Clearwater, Fla. - The Muleriders hit the road to Florida to take part in the 2019 NFCA Leadoff Classic in Clearwater, Florida. The Muleriders will be playing five games in three days, including three games against ranked teams. 

The Muleriders are 3-0 on the season following a performance in the Ronnie Hawkins Memorial that saw the Muleriders outscore their opponents 18-0 while holding the opposition to only three hits. The Muleriders were led in the circle by junior Victoria Taylor, who threw a perfect game in the season opener. The perfect game was the fourth in program history and the first in Taylor's SAU career. Taylor followed that game up with a one-hitter against Rogers State, a game in which Taylor lost her no-hitter bid with two outs in the sixth inning. Taylor's two wins on the weekend make her the SAU all-time career wins leader with 53. For the weekend, Taylor threw 14 innings, gave up one hit, walked two batters and struck out 25 batters. Her weekend saw her named GAC Pitcher of the Week, Fastpitch News Pitcher of the Week and NFCA National Pitcher of the Week. The Muleriders threw junior transfer Sydney Wader in the circle for game three of the Ronnie Hawkins Memorial, and the Vilonia native picked up her first win as a Mulerider. Wader threw four innings, struck out four batters and only allowed one hit. She was then relieved by Brooke Ford-Nelson, who threw the final two innings, only allowing one hit and striking out one batter. 

The Muleriders offense scored eighteen runs this weekend, including a 10-0 win over Missouri S&T in which junior transfers Chelsea Fagan and Laina Suesue each hit three-run home runs, the former's ending the game while the latter's was inside the park. 

Fagan hit another three-run home run in the Muleriders' 7-0 opening-day win over Southwest Baptist, which saw the Muleriders score most of their runs via three Bearcat errors. The Mulerider offense on the weekend was led by Fagan, Rachel Miller, Faith Otts and Elisa Favela. Otts went 2-2 with a pair of singles and walks against Rogers State, while Miller hit the game-winning double to score the Muleriders' only run in their 1-0 victory over Rogers State. 

The Muleriders opponents this weekend are #22 Valdosta State, #18 Palm Beach Atlantic, West Georgia, Tampa and #5 St. Leo. This is the second time the Muleriders have participated in the NFCA Leadoff Classic, with the previous time being 2017. The Muleriders play in two doubleheaders on Friday and Saturday before the lone game on Sunday. 

Following the NFCA Leadoff Classic, the Muleriders will play in Bentonville next weekend as a part of the UAM Division II Softball Classic. Their opponents will include Washburn, Missouri Souther, Central Missouri and Pittsburg State.