BETHANY, Okla. – Mulerider Softball's 26^th squad rolled into the Oklahoma City metropolitan area for their first day at the Raising Cane's Softball Festival where they were set to face off with Fort Hays State and Northeastern State at Tere Webber Field at Southern Nazarene University. Southern Arkansas came out on top in games 10 and 11 of the regular season as they defeated the Tigers and Riverhawks for day one of the festival.
Over the course of the two contest, Coach Jason Anderson pitched just two arms in Sydney Ward and Brinson Rogers.
The senior, Ward (vs. Fort Hays State) recorded a career-high 13 strikeouts against the Tigers while only allowing two runs in eight innings and facing 29 batters.
The junior, Rogers earned her third win of the season in which she has shutout opposing batters in all three of her victories. The native of Statesboro, Georgia pitched all five innings against the Riverhawks and allowed just two hits out of 16 at-bats.
 
Vs. Fort Hays State
Southern Arkansas' sixth meeting with FHSU resulted in a low-scoring affair as the Muleriders' defense highlighted the majority of the action.
Rubio initiated the first lead of the ballgame as she hit a double to second base that advanced Regan Dillon from second base after she recorded a double of her own to lead-off the Muleriders' first at-bat.
Following the second out in the bottom of the first, Kamryn Moctezuma flew a ball to second base that resulted in a drop by the four position and granted Moctezuma to reach and advance Rubio home to make the lead 2-0.
The Tigers attacked right back in the top of the second. Fort Hays State's Ramirez-John, with two outs, knocked a single that advanced a runner to home to cut the lead down to 2-1 before the next batter grounded out to first.
The score remained 2-1 for four more innings until the Tigers broke the silence in the top of the sixth as Mohr singled into right field and would advance another runner to home to create a whole new ballgame at 2-2.
Neither squad was able to close the matchup prior to extra innings. Morgan McAlexander started the bottom of the eighth at second as she pinch-ran for Dillon (due to her being the last Mulerider out in the seventh). A Rubio ground out advanced the runner to third which was then followed by a Moctezuma walk-off single to left field for McAlexander to score call game at 3-2.
As a team, Southern Arkansas displayed a batting average of .200 as they recorded six hits for 30 at-bats.
 
Vs. Northeastern State
For the first few innings, neither the Muleriders or Riverhawks could get a groove going as each team held at zero through the first and second inning.
As Rogers finished up the top of the third with three-straight Ks, Southern Arkansas lit up the score board as they accounted for seven runs off of a Rubio single to advance Bella Angelo (1-0); Moctezuma knocking a single up the middle to bat in Rubio and Ariana Rolle (3-0); Gracie King doubled into left field to push Haley Nillen to home (4-0); Cassidy Lear tripled out towards right field batting in both King and Moctezuma (6-0); recording her second hit of the inning, Angelo singled to right field to then advance Lear into home (7-0).
The junior transfer, Rogers, then shutdown the Riverhawks offense once again as she surrendered just her second hit of the game to enter the bottom of the fourth where the Muleriders tacked on three more runs scored thanks to a Moctezuma single to score Rubio (8-0) and two-run dinger from King to advance the SAU lead to 10-0.
Rogers once again kept the bats cold for Northeastern State as she claimed her seventh K of the afternoon and initiated two ground outs to third and second. In five innings, the Muleriders run-ruled the Riverhawks 10-0.
In their 11^th meeting with Northeastern State, Southern Arkansas recorded a batting average of .440 as well as a slugging percentage of .720.
 
Southern Arkansas continues the Raising Cane's Softball Festival on Saturday as they prepare to matchup against Nebraska-Kearney in Edmond, Oklahoma (10:30 a.m.) and Central Missouri back in Bethany (3:30 p.m.).