MAGNOLIA, Ark. – The 2022 campaign didn't quite start off like #16 Southern Arkansas wanted it to as the Muleriders dropped four of its five contests last weekend at the Arkansas Tech Winter Invitational. Eighth-year head coach
Jason Anderson carries his squad to Northwest Arkansas this weekend for five games, four of which are in-region contests, at the Alvy Early Memorial Classic.
SAU (1-4) opens play on Friday, February 11 at 11 a.m. against Maryville and will follow that matchup with a 1 p.m. first pitch against Illinois-Springfield. On Saturday, the Muleriders face Missouri Western at 11 a.m. prior to a 1 p.m. start against Lincoln. The weekend's action concludes on Sunday against Northwest Missouri with a start time set for 11 a.m. Fans can follow all the action live on Facebook via the SAU Softball page. A live coverage link for the stream is also available at
www.MuleriderAthletics.com.
Following a 2-1 win over St. Mary's, the Muleriders' 12
th straight victory in a season opener, Southern Arkansas dropped its next four games: two of which were by a single run and three were to NFCA DII Top 20 ranked opposition. SAU has not lost five straight games since mid-April of the 2017 season.
Through five games, grad transfer
Jade Miller leads the team with nine hits, two for extra bases, and she has totaled 13 bases. Sophomore infielder
Jaxynn Dyson and sophomore catcher
Emma Gill follow with five hits each. Gill has recorded two doubles and a homerun and leads the team with four RBI and a slugging percentage of .667.
In the circle, freshman transfer
Sydney Ward holds SAU's only win after holding the Rattlers to four hits and a walk, while striking out three in a complete game effort in the season opener.
After seeing its season-opening tournament canceled, Maryville will open its 2022 season on Friday against the Muleriders. The Saints went 21-16 last season and were picked tied for third in the Great Lakes Valley Conference Preseason Coaches Poll. SAU's second opponent on Friday, Illinois-Springfield, was picked just below Maryville in the GLVC preseason rankings. The Prairie Stars received a single first place vote in the poll. Like their conference foe, UIS will also open its season in Bentonville. Last season, UIS finished 19-27 overall.
Missouri Western enters the weekend at 2-3 overall following an extra-innings loss to Minnesota Duluth in the season opener, two losses to Concordia-St. Paul and wins over Minnesota State and Lewis. Sydni Hawkins leads MWSU with nine hits, including three doubles, and eight RBI. Emma Hoffart follows with seven hits, while three other players have collected four base knocks.
Lincoln opens its season in Bentonville and is coming off of a 6-35-1 campaign a year ago. Northwest Missouri heads south looking for its first win of the season. The Bearcats are winless in five games and have scored four runs in 32 innings this season.
The Muleriders run-ruled three of its four opponents in its last appearance at the Alvy Early Memorial Classic which came back in 2020. SAU outscored its opposition 55-2 in 22 innings that weekend which included matchups with Northwest Missouri and Maryville.
