MAGNOLIA, Ark. – Sitting on top in the Great American Conference standings, the (15-11, 8-3 GAC) Southern Arkansas University softball team will look to pick up three more GAC wins this weekend as they put their 7-1 home record on the line as they welcome in East Central University. The series will get started with a double header tomorrow afternoon that is set to begin at 2:00 p.m. at Dawson Field at the Dr. Margaret Downing Softball Complex with the second game set to begin at 4:00 p.m. The Muleriders and Tigers will wrap up the series on Sunday afternoon with the first pitch scheduled for 1:00 p.m.
The Muleriders come into this weekend with a 4-1 record in their last five games, including a three game sweep of Ouachita Baptist their last time out. Since started league play, SAU has outscored opponents 64-22, as they outscored OUA 32-6 last weekend.
Graduate transfer
Jade Miller continues to pace the Mulerider offense as she has done most of the season. J. Miller leads SAU in every offensive category including hits (42), batting average (.429), runs (24), RBI (21), home runs (8), total bases (74), and also OPS (1.185). Miller's 42 hits also leads the GAC, and is the fifth most among NCAA DII players.
Alese Casper ranks second on the Mulerider squad with 21 hits, while
Jaxynn Dyson (19),
Madison Miller (16) and
Sarah Evans (15) all have 15 or more hits. Evans is second on the team with 18 RBI followed by Dyson with 12 and
Tiare Lee with 11. Junior college transfer
Gracie King as played well as of late after almost missing a month with an injury as she carries a .409 AVG to go along with nine hits, three home runs and nine RBI.
The Muleriders have been led by two juco transfer pitchers in
Sydney Ward (8-3) and
Kiana Pogroszewski (5-3) in the circle. Ward's 1.43 ERA is the lowest in the GAC while Pogroszewski's 1.52 ERA is the second lowest in the conference. Ward has pitched 68.2 innings and has struck out 62 batters while allowing 52 hits and 20 runs (14 earned), while going the distance in six of her outings. Pogroszewski has tossed 55.1 innings in the circle, while striking out 53 batters on 41 hits and has allowed 19 runs (12 earned). True freshman
Macie Welch has also seen time in the circle as she has picked up two wins in 35.0 innings of work while striking out 36 batters
SAU will take on an ECU squad that is currently (7-15, 5-6 GAC). The Tigers are 1-4 in their last five GAC contests, as they picked up a win over Oklahoma Baptist last weekend. ECU has also picked up GAC wins over Northwestern State Oklahoma State and Arkansas Tech.
ECU has been led by Kenzie Lasker this season as she leads the team in hits (18), AVG (.429) and RBI (12). Gabi Quintanilla ranks second on the team with 17 hits, while Megan Lesko and Rachelle Mengwasser both have seven RBI. ECU has been outscored 119-57 this season.
The Tigers have relied heavily on Taia Harris as leads the team with 80.0 innings pitched and two wins, to go along with 83 strikeouts on 85 hits while allowing 47 runs (37 earned). Taryn O'Brien also has two wins in the circle as she has pitched 35.1 innings.
You can find live links to this weekend's series
here.
