MAGNOLIA, Ark. – Southern Arkansas continues their home stretch as Natural State foe Ouachita Baptist enters Columbia County for a GAC weekend matchup. The Muleriders are coming off a series loss to league-leading Oklahoma Baptist after winnings game one and falling in the two contest that followed. SAU now sits at 21-11 (10-7 GAC) and seeks a bounce-back weekend with the Tigers coming to Dawson Field.
The Muleriders are recording a hitting average of .275 as they have accounted for 233 hits on 846 at-bats. The team is responsible for 145 runs, 74 extra base hits, an SLG% of .436, 139 runs batted in, and 369 total bases. Southern Arkansas has put together an on-base percentage of .369 with help from the 108 walks and 24 hits by pitches that the group has forced.
The bats have been led by sophomore
Regan Dillon who is currently averaging a hit on 35.5% of her at-bats. Dillon has recorded 108 at-bats with 38 hits, 20 extra base hits (10 home runs), 30 runs batted in, 78 total bases, 18 runs, and a .729 slugging percentage. Of the primary starts for SAU, Dillon leads the team with a .434 on-base percentage and is one of three players in the main rotation with an OBP of .400 or higher (
Kamryn Moctezuma, .400;
Haley Nillen, .418).
Sydney Ward and
Brinson Rogers continue to lead the charge for the Mulerider pitching staff as both competitors have accounted for 175.2 innings pitched with Ward pitching 97.1 and Rogers 78.1. For the season, the senior (Ward) is responsible for a 1.65 ERA, eight complete games, 73 hits, 37 runs (23 earned), 46 walks, 86 strikeouts, nine extra base hits, and a opposing batting average of .207. For the season, Rogers is responsible for a 1.88 ERA, seven complete games, 51 hits allowed, 26 runs allowed (21 earned), 35 walks, 115 strikeouts, ten extra base hits, and an opposing batting average of .187.
Rogers highlighted last week for Southern Arkansas as she recorded a 2-1 record with one complete game, 19.0 IP, nine hits allowed, 16 walks wallowed, five runs allowed (4 earned), 32 strikeouts, and an opposing batting average of .143.
The junior's complete game came in the first outing against Oklahoma Baptist in which Rogers pitched nine innings and faced 36 batters. The Peach State native struck out 15 of the batters, but also walked seven of the Bison as well. Despite the walks, Rogers kept OBU at bay as she only surrendered one run and two hits to secure game one of the series.
History vs. Ouachita Baptist
*Southern Arkansas vs. Ouachita Baptist All-Time Series (SAU leads 52-27)
*Since joining the Great American Conference, SAU leads OUA 33-9
*Southern Arkansas has won the last eight matchups between the two
*SAU is 10-1 in their series against Ouachita Baptist, in which they have won the last nine series versus the Tigers
*Last series between the two saw the Muleriders win all three outings by finals of 4-2, 7-3, 7-1
Ouachita Baptist (9-25 | 4-13 GAC | 12th GAC)
The Tigers come into the weekend with a 9-25 overall record while sitting at the bottom of the Great American Conference with a mark of 4-13. Ouachita Baptist is riding off a split Tuesday against Union (Tenn.) in which OUA won game one 3-1 and fell in the following contest 0-3.
In their most recent league play, the Tigers dropped their series against Southeastern Oklahoma State after securing game one with extra innings (4-3) and falling to the Savage Storm in games two and three (0-9, 2-5).
Ouachita Baptist is currently recording a batting average of .234 (198-847) while allowing 5.83 earned runs per outing. The Tigers are responsible for 109 runs thus far with 58 extra base hits and 102 runs batted in. OUA has recorded 281 total bases and a team slugging percentage of .332. Ouachita Baptist has accounted for an OBP of .311 as a squad while also having 88 walks.
Senior Erin Williams has been the Tigers top batter as she is responsible for a .360 batting average with 36 hits on 100 at-bats. The Tiger has accounted for the majority of the group's home runs as well with six of the ten and leads in total bases with 68.
Ouachita Baptist's pitching staff is led by junior Tuesday Melton (3-8) and senior Hannah Hunter (5-10). The two have combined for 27 starts of the Tigers' 34 contests as Hunter leads the squad with 16 starts and 19 appearances. The senior has accounted for five complete games, 82.2 innings pitched, 108 hits allowed, 91 runs conceded (76 earned), 56 walks, 50 strikeouts, 23 extra base hits (11 home runs), an opposing batting average of .3-7, and a 6.44 ERA.
The Muleriders take on the Tigers starting with a doubleheader on Friday at 4:00 p.m. The final outing of the series is scheduled for a high noon first pitch on Saturday to complete the weekend. Live coverage links can be found at
www.MuleriderAthletics.com/coverage
