MAGNOLIA, Ark. – Team 26 comes off their fourth consecutive win as they defeated and swept in-state rival Arkansas-Monticello for the season as the Muleriders overwhelmed the Blossoms 11-2 in the third meeting of the season. A few days prior to that, Southern Arkansas swept the Southwestern Oklahoma State Bulldogs (3-2, 5-0, 3-2) for final series at Dawson Field this campaign. The remainder of SAU's schedule resides in Okie Country as the Muleriders prepare for the long road trip to Alva, Oklahoma for their weekend series with Northwestern Oklahoma State followed by Southeastern Oklahoma State the weekend after in Durant, Oklahoma.
 
Due to Southern Arkansas' last four additions to the win column, Team 26 is now two games ahead of the Savage Storm in fourth-place of the Great American Conference standings while being positioned two games behind Harding (29-13). Still at the top of the league is Oklahoma Baptist at 24-3 (34-11) and behind them is Southern Nazarene at 20-7 (31-14).
 
Notable Players
*Brinson Rogers started the contest against the Cotton Blossoms as the junior collected her 13^th win of her inaugural season as a Mulerider. The Georgia native pitched 5.0 innings and surrendered five hits, two runs (one earned), and five walks. She struck out nine of the 25 batters she faced before being relieved for Sydney Ward in the sixth. The senior pitched the final two innings with just one hit, no runs, and one strikeout against seven batters.
 
*Ward and Rogers hold the second and third-best ERA among the league as the senior from Paris, Arkansas is responsible for a 1.59 and the junior from Statesboro, Georgia obtains a 1.72. Rogers is currently second in the conference for hits allowed per seven innings as she has surrendered an average of just 4.54 hits per seven innings and is 22^nd in the nation in that stat. The junior's strikeouts this season are second among the GAC and 14^th in the country as she has struck down 170 batters in just 114.0 innings. The Peach State product is also the GAC leader for strikeouts per seven innings as she averages 10.4 and is seventh in NCAA DII as well.
 
*The sophomore, Regan Dillon, remains as the Muleriders' most efficient batter as she is recording a .341 batting average (46-135) while having 22 extra base hits (10 home runs), 36 RBI, 25 runs, and 88 total bases. The Bryant, Arkansas product also leads the squad with her .652 slug percentage as well as her .444 on-base percentage. As the conference's second-best dinger producer, Dillon has been a worry for opposing pitchers as she the team-leader for walks (24) and second in the conference for walks per game (0.57).
 
*Ariana Rolle just came off a stellar weekend and day as she accounted for three hits on five at-bats against the Cotton Blossoms while also recording three runs in the contest. Rolle actually managed to get on-base for every at-bat as her first couple she reached due to throwing errors by UAM. For the season, the Marion, Iowa native has accounted for a batting average of .336 (43-128) in which is the second-best of the team. The slapper has recorded five extra base hits (2 triples), ten RBI, 30 runs (team team), and 50 total bases.  
 
History, vs. Northwestern Oklahoma State
*The Muleriders and Rangers first matched up in 2013 in which Southern Arkansas has kept a strong grip on the all-time series as SAU currently holds the lead at 31-8. The Muleriders have won 22 of the last 25 meetings against NWOSU and has won every series since 2017.
*Southern Arkansas swept the Rangers last season in Magnolia with games one and two ending 3-1 and 3-0 while in game three SAU defeated Northwestern Oklahoma State by a final of 16-0 in five innings.  
 
Northwestern Oklahoma State
*The Rangers enter the coming weekend at 17-27 overall while also being 11^th in the Great American Conference as they are 7-20. NWOSU is currently riding a four-game losing streak as they lost the series at Arkansas-Monticello after winning by run-rule in game one and then dropping the next two (9-2, 5-4). The Rangers then fell at home to Fort Hays State by 8-0 and 9-5.
 
*Northwestern Oklahoma State is home of the reigning GAC Player of the Week in Rosemary Rivera who went 5-8 with six runs, one double, three home runs, and seven RBI. Rivera posted a pair of homers in game one of the series. This season, the junior has accounted for a .245 batting average (26-106), 17 runs, seven extra base hits (4 home runs), 18 RBI, 41 total bases, a .387 slug percentage, and a .407 on-base percentage (2^nd best on team).
 
*Rachel Sherwood is the teams' leading batter as the junior posts a .362 batting average (50-138), 20 extra base hits (3 home runs), 33 RBI, 29 runs, and 83 total bases. Sherwood leads NWOSU in slugging percentage with her own of .601 as well as one of the best on-base percentages of .404.
 
*Ireland Caro has seen the most starts among the Rangers pitching staff as the senior has 24 appearances in which she has started 18 of them. Caro's ERA currently stands at 5.47 with a WHIP of 1.92 in her 88.1 innings pitched. She has allowed 130 hits, 84 runs (69 earned), 40 walks, 41 extra base hits, and an opposing batting average of .339.
 
*Hannah Howell is the Rangers' strikeout pitcher as the fifth-year athlete has accounted for a 3.29 ERA, 12 complete games, 132.0 innings pitched, 161 hits allowed, 78 runs allowed (62 earned), 52 walks allowed, 51 strikeouts, 42 extra base hits, and an opposing batting average of .298.
 
Team 26 matches up with the Northwestern Oklahoma State Rangers for the second-to-last conference series of the season starting on Friday with the doubleheader at 1:00 PM. The single game is set for Saturday at 11:00 AM. Times may vary due to weather.