MAGNOLIA – The SAU Softball team hosted rivals Arkansas-Monticello in the return double-header from their matchup last month, with the 25
th-ranked team in the country looking to avenge their loss to the Blossoms in game two last month.
The Muleriders left the yard four times in the two games and only allowed ten hits total to secure the sweep.
The scoring in game one got off to a rough start for the Muleriders, giving up four runs in the third inning.
The Muleriders responded in the bottom part of the inning through
Makana Morton's second homerun of the season, a mammoth solo shot to left field.
Jaxynn Dyson followed with a single before scoring on
Laina Suesue's fourth homerun of the season, a laser that snuck over the centerfield fence to make it 4-3 in favor of the visitors.
The Muleriders pushed across a pair of runs in the fifth courtesy of an
Alese Casper sacrifice fly and a hit by pitch drawn by
Sarah Evans with the bases loaded, which gave the Muleriders the lead.
The Blossoms scored a pair of runs in the sixth on an error to retake the lead before
Faith Otts hit a towering homerun to left field, a two-run homerun, to give the Muleriders the lead and the win.
Victoria Taylor, pitching in relief for the second time this season, picked up her eighth win of the season, throwing four inning and only allowing four hits and two runs (both unearned), striking out seven.
Game two, unlike game one, did not count towards conference standings, and unlike game one, the Muleriders got on the board first, scoring in the first inning on a Casper RBI single.
The Blossoms tied the score in the fourth inning before Suesue drove in a pair of runs on an RBI single to make the score 3-1. Two innings later, the senior catcher hit her second two-run homerun of the game to make the score 5-1, where it would stay.
Elisa Favela, who went 3-6 on the day at the plate, picked up the win in the circle, throwing six innings and only allowing two hits and one run while striking out eight.
Landry Newgent threw the final inning in relief, allowing her first hit of the season but striking out a batter as well.
The Muleriders are now 15-6 on the season and 11-4 in conference play. They are back in action this weekend when they travel to Searcy to face Harding in a three-game series.
