MAGNOLIA, Ark. – The Southern Arkansas Softball team (15-2, 3-0 GAC) will continue conference play this weekend in Searcy in a three-game series against the Harding Lady Bisons (15-3, 2-1). In their conference opener this past weekend, the Muleriders swept the East Central Tigers 9-1 (5), 7-3, 4-3. Harding took on the Oklahoma Baptist Bison last weekend, dropping 0-3 on day one and wining the next day 3-1 and 1-0 in 12 innings. SAU and HU will play two on Friday, March 3 with the first game starting at 4 p.m. Live coverage links will be available on www.MuleriderAthletics.com.
Southern Arkansas Notes
Muleriders in the Polls: The NFCA released their DII Top 25 Coaches Poll on February 28 with the Muleriders bring ranked 6th. SAU entered the year receiving votes in the preseason poll, improved to 16th in week one of the first regular season poll and has since moved from 7th to 6th.
Two-Way Trouble: The Mulerider bats post the best batting average (.318, 158-497), on base percentage (0.413) and slugging percentage (.547) in the conference while the pitching staff combines second-best ERA (2.41, 42 ER/ 122.0 IP). The pitchers have recorded 102 strikeouts to find the Muleriders as one of two conference teams to have recorded 100 or more Ks. The position players have combined for 116 runs, 21 more than the next closest GAC team, have hit almost double the bombs of the next closest team (25) and have recorded the most total bases (272).
Hot Hitters: Alyssa Miller leads the conference with a .500 (26-52) batting average and has recorded a team-leading eight multi-hit games. Miller has registered the most hits in the conference with 26, a figure that additionally ranks 11th in the nation. Kamryn Moctezuma is currently posting a six-game hitting streak and has reached base in her 11 last plate appearances. Gracie King has recorded the most home runs in the conference (5), the second-most RBI (21) and posts the GAC's best slugging percentage (0.824).
Muleriders vs. Bisons: Jaxynn Dyson posts a career .304 batting average (7-23) in the regular season with two home runs and 6 RBI against the Lady Bisons since her collegiate debut in 2020. Alyssa Miller, Gracie King, and Mariah Hamilton all faced Harding last year for the first time. Miller went 2-6 against the Lady Bisons last year during regular season play, King recorded an RBI-double (1-7), and Hamilton saw a.375 batting average (3-8) with a double. Sydney Ward and Baylie Thornhill each saw 5.0 innings against the Lady Bisons last season. Ward tossed 5.0 innings where she allowed three runs on five hits while striking out 5. Thornhill made two relief appearances, picking up 3.0 innings in her first appearance where she allowed zero earned runs on two hits while striking out four, and threw 2.0 in the next game, holding the Lady Bisons hitless.
History with Harding: Southern Arkansas has only lost one of their last 20 games to the Lady Bisons. Harding took the first of three games in Magnolia last season, dismissing the Mulerider 0-2 before SAU took both games of the double header the next day 5-3, 4-3. SAU most recently defeated Harding in the semifinals of the GAC Championship tournament in May of 2022. The matchup saw one hit each from Dyson, King, Hamilton and Miller. King recorded an RBI and a Hamilton HR resulted in three RBI. Thornhill let up two runs on four hits in her 0.2 innings against HU last May. Ward followed with 2.1 scoreless innings to earn the save.
Harding Notes
Trailing the Muleriders: The Harding Lady Bisons just trail SAU's offensive and defensive numbers. They rank second in the conference with their .315 (167-531) batting average and third with their 2.49 ERA (49 ER/ 138.0 IP). They have collected the second most total bases (246) and are the only team to have recorded more hits than SAU (167). The Lady Bisons pitchers have tossed the most of any GAC team and are two strikeouts away from 100.
Tanski Trouble: Harding's Lily Tanski earned the Great American Conference's Pitcher of the Week title this week after earning two wins in their series victory against Oklahoma Baptist. She struck out eight in a 3-1 win on Saturday, matched OBU's Jones pitch-for-pitch in a 12-inning classic on Sunday, and recorded a six-hit shutout in the 1-0 win while holding the Bison to a .209 average. Tanski tossed a combined 12.1 innings in the 2022 meeting between the Lady Bisons and Muleriders. She allowed 11 hits, four earned runs, zero walks and struck out seven. She shut out the Muleriders in her first game and allowed just three hits throughout her 7.0 inning appearance.
