LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Ninth-year head coach
Jason Anderson's Southern Arkansas club dropped two spots in the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Division II Top 10 to No. 16 nationally; the Muleriders' week one ranking. Southern Arkansas has appeared in the national rankings in each of the five weekly polls.
The Muleriders are currently 20-7 overall with an 8-3 mark in Great American Conference play. SAU's descent out of the top ten was due in large part to dropping its league series at Harding along with two losses to Mississippi College which entered the week five rankings at No. 25. However, the Muleriders are set to play host to Southern Nazarene in league play this weekend and enter that action on a five-game winning streak.
SAU remained the fourth-highest ranked team in the Central Region behind defending national champ No. 2 Rogers State. The Hillcats received just two of the 16 first-place votes with North Georgia taking over the top spot in the poll. Central Oklahoma held at No. 6 and Harding held at No. 13. Washburn dropped one spot from No. 18 to No. 19.
SAU is hitting .309 as a team with 79 extra base hits and is currently +62 in run margin. The Muleriders own a staff ERA of 2.80 with 156 strikeouts in 175.0 innings pitched.
Southern Arkansas continues Great American Conference play this weekend at home against SNU. The begins on Friday in a 4 p.m. start with Saturday's doubleheader set for 1 p.m. Live coverage links are available at www.MuleriderAthletics.com.
