YOUNGSVILLE, La. - (RV) Southern Arkansas jump started its 2023 campaign on Friday afternoon at the Mardi Gras Invitational. Ninth-year head coach Jason Anderson's Muleriders defeated Union 6-3 in game one and dismissed Delta State 15-5 in game two to move to 2-0 on the season behind several impressive individual performances.
 
The Muleriders' 21 runs came off of 28 hits of which a dozen went for extra bases including five that left the yard. In the game one opener, sophomore Gracie King finished a double shy of the cycle as she went 3-for-3 with two RBI and two runs scored and was responsible for putting the Muleriders on the board for the first time in 2023. In game two, junior Alyssa Miller went 5-for-5 with three RBI and a run scored, true freshman Regan Dillon went 4-for-4 with three RBI and two runs scored and sophomore Mariah Hamilton went 3-for-3 with two walks, an RBI and four runs scored as SAU put up the most hits in a non-conference game ever in Anderson's tenure and the most against a non-league opponent since registering 23 in a 22-17 win over Midwestern State in 2014.
 
King quickly backed the starting efforts of sophomore RHP Sydney Ward, (1-0) who went 5.0 innings scattering five hits and a single earned run, while striking out seven, by cashing in on a a one-out double by junior Jaxynn Dyson as she singled into left field to plate the season's first run. The Muleriders added a second run in the next inning as sophomore Courtney Storey scored on a wild pitch moments after doubling to leadoff the frame.  
 
Union's lone run off of Ward came in the third inning as a leadoff double came around to score on a one-out single for the Bulldogs. SAU quickly earned that tally back as King tripled with one away and was chased home on a two-out double off the bat of sophomore Emily Shipman.
 
Ward posted four Ks through two innings of work and added two more in the Union fourth, before her teammates pushed across the fourth run of the game in the bottom half. Grad Ariana Rolle doubled into right center field to start the inning, was pushed to third on a groundout by junior Alyssa Miller and scored on a two-out single into left field by Dyson to make it 4-1 Muleriders through four innings.
 
In the fifth, Ward picked up her seventh strikeout of the day in a 1-2-3 frame and in the home half, King led off and left the yard to straight away centerfield to push the advantage to 5-1. Union closed in on the deficit in the top of the sixth as a two-out, two-run homer off of grad Baylie Thornhill cut SAU's lead to 5-3. That was the lone blemish on Thornhill's two-inning relief effort as she collected three strikeouts.
 
As they did in the Union-scoring third inning, the Muleriders earned a run back as grad Haley Nillen homered out to left center field in a pinch hit effort to lead off the inning.
 
Dyson recorded two hits, while four Muleriders playing in the Blue & Gold for the first time all recorded extra-base hits: Shipman (2B), Storey (2B), Rolle (2B) and Nillen (HR). The latter three all scored runs, while Shipman and Nillen both collected RBI.
 
Against the Lady Statesmen, Southern Arkansas erupted offensively by jumping out to a 5-1 lead through two innings and an 11-2 lead through four frames of play. Dillon homered, her first hit as a Mulerider, with two outs in the first to stake sophomore RHP Morgan McAlexander to an early lead in her Mulerider debut.
 
DSU tied the game in the bottom half, but Anderson's offense started rolling in the second inning as Shipman blasted a two-run shot out to left field to break the 1-1 tie before both Dillon and King each walked in an RBI for the four-run advantage.
 
Junior Kamryn Moctezuma delivered a nice piece of two-out hitting that plated two and followed a one-out single to Hamilton who advanced to second on a groundout and moved up to third on an infield single by Miller. Miller swiped second to set the table nicely for Moctezuma who responded with her first hit as a Mulerider.
 
McAlexader worked six innings displacing six hits and a single earned run, while fanning five as she faced just five over the minimum. True freshman Maci McJunkins tossed the final inning allowing a single earned run as she worked around throwing errors in the fourth and fifth innings in her collegiate debut.
 
A five-hit, four-run fourth was highlighted by base hits from Dillon, King, Storey, Rolle and Miller. Storey doubled in a pair, Rolle recorded an RBI base knock and Miller singled in a run as the lead grew to ten. Two innings later, Miller tripled to right center to plate Hamilton as the Muleriders responded following a DSU three-run fifth.
 
Southern Arkansas continued to add to its offensive output with three runs in the seventh. Dillon led off the inning and exited the playing field out to left for her second bomb of the game, Hamilton singled in Storey with one out and Miller's impressive five-hit game was capped with an RBI single that plated Shipman with two outs in the frame.
 
Moctezuma, Storey and Shipman all recorded two hits. Storey followed Hamilton in runs scored with three. The 15 runs scored in the win over Delta State mark the 92nd time that the Muleriders have scored 10+ runs under Anderson and it is the 17th time that an Anderson-led SAU team has eclipsed 15 runs in a single game. 
 
The pair of victories pushes Southern Arkansas' all-time record in the state of Louisiana to 12-9 and it marks four-straight wins for the Muleriders in the Pelican State. Additionally, Anderson's record in season-opening tournament weekends as head coach at SAU improved to 28-8.
 
The Muleriders return to action on Saturday for a pair of games as the Mardi Gras Invitational continues into day three. SAU meets (RV) Drury at 2 p.m. at Supreme Rice Field and matches up with Midwestern State at 4:30 p.m. from Assurance Field. Fans will be able to follow along with the action via Facebook Live here: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063474639989. Live stats will not be available, but box scores of the games will be posted to Mulerider Athletics following each day's action.