
A back-and-forth affair ensued as the Wildcats answered for four runs in the home half of the third inning, before tacking on a single run in the fourth to take a 6-4 lead that they would carry into the sixth inning.
 
The Lady Muleriders engineered their second four-run inning of the evening as they benefitted from two walks and a pair of hits. Godoyo's first RBI came on a bases-loaded hit-by-pitch to set the stage for sophomore Faith Otts who punched a one-out single into centerfield that gave Southern Arkansas a 7-6 lead that grew to 8-6 with a fielder's choice RBI by Roye in the following at bat.
 
Chico State managed to take back one of those runs in the sixth as the game headed to the seventh inning with SAU up 8-7, before Godoyo's aforementioned heroics and much-needed run support.
 
Sophomore Rachel Miller led off the seventh inning with a base hit that was misplayed to allow the speedster to take second base. With one out, Pitre walked and with two gone in the frame, Goad walked to load the bases for Godoyo.
 
Godoyo's night finished in a 1-for-4 effort with five RBI and two runs scored. Pitre went 2-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored and Otts added two hits, a pair of RBI and a run scored. Roye's lone hit of the evening plated two runs.
 
SAU faces a quick turnaround and returns to action tomorrow morning at 8:30 p.m. EST in the DII World Series and will take on (4) Angelo State in a loser's bracket contest. A win over ASU sends the Lady Muleriders to an immediate 10:30 a.m. rematch with (2) Saint Anselm. Live coverage links are available at www.MuleriderAthletics.com.