MAGNOLIA, Ark. – The league-leading (RV) Southern Arkansas University softball team (21-11, 14-3 GAC) will continue with their eight-game road trip as they are set to take on Henderson State University (9-27, 6-11 GAC) in a three-game Great American Conference series in Arkadelphia. The series will get underway on Friday evening with a single game at 5:00 p.m., followed by a double header on Saturday afternoon that is set to start at 2:00 p.m.
The Muleriders come into this weekend's series riding a nine-game win streak which includes three straight GAC series sweeps over Ouachita Baptist, East Central University and Southeastern Oklahoma State. Since starting GAC play back on February 27
th, the Muleriders have outscored GAC opponents 100-33 and have scored 10 or more runs in five of those 17 games.
After a slow start to their season, which includes 11 straight losses to open up the year, the Reddies have shown signs of improvement as they have won six games in GAC play. HSU was able to take a series from Southern Nazarene after picking up two wins top open GAC play, and they were also able to take a series from Southwestern Oklahoma State after taking them down twice at home last weekend. HSU's other two GAC wins came against Northwestern Oklahoma State and Arkansas-Monticello.
SAU has four players with 20 or more hits on the season.
Jade Miller leads the squad with 45 hits, which ranks 27
th in NCAA DII and 3
rd overall in the GAC.
Alese Casper has collected 30 hits on the year, while
Jaxynn Dyson (28) and
Madison Miller (20) round SAU's top hitters.
Tiare Lee is not far behind as she has 19 hits through 17 games played.
J. Miller carries a team leading .388 batting average, while Casper continues to see her average rise as she is batting .309. J. Miller also leads the team in runs (31), homeruns (9), and RBI (22). Casper is second on the squad with 24 runs scored, while Dyson is second on the team with 21 RBI. Dyson and
Sarah Evans have both hit six homeruns, while Lee and M. Miller have both hit four. Lee is third on the team in RBI with 19, while Evans has collected 18 followed by M. Miller with 17. Casper and
Taylor Murphy lead the team with 12 walks apiece.
The Muleriders continue to stay hot in the circle, as the pitching staff of
Sydney Ward,
Kiana Pogroszewski,
Baylie Thornhill, and
Macie Welch carry a 1.74 ERA, which ranks 14
th best in NCAA DII and 1
st in the GAC. Ward leads the team with a 10-3 record through 83.2 innings pitched to go along with a team high 78 strikeouts. She as allowed 27 runs (21 earned) on 65 hits.
Pogroszewski leads the team and the GAC with her 1.18 ERA and it also comes in as the 24
th best ERA among NCAA DII players. She currently holds an 8-3 record through 71.1 innings in the circle to go along with 71 strikeouts. KP has only allowed 20 runs (12 earned) on 53 hits.
Macie Welch leads the Muleriders and is tied for 1
st in the GAC with three saves, which is also 9
th best in the country. Welch has tossed 37.0 innings in the circle and has two wins to go along with her three saves. She has struck out 38 batters and has allowed 13 runs (10 earned) on 34 hits.
Baylie Thornhill carries a 2.21 ERA and has one win in 25.1 innings pitched. Thornhill has struck out 27 batters and has allowed 11 runs (eight earned) on 27 hits allowed.
HSU has four players with 25 or more hits. The Reddies are led by Justine Burch (34), Abbie Moore (31), Brooke Johnson (27) and Madison Treutlein (26). Treutlein leads the team with a .356 batting average, while Burch carries a .374. Moore leads HSU with 19 RBI, 17 runs and seven homeruns. The Reddies hold a .260 team batting average and they have been outscored 226-116 on the season.
Erika Bittinger leads HSU with a 4-4 record through 64.0 innings pitched. She has allowed 73 hits and 45 runs (38 earned) to go along with 27 strikeouts. Johnson and Savannah Carrigan have both pitched 63.1 innings and they both have two wins.
You can find live links to this weekend's series
here.
Statistical Graphics as of 3.28.22
