MAGNOLIA, Ark. – Freshman Gracie King homered twice, each time with two outs, in the first two innings of play of Sunday's Great American Conference opener against Ouachita and in the second game grad transfer Madison Miller launched a three-run, run-rule inducing blast with two outs to cap a 21-run output over 11 innings by the Mulerider offense and back a pair of strong pitching performances. SAU beat the Tigers 11-1 in five innings in the day's first action and earned the series win with a 10-1 decision in six innings.
 
The Muleriders improve to 14-11 on the season and at 7-3 in league play are a win back of moving into a tie with Southeastern Oklahoma State for the GAC lead.
 
Nearly half of the SAU's twenty hits across both games on Sunday went for extra bases. In addition to the home runs from King and the game-ending bomb by M. Miller, grad transfers Jade Miller and Tiare Lee also left the yard in the victories, while J. Miller and sophomore Jaxynn Dyson recorded doubles.
 
Following King's first blast, a two-run shot that gave SAU a 2-1 lead through the day's first inning, all five of the Muleriders' second-inning runs came with two outs which encompassed King leaving the yard for the second time in as many innings. Lee and J. Miller both belted two-run home runs in the third to highlight the four-run frame and back a five-inning, complete game effort from Mulerider freshman starter Sydney Ward who fanned five, walked two and allowed just one earned run.
 
The run support continued in the second game as the Muleriders didn't wait till two outs to light up the run column. In a four-run third inning, J. Miller doubled in redshirt freshman Mariah Hamilton, two scored on a throwing error in senior Alese Casper's at bat that resulted in a fielder's choice and Casper was plated on a single by Dyson.
 
Dyson doubled in two more runs in the fourth, Lee plated pinch runner Ava Dunn in the fifth and M. Miller ended it early with the aforementioned round tripper in the sixth. Of the ten runs, freshman right hander Kiana Pogroszewski needed only two as she scattered four hits, an unearned run and struck out six to earn her fifth win of the season.
 
SAU returns to play in the morning with an 11 a.m. first pitch to close out the series with Ouachita. Live coverage links are available at www.MuleriderAthletics.com.