Box Score MONTICELLO, Ark. – The Muleriders entered into the Alvy Early Softball Field looking to play two contests with game one of the doubleheader counting toward their conference record and game two being marked down as a non-conference affair. Southern Arkansas and Arkansas-Monticello managed to get one game in prior to the following game being cancelled due to lightning in the area.
Team 26 claimed victory in the one outing completed by a final score of 11-2 to now move the Muleriders to 17-10 in the Great American Conference and 28-14 overall. With the win, SAU has now officially swept the Cotton Blossoms in the two programs' league matchups and sits at fourth-place in the conference behind Harding (29-13 | 19-8 GAC) and ahead of Southeastern Oklahoma State (23-21 | 15-12).
Southern Arkansas in game two of the day started about as hot as one could as Team 26 put up seven runs in the top of the first, but was cancelled due to weather.
SAU Won 11-2
*The reigning GAC Pitcher of the Week,
Brinson Rogers, got the start in the contest as she pitched for 5.0 innings and allowed two runs (one earned), five hits, and five walks. The junior managed to strike out nine of the 25 batters she faced prior to being relieved for senior
Sydney Ward in the sixth inning who pitched for two innings and surrendered just one hit and no runs. Ward managed to strike out one of the seven batters she faced.
*All but two batters in Southern Arkansas' starting lineup accounted for a hit in the contest in which four managed to post multiple base hits for the day. Graduate students
Ariana Rolle and
Haley Nillen recorded three hits each. Rolle made it on base for all five at-bats of the outing as she reached first base via a defensive error for her first two at-bats. The Iowa native also accounted for three runs in the contest. Nillen went 3-5 as she scored one run and batted in three runs for the game.
*The Muleriders scored the first run of the game in the opening inning and was not able add to their lead till the fifth inning where Team 26 caught lightning and scored seven more runs to improve the lead to 8-0. Rogers did not close the game out in the bottom of the fifth after the long half inning due to the Blossoms tagging a run on to move the score to 8-1 going into sixth. SAU was held to eight runs in the sixth and surrendered another to UAM, but increased their advantage in the seventh to an 11-2 lead and shutdown the Blossoms in the bottom of the seventh for win number 28 of the season.
On Deck
The Muleriders take their longest trip of the season for their conference matchup with Northwestern Oklahoma State in Alva, Oklahoma this weekend.
