BETHANY, Okla. – The Southern Arkansas University softball team picked up their 32
nd win of the season on Friday afternoon to move to 32-14 (23-6 GAC) as they split with Southern Nazarene. The Muleriders dropped game in one extra innings 3-2, and then won game two 8-2. SAU and SNU will be back at it at 12:00 p.m. to decide the series.
The Muleriders only collected six hits in the loss, and then doubled their hit total in the win as they finished with 12 hits. Game one saw both teams collect one hit a piece through the first three innings as they both were scoreless through three.
SNU got on the board first in the bottom of the fourth inning with an RBI single up the middle. The Muleriders answered with a run of their own in the top of the fifth inning to tie the game at 1-1 as
Jaxynn Dyson singled through the left side to score
Jade Miller.
Both teams would remain quiet for the remainder of regulation to send the game to extras. SAU jumped out to their first lead of the game in the top of the eight innings as
Gracie King singled to left center to push Dyson across to take the lead at 2-1. SNU unfortunately was able to push two runs across on the bottom of the eighth inning on a game winning double.
Dyson led SAU with two hits, while J. Miller,
Alese Casper, King and
Taylor Murphy all had one hit.
Sydney Ward got the start for SAU and went 6.0 innings, and allowed one run on four hits while striking out five.
Baylie Thornhill took the loss after pitching 1.2 innings and allowing two runs on four hits.
Game two saw a solid pitching performance from the Dr. Margret Downing Female Athlete of the Year in
Kiana Pogroszewski. KP picked up her 13
th win of the year as she pitched all 7.0 innings. She allowed nine hits on two runs (one earned) and struck out five.
SAU did the majority of their damage from the top of the fourth inning and on, as they scored one run in the fourth, three in the fifth, two in the sixth and one in the seventh. The Muleriders jumped out to a 1-0 lead to start the game, but SNU answered back with one run in the bottom of the first inning, and one more in the bottom of the third inning to lead 2-1, which would be their last score of the contest.
Casper busted the game wide open with a 3-run blast over the left field fence in the top of the fifth inning to put SAU up 5-2.
Madison Miller plated
Tiare Lee and Dyson on a double in the sixth inning to make it 7-2 in favor of SAU. SAU's final run of the game came off of the bat of Lee as she hit a fielder's choice that scored
Mariah Hamilton who crossed home plate on a throwing error.
Casper, M. Miller, King, Lee, and
Alyssa Miller all had two hits in the win. Casper led the Muleriders with three RBI, while M. Miller finished with two RBI.
You can find live links to tomorrow's series finale
here.