MAGNOLIA, Ark. – (RV) Southern Arkansas (26-10, 14-6 GAC) will play host to the Arkansas Tech Golden Suns (23-15, 12-7 GAC) this weekend. Due to potential inclement weather, the doubleheader will be played on Saturday followed by the final game of the series being played on Monday. The first pitch for Saturday's twin bill is set for 1 p.m. Monday's finale is scheduled for 2 p.m. Live coverage links will be available at
www.MuleriderAthletics.com.
Southern Arkansas Notes
Recent Riders: Junior infielder
Jaxynn Dyson is coming off of a weekend against Ouachita Baptist in which she recorded five hits with one double and two home runs as she totaled a dozen bases and slugged 1.200. She scored three times and delivered a team-high six RBI. Dyson walked twice and finished the three-game series with an OBP of .583. In the field, the junior shortstop recorded four putouts and assisted on seven other outs as she posted a perfect fielding percentage to earn her first GAC Player of the Week. She is the second Mulerider this season to earn this award following
Alyssa Miller who earned it in consecutive weeks in early February.
Dyson is leading the GAC in on base percentage at .496 and is inside the top ten in seven categories on the GAC leaderboard. Miller recorded seven hits in 11 at bats in the sweep against the Tigers. Miller is leading the Muleriders in batting average at .387, which is sixth in the GAC. Miller, Dyson,
Ariana Rolle and
Haley Nillen are all batting above .300 for the season. Dyson, Miller and Rolle have all scored 20+ runs.
Kamryn Moctezuma leads the team in RBI with 30 and is one of four players with five or more home runs.
The SAU pitching staff is second in the GAC in strikeouts with 220 and the staff owns an ERA of 3.64. Bailey Thornhill enters the series after recording two of her ten wins this past weekend against Ouachita Baptist.
Sydney Ward is 13-5 on the season with an ERA of 3.30 which puts her within the top ten in the GAC. She leads the staff in strikeouts with 91. Relief pitching for the Muleriders played an important role this past weekend as
Morgan McAlexander earned her first save of her career as a Mulerider against the Tigers.
Head coach
Jason Anderson reached another career milestone in the sweep against Ouachita Baptist last weekend. The opening game of the series notched Anderson's 650 career victory. This is Anderson's ninth year as the Mulerider Softball head coach and he has a record of 345-117 which is the best record in program history.
Arkansas Tech Notes
History with the Golden Suns: The Muleriders are 31-42 against the Golden Suns all-time and just 4-12 against ATU in the last 16 meetings dating back to the start of the 2018 season. SAU is 1-12 against the Golden Suns in the previous 13 matchups. The last meeting between the programs came at the NCAA Regional Tournament in 2022 where the Golden Suns won 3-1 over the Muleriders. ATU also topped SAU 7-4 in the GAC Tournament Championship game last spring.
Scouting the Golden Suns: The Golden Suns are coming off of a series loss against Arkansas-Monticello. Arkansas Tech lost the series opener and then run-ruled the Blossoms the following match-up. The Golden Suns lost the last game of the series.
Mackenzie Goins and Jessica Williams are the sole Golden Suns batting above .300 on the season. Goins leads the team in hits with 38. Six other players have recorded 20 or more base hits. Makenzie Addis' 33 RBI pace the offense. Goins follows with 16. Brooke Prewitt has scored a team-leading 27 runs and Addis follows with 26.
Bailey Buffington is currently second in the GAC with an ERA of 1.56. Buffington leads the team in strikeouts with 73 and innings pitched at 116.1. She has recorded 13 complete games and owns a 14-6 record this spring. Bradi Basler follows with 56 strikeouts and a 7-6 record in 79.2 innings pitched.
