MAGNOLIA, Ark. – Another Great American Conference doubleheader is in the books after the 23^rd-ranked Muleriders hosted the Henderson State Reddies at Dawson Field inside the Dr. Margaret Downing Softball Complex. With the two games wrapped up, the Blue and Gold advance their winning streak to 18 and are now 28-5 overall with an 18-1 record in conference play. Southern Arkansas faced a pair of contests relying on patience as SAU scored in just two of the 16 innings played for the night.
 
Game One (W, 1-0/9)
Southern Arkansas came out on top in game one, but not with how the experts would write it up as the Muleriders took on the Reddies for nine innings and took just as many to get on the board in the contest.
 
Brinson Rogers started and finished the outing for her 12^th shutout of the season as she pitched all 9.0 innings without allowing a single run to bring her season ERA down to 0.73. Also, the senior pitched her 15^th complete game in which she surrendered five hits, a walk, a wild pitch, and accounted for eight Ks.
 
The Muleriders recorded six hits in the contest and were led by the lead-off batter Regan Dillon the junior from Bryant, Arkansas as she went 2-for-4 and scored the walk-off long ball in the bottom of the ninth for the Muleriders to win their 17^th straight.
 
Game Two (W, 6-1)
The following battle between SAU and HSU looked as if there was going to be a similar conclusion to game one of the series up until Henderson State applied the pressure to the Muleriders with a run scored in the top of the third off a foul out for the 1-0 lead. Southern Arkansas was faced with five scoreless innings in which the Blue and Gold struggled to advance runners as SAU left 12 runners on base in the outing with nine of those coming in the first five innings.
 
The sixth inning is when the tables turned on the Reddies as Payton Owens started the inning hot with a single to right-center field which was then followed by a Cassidy Lear single to left field to advance Owens to second. After Henderson State exchanged pitchers, on the very next pitch the Reddies hung the ball in the zone and Regan Dillon knocked it over the championship wall for a three-run bomb to end the silence for SAU and give the Muleriders a 3-1 lead. Just a few pitches later Haley Cummings earned her third hit of the season with a single up the middle. After the first out of the inning, Savannah Clausen singled through the left side and advanced Cummings to second. After Brooklyn Reed came into pinch run for Cummings, Kelsie Adams then singled to center field which scored Reed and advanced Clausen to third on the throw to home. After Adams stole second, Sophia Stoddard stepped to the plate and batted in Clausen and advanced Adams to third before the final two out of the inning coming against the same two that started the inning. After the sixth, the Muleriders led 6-1 after six runs scored and eight hits.
 
Making her fifth start of the season, Kassie Rhodes recorded her third complete game of the campaign after allowing just one run, one walk, four hits, one wild pitch, and striking out four batters. With the victory, Rhodes improved to 5-1 this year.
 
While she just recorded one hit in the contest, Dillon's dinger over the Mulerider championship wall was all Southern Arkansas needed as the junior finished the game with three RBIs and a walk.
 
Next Up:
The Muleriders and the Reddies will conclude the series with a 1:00 PM start on Sunday, March 30.